Women in Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Work and Family Balance in Top Diplomacy: The Case of the Czech Republic

“…Most studies in this field focus on the cultural context and reveal the gendered structures and dynamics of diplomatic negotiations (e.g., Aggestam and Towns 2018) and networking (Niklasson 2020). These studies confirm that diplomacy, as a patriarchal stronghold built on traditional gender norms, is generally ill organized for balancing work and family life, which negatively affects women, particularly as the primary caregivers for children (e.g., Bashevkin 2018; Farias de Souza and do Carmo 2018; Flowers 2018; Linse 2004; Niklasson and Robertson 2018; Rumelili and Suleymanoglu-Kurum 2018).…”

“…Given similar historical development, the presented study thus lays the groundwork for further regional research in this field. The study also brings new qualitative data from the underresearched work-family axis of top diplomats to the literature on gender and diplomacy in general, since the majority of existing research focuses on the MFA as an institution and on its female representation without a detailed work-family focus (Bashevkin 2018; Farias de Souza and do Carmo 2018; Flowers 2018; Linse 2004; Niklasson and Robertson 2018; Rumelili and Suleymanoglu-Kurum 2018). This research expands older analysis of dual careers and linked lives in diplomacy from the 1990s (Han and Moen 2002; Hendry 1998; Krüger and Lévy 2001) by adding the concept of mobility from the private sphere (especially from transnational business) and other fields of the public sphere (e.g., academia; see Vohlídalová 2014).…”

“…Many countries only allowed women to formally join diplomatic corps in the second half of the twentieth century. Moreover, their careers were further limited by the “marriage bar,” 5 forcing women to choose between family and career (e.g., Farias de Souza and do Carmo 2018; Flowers 2018; Niklasson and Robertson 2018; Rumelili and Suleymanoglu-Kurum 2018). Interestingly, one of the arguments used in favor of this policy was that diplomatic husbands would be harder to control and less loyal to the service than diplomatic wives (Wood 2005).…”

“…Furthermore, working mothers often suffer from a guilt complex for not spending more time with their children, especially when reliable day care facilities are not available (Buddahapryia 2009). These attitudes also influence female diplomats, who have to confront existing social norms and expectations that they, as women, are responsible for child care and elder care (Flowers 2018). Moreover, working mothers are more susceptible to biased treatment because the prevailing “ideal worker” archetype represented by males with no caregiving obligations, fully dedicated to the company (Thorne 2011).…”

The gender turn in diplomacy: a new research agenda

“…Yet, there are interesting deviant cases to consider where women have better representation in international institutions, which may be because male dominance is not as entrenched. For example, women constitute 60 percent of the Japanese delegations to the UN, although they only make up 3 percent of the Japanese ambassadors and 17 percent of diplomats overall (Flowers 2018). In the European Council, this pattern is also reflected among the newer member states, which tend to appoint a higher share of women as negotiators to the Council than their representation in the national parliaments (Naurin and Naurin 2018).…”