A Time for Action
Nomsa Ndongwe
Research Associate at the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies.
She has a Master of Arts in Nonproliferation, Terrorism Studies, and Financial Crime Management from the Middlebury Institute of International Studies. Previously, she served as diplomat for the Zimbabwe Permanent Mission to the United Nations Office at Geneva, focusing mainly on the Disarmament portfolio and International Telecommunication Union (ITU).
June 24th, 2023.
When the United Nations declared 24 June the ‘International Day for Women in Diplomacy’ in 2021, I was struck by the timing of it. It is important to note that this unanimously adopted resolution came a year and a half into a global pandemic that had not only infected millions of people, but also shone a much-needed light on gender roles in the workplace and at home (as women continued to bear the brunt of unpaid work). The COVID-19 pandemic also unveiled stark inequalities across the board from socio-economic, gender, access to health, accessibility and disability, and the digital divide.
I highlight when this day to celebrate women in diplomacy was announced because it is a great example of the issues surrounding gender parity or gender equity and equality in diplomacy. Already, political statements maintain some attention on a topic but effect very little systemic change in the short term or medium term. The fact that half the world’s population is still underrepresented in senior leadership and also wields limited decision-making power proves this.
No such thing as bad press?
The UN Charter was signed in June 1945, and enshrined human rights and fundamental freedoms “for all without distinction as to race, sex, language or religion”. If we fast forward fifty years later to 1995 we arrive at the Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing, and the landmark Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action which was “adopted unanimously by 189 countries, was an agenda for women’s empowerment that is now considered the key global policy document on gender equality.” Building on the momentum of the Beijing Conference, the Women, Peace and Security Agenda was ushered in via UN Security Council resolution in 2000.
To date, the call to incorporate the WPS agenda into the work of the UN has been specifically addressed in at least ten[1] UNSC resolutions spanning from 1325 (2000) to 2493 in 2019. In the Sustainable Development Goals, SDG 5[2] and SDG 16[3] are particularly relevant. The former refers to Gender Equality and Goal 5.5 refers to ensuring women’s full and effective participation and equal opportunities for leadership at all levels of decision-making in political, economic, and public life.”[4] I was not born when the UN Charter was signed but I remember being in elementary school when the Beijing Declaration was announced with great fanfare. I was finishing high school when the WPS agenda made smaller headlines and already working as a diplomat when the SDGs were adopted. Yet, when I finally served as a diplomat in Geneva in 2015, I was underwhelmed by the numbers of women I saw working in my main portfolio, disarmament.
Multilateral Disarmament
In 2019, UNIDIR published the ‘Still Behind the Curve’ Report on gender balance in the field that was not surprising for any practitioners who have spent some time in a room where WMDs are discussed. Men comprised 68% of diplomats in multilateral meetings dealing with WMDs and when it came to leadership, men outnumbered women 3 to 1. When it came to diversity; UNIDIR found that from a sample of meetings in 2017 and 2018, the highest representation of women was from Latin America and the Caribbean[5] with 42.7%, followed by the Western European and Others Group with 37%, Eastern European Group with 34%, Asia-Pacific with 25% and African Group with 24%. These statistics are consistent with what I observed, and it is a badge of honour to know that I am one of the women counted in the UNIDIR study.
I also agree with the reasons UNIDIR attributed to this issue: the gendered perception of issues surrounding weapons of mass destruction, namely that it is a male and military purview to” the structures and power dynamics of diplomacy”[6]; the “language and terminology associated with weapons”[7];and “a lack of awareness of the relevance of gender equality to arms control, nonproliferation and disarmament measures.”[8] In my humble opinion, those structures and power dynamics are the main barrier to entry into topics like foreign policy and international peace and security. I observed this daily in cool, marbled halls of the Palais des Nations, and the Vienna International Center in Vienna (when I was afforded the opportunity to go).
So why did it take until 2021, in the middle of a global pandemic, for women in diplomacy to be recognised? The answer is that it came at a time when momentum around the conversation was building in public discourse. From within, I can testify that women in diplomacy were having these conversations, sharing personal experiences and encouraging each other. The resolution itself, which was introduced by the Maldives, “offer[s] annual opportunity to reflect on the actions that can be taken to achieve women’s full, equal, effective and meaningful participation in diplomacy.” Having been given an opportunity to write something for this day, I decided to do just that.
Action Items
Stop spending inordinate amounts of time justifying why gender parity in diplomacy (or any other field) is necessary. The most basic entry into the conversation is to talk about the business case for diversity, and to talk about raising awareness. It is important to start here but we cannot remain there. I have made a personal commitment to no longer engage in this type of discourse as it has become exhausting and repetitive.
Highlight women’s contributions, past and present. I was looking at a picture of the Mexican delegation at the signing of the Treaty of Tlatelolco and was so impressed by the diversity of interesting women (sitting behind the men) captured in this photo. I want to know more about them. Just last week, a former colleague told me that after 20 years of contentious negotiations, Ambassador Rena Lee from Singapore, presided over the successful adoption of the Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction Treaty.
Start requiring UN Member States to meet gender parity standards. Disaggregate quantitative and qualitative data so that we have better visibility and understanding of what areas need more attention, and more receptive measures.
Simultaneously address the issue of geographical representation in senior UN decision-making roles at HQ and in the field - right behind gender equity and equality, are the issues of ethnic, racial and age diversity and equity.
Remove gendered language from all official UN work. UN Women has already crafted some tips on how to implement gender-inclusive language
Work with civil society and women’s organizations to help identify blindspots and learn from other sectors. Solicit ideas from groups such as Women of Color Advancing Peace, Security and Conflict Transformation, the Gender Champions in Nuclear Policy panel pledge, UN Women, Girl Security, Inter-Parliamentary Union, International Labor Organization.
Fund studies on success stories. Such as female representation in the Latin America and the Caribbean regional grouping, Sweden gender mainstreaming domestic policy and its feminist foreign policy that has served as the model to follow since 2014.
It is time to “require” all UN Member States to live up to the promises enshrined in the UN Charter itself[9], the Women Peace and Security (WPS)[10] agenda, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)[11] and countless other resolutions and initiatives on the multilateral level designed to ensure the active participation of all people and intersecting identities ‘at all levels of decision-making’ as this “is essential to the achievement of equality, sustainable development, peace, democracy and diplomacy”.
We need to insist the UN urgently adopt a holistic approach where Member States are required to meet benchmarks and timelines to ensure gender equity and equality in diplomacy on the multilateral stage. In the meantime, share your amazing female diplomat stories with me. I love to learn more about those that came before me and are making a difference, so does my female diplomats group chat.
Twitter: @eland_princess
[1] UNSC Resolutions 1325 (2000), 1820 (2008), 1888 (2008), 1889 (2009), 1960 (2010), 2106 (2013), 2122 (2013), 2242 (2015), 2467 (2019), and 2493 (2019)
[2] SD Goal 5 - “Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls”.
[3] SD Goal 16 - “Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels”.
[4] SD Goal 5.5
[5] UNIDIR, Still Behind the Curve, pg. 30 see also figure 12
[6] UNIDIR, Still Behind the Curve, pg. 8
[7] UNIDIR, Still Behind the Curve, pg. 33
[8] UNIDIR, Still Behind the Curve, pg. 37
[9] Article 1(3) of the Charter states the purpose of the United Nations is to “achieve international co-operation in solving international problems of an economic, social, cultural, or humanitarian character, and in promoting and encouraging respect for human rights and for fundamental freedoms for all without distinction as to race, sex, language, or religion”.
[10] UNSC Resolution 1325 (2000)
[11] SD Goal 5 - “Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls”, SD Goal 16 - “Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels”.
