Female Diplomats

It’s refreshing to read in The Sunday Star that the new Australian High Commissioner to Malaysia is not only young, but is also female. Penny Williams, 43, is Australia’s first female High Commissioner to Malaysia, and, according to the article is “among her country’s new breed of diplomats who reflect the highly urbanised islan-continent’s young, competitive society”. Ms Williams is a decade younger than former High Commissioner James Wise, and it’s noteworthy that she had exposure to Asian culture, specifically Indonesian culture, when she was an exchange student for a year to Indonesia. She speaks Bahasa Indonesia, Spanish and Arabic, breaking the stereotype of the “mono-linguistic” (and by extrapolation, mono-cultural) Aussie, says the article.

You can read more on Ms Williams in The Star article. I thought it better to highlight this interesting article from the Jakarta Post, written by Retno Marsudi, the Indonesian Ambassador to the Kingdom of Norway and the Republic of Iceland. Entitled “Indonesian Female Diplomats and Gender Mainstreaming in Diplomacy“, Ms Retno rather quaintly discusses whether or not females are suitable for careers in diplomacy.

Some people say that in Indonesia diplomacy is a man’s world. Many tend to believe the myth as they observe the relatively insignificant number of women diplomats, even when the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will celebrate its the 60th anniversary on Aug. 19. Is the myth true? And if it is not then how can women diplomats contribute to the future of Indonesian diplomacy?

To test whether the myth is true, we must first closely examine the nature of the work involved in diplomacy. Often a high degree of mobility and constant responsiveness to ever changing environments are required. Such circumstances could easily compel women in our society to exert extra efforts if they decide to pursue this career. It would indeed seem rather tempting to conclude that on the surface, diplomacy is ideally suited for men.

However other critical components required for successfully conducting diplomacy, such as firmness, loyalty, empathy, prudence as well as meticulousness, are qualities generally possessed by women. Diplomacy itself has no requirements that could not be fulfilled by women. Any barriers to getting the job done originate mostly from sources beyond the control of women themselves.

Bravo for the conclusion, but it’s surprising that the issue is still being aired in this day and age.

According to Ms Retno, Indonesia has 1,493 diplomats, of which a reasonable 25% are women. However, the percentage of women in decision-making positions remains low. Out of the 56 directorship positions in the Ministry only eight – or 14% – are filled by women. The seven directors-generals at the ministry are all men. And out of Indonesia’s 119 ambassadors or heads of mission, there are only nine women – or 7.5%. But, says Ms Retno, the trend is for more women to enter the diplomatic corps. In 2006, 47% of new diplomats were women.

Ms Retno outlines the elements necessary for “gender mainstreaming” of the diplomatic corp. These elements are not new and have been proposed time and time again: gender-neutral policies at all levels and having quotas as guidelines but ensuring that quality remains the main criteria. What I thought interesting was her insistence that society, too, expands their definition of what is “acceptable” for women to outside the family and home environments.

Society should accept that in addition to their main responsibility toward the family, women can also become economically productive wage earners as well….cultural and psychological acceptance by society of burden sharing and responsibility for the family should be encouraged.

Another article in Taipei Times highlights the work-family balance for the Taiwanese female diplomat. Taiwan, it seems, only appointed its first female Ambassador in 1997. And their female diplomats admit to the hardship at balancing work and family.

MOFA (Ministry of Foreign Affairs) regulations stipulate that officials working in the ministry must work in foreign embassies or missions after serving in Taiwan for three to five years. They have to serve abroad for at least six years and then wait for the next transfer….The instability attendant to this lifestyle is demanding on all diplomats, but even more so on female ones.

“As far as I know, many female diplomats have a hard time juggling their marriage and work,” said Gloria Chen, 26, a secretary at the ministry. After having served at the ministry for close to four years, Chen will soon be transferred to the US. Chen said some female colleagues have chosen to quit their jobs, others have remained single for a long time and some, unfortunately, have gotten divorced.

Out of Taiwan’s 973 MOFA officials, only 209 of them are women, the article says.

I haven’t got figures for Malaysia’s diplomatic corps, but it seems that for Asian women, other than policies not being welcoming enough, getting relocated often means leaving spouse behind, and which Asian husband would happily tolerate being left wife-less for months at a stretch, let alone for years? If he chucks his career and moves with her, chances are, he’d probably be labelled as “henpecked”. (As an aside, Ms Williams’s husband moved with her to Malaysia along with all but one of their children; the husband is (fortuitously) deputy CEO of the Aussie Trade Commission).

So, yes, Ms Retno is right, it’s not just policies that have to change but society, too, with a greater willingness for males to accommodate that their female partners’ career aspirations.

Filed under: Newsprint, Women, Work & Productivity