In celebration of International Women’s Day, the Anwar Gargash Diplomatic Academy (AGDA), the region’s leading center of excellence for the development and training of future diplomats and leaders, launched its Women in Diplomacy Index for 2023.
Following the launch, the Academy will host an interactive virtual panel discussion with leading diplomats and speakers from the UAE and around the world on the topic of gender equality in foreign affairs and diplomacy.
The new and expanded 2023 index now tracks the percentage share of women ambassadors across all 193 United Nations (UN) member states.
The 2023 Index shows that women remain underrepresented in ambassadorship positions across the world, as only 20.54%of all ambassadors are women. The data also shows that Canada takes the lead in having appointed the highest share of women ambassadors and permanent representatives, with 51% of its ambassadorial posts being held by women.
Andorra, the Maldives, and Monaco’s share of women ambassadors stand at a close 50%, while Finland, Ghana, Nicaragua, Sweden, the Bahamas, the United Kingdom, New Zealand, and the United States (US) all have percentage shares of women ambassadors ranging between 41% (for the US) and 49.5% (for Finland).
Taken together; these countries constitute the top 12 countries where gender equality in their diplomatic corps has been achieved or is within close reach.
Progress toward gender equality in diplomacy overall has been slow and uneven. For the countries of the G20, their average share of women ambassadors increased to 21% in 2023, compared to 17% in 2018, which is commendable.
When looking at a larger dataset of 40 countries, the average share of women ambassadors increased by just 1% since 2022 and stands at 23% in 2023, indicating a slow rise in the number of women in top diplomatic posts.
The Women in Diplomacy Index 2023 also underscores how active the UAE has been in advancing women’s leadership in diplomacy becoming one of the top four performers for the MENA region. Since 2018, the UAE has had a 5.5% increase in its appointments of women ambassadors, placing them in key cities around the world, such as Paris, Washington DC, and the UN in New York.
ADGA continues to be a strong advocate and ally for gender equality, women’s empowerment, and women’s rights. In 2022, a notable 55% of AGDA’s workforce was comprised of Emirati women, and a significant 60% of its graduating classes since 2016 have been female.
