While female representation in the top diplomatic circles was almost nonexistent during the Czechoslovak era, the number of female diplomats in the Czech Republic has steadily increased since the fall of the state-socialist regime. Women are currently solidly represented in the Czech Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA), but very few (14%) reach highest diplomatic positions. This study examines the main challenges that influence the careers of top diplomats using quantitative and qualitative data, including official statistics and documents of the Czech MFA and interviews with top diplomats and officials. The results indicate that work-family conflicts are the main challenge for all diplomats. However, women are apparently affected more disproportionately because of the existing “double burden” and a specific “concept of motherhood” vested in a deeply essentialist understanding of gender roles. These barriers have origins at the personal, institutional, and state levels that are strongly interrelated and historically and politically path dependent.

Summary Although Czech women are solidly represented in the Czech Ministry of Foreign Affairs, only a fraction of this 14 per cent make it to the highest positions. This underrepresentation is in stark contrast with Nordic countries, where women make up almost half of the top diplomats. Based on semi-structured interviews with top diplomats conducted in the period 2018-2021, this study aims to identify how Czech female diplomats assess their own gender and professional identity, and to what extent they apply these identities strategically in order to advance their careers. The research enriches concepts on femininities by adding a type of ‘principled feminist’ and further develops career strategies in a specific historical and cultural context. The analysis shows that conservative personal gender ideologies of top Czech female diplomats and their related career strategies present one of the major obstacles to the increased representation of women in top diplomatic positions.