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Women in Diplomacy

by Katharina Even
On the occasion of this year´s International Women´s Day, the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung Israel in cooperation with the Simone Veil Research Centre for Contemporary European Studies organized a panel discussion on the topic of “Women in Diplomacy” on March 4, 2019 at the Ben-Gurion University of the Negev. The event was highlighted by the participation of several ambassadors in a panel discussion as well as a round table session with students from the Ben-Gurion University.

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On the occasion of this year´s International Women´s Day, the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung Israel in cooperation with the Simone Veil Research Centre for Contemporary European Studies organized a panel discussion on the topic of “Women in Diplomacy” on March 4, 2019 at the Ben-Gurion University of the Negev. The event was highlighted by the participation of several ambassadors in a panel discussion as well as a round table session with students from the Ben-Gurion University.

Prof. Daniel Haimovich, the President of the Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, opened the panel by pointing out that the problem of gender inequality was still visible today. The inclusion of women in academia and the accessibility to higher academic positions therefore was a central aim in order to make change possible. Prof. Renee Poznanski, the Chair of the Simone Veil Centre, then welcomed the ambassadors and all the guests at the conference. Her greeting especially valued the major achievements of Simone Veil for women´s equality in France as well as to the reconciliation within Europe. Prof. Poznanski’s words were followed by the greeting from Katharina Even, the project manager at the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung Israel. Looking back to the origins of Women´s rights and the achievements in the past decades, this conference should be devoted to the role of women in diplomacy. Mrs. Even showed how the empowerment of women and the focus on the social, cultural and economic status of women corresponds with the values of the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung.

H.E. Hélène Le Gal, the Ambassador of France to Israel, began her speech with a short review of the history of female diplomats in the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Although the first women already joined the Foreign Service after World War II the first female ambassador was only appointed in 1972. After having evaluated the development in the last decades, she focused on the question what measures could be taken in the future to enhance women´s roles in diplomacy, an area which is still mainly predominated by men. Le Gal especially stressed the importance of role models and governmental incentives to encourage women joining the Foreign Service.

The next speaker on the panel, H.E. Susanne Wasum-Rainer, the Ambassador of Germany to Israel, shared a personal memory of Simone Veil welcoming her as the German ambassador in Paris with a note and a welcome for “strong women”. She told the audience about her own career in the German Foreign Service, which is still at the bottom of the list in regards to gender equality in Germany. Wasum-Rainer also talked about the slow change in people’s mentality and the rising awareness of the “female issue”, which is a first step to improve the situation. The German Ambassador ended her talk by citing her own female teachers who had always taught her that “only the sky is the limit”. She encouraged everyone to take action in order to not waste 50 percent of the extraordinary talent of a society.

H.E. Alison Kelly, the Ambassador of Ireland to Israel, agreed with her colleagues on the different barriers each of them had to overcome within the diplomatic service. Kelly shared the story of her having to fight against prejudice and difficulties in order to be appointed ambassador to Egypt. Although some barriers are falling today and are therefore making the diplomatic service more accessible for women, she still sees the current gender and diversity situation as an issue of concern within the Foreign Service.

The panel was closed by H.E. Thessalia Salina Shambos, the Ambassador of Cyprus to Israel. Shambos spoke about her personal experience of never having faced the issue of discrimination – until the moment she had entered the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Being judged by her appearance instead of her skills was one of the many difficulties she named. Although first changes can be seen today, Shambos stressed that there are still many barriers that have to be surpassed. The Cypriot Ambassador wants to serve as a role model, proving that it is possible to be a mother and wife as well as a successful Ambassador in a critical post such as Israel. She ended by encouraging all the students to believe in themselves and not to let anyone stop them.

After the contributions of the Ambassadors, the panel was opened to questions from the floor. The students were mainly interested in how a feminist foreign policy could look like. All ambassadors agreed on the fact that a feminist foreign policy needs to include the issue of gender on an international level as well as a strong emphasis on the education of women. This would also mean the inclusion of women in UN peacekeeping missions and a united global fight against violence that many women all over the world are confronted with every day. Another point of interest was the significance of government regulations in the process of female empowerment. The ambassadors agreed on the idea that laws can help to make people scrutinize and to solidify implementation mechanisms to offer equal opportunities for men and women.

It is important to mention that H.E. Gilles Beschoor Plug, the Ambassador of the Netherlands, Ms. Alejandra del Rio, the Deputy Head of Mission to the Embassy of Spain, H.E. Magnus Hellgren, the Ambassador of Sweden, H.E. Barbara Susnik, the Ambassador of Slovenia and Ms. Chrystelle Lucas, the Head of Operations Section of the Delegation of the European Union to Israel, equally joined the event and panel discussion, highlighting once again that gender equality is important to men and women alike.

The panel discussion was followed by a more intimate round table session, in which the students had the opportunity to talk in smaller groups with each Ambassador directly. The students’ questions focused on how to become an Ambassador, the profession itself as well as on the relations between the Ambassadors’ home country and Israel.

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