On 20 June 2022, the United Nations (UN) General Assembly adopted resolution 76/269, declaring June 24 of each year the International Day of Women in Diplomacy.
The UN resolution recognizes the contributions that women make to diplomacy; it notes their global underrepresentation in this field and invites member states and other stakeholders to observe the day in a manner they consider appropriate, including through education and activities that raise public awareness, to promote the “full and equal participation of women at all levels of diplomacy.”
Brief History of Canadian Women Diplomats
Although women have worked at Global Affairs Canada (GAC) since it first opened its doors in 1909 as the Department of External Affairs, they were initially ineligible to work as foreign service officers, and they mostly served as secretaries or clerks. The first woman to represent Canada abroad was Agnes McCloskey, who began working for the department in 1909 as a typist, then rose through the ranks over the years before being appointed consul at the Canadian consulate general in New York in 1943.
The Second World War was a transformative period for the Department of External Affairs. Among other changes, the role of women in the department expanded. In 1942–1943, 12 women joined the department to perform the tasks of junior foreign service officers. However, as women were still ineligible for foreign service employment, they were classified as clerks, receiving only 60% of the salary they otherwise would have been paid.
In 1947, during a second wave of expansion, the department opened a competition to both women and men for the first time. Consequently, six women became foreign service officers, five of whom had previously served as wartime clerks.
Elizabeth MacCallum was one of these women. She was an expert on the Middle East who first joined the department in 1942 as a clerk and later became a foreign service officer. In 1954, she became the first Canadian woman head of mission when she was appointed Chargée d’affaires of the Canadian Legation in Beirut.
Margaret Meagher, another wartime recruit, also joined the department in 1942 as a clerk. In 1945, she was posted as third secretary to the Canadian Embassy in Mexico, making her the first accredited Canadian woman diplomat to be posted abroad, although her pay and status in Ottawa remained those of a clerk. Meagher accepted a series of successively senior postings before becoming Canada’s first woman ambassador when she was appointed Ambassador to Israel in 1958.
Despite the successes of these trailblazing women, women diplomats still encountered many barriers. For example, until 1971, women foreign service officers had to resign their positions upon marriage. Restrictions on married women working elsewhere in the federal public service were lifted in 1955.
Women Diplomats in Canada and the World
Today, gender parity appears to have been reached among Canadian foreign service officers. According to a 2023 brief by the Professional Association of Foreign Service Officers submitted to the Standing Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Trade as part of the committee’s study on the Canadian foreign service, 53% of Canadian foreign service officers are women.
Moreover, GAC data show that, as of 16 August 2022, 47% of Canada’s heads of missions – including ambassadors, high commissioners and consuls general – were women. This stands in stark contrast to 1968 when only 5% of Canadian heads of mission were women, according to the GenDip Dataset on Gender and Diplomatic Representation by the University of Gothenburg in Sweden. Figure 1 below depicts the proportion of Canadian heads of mission in main postings by gender, for selected years.
Figure 1 – Proportion of Canadian Heads of Mission in Main Postings, by Gender
Note: In a main posting, the person is the resident ambassador, who may also have concurrent accreditations (also known as side postings).
Data available are disaggregated by men and women. Data on other genders are unavailable.
Source: Figure prepared by the Library of Parliament using data obtained from Birgitta Niklasson and Ann E. Towns, “The GenDip Dataset on Gender and Diplomatic Representation,” University of Gothenburg, Database, accessed 29 April 2024.
On a global scale, Canada ranks highly by number of women heads of mission. Figure 2 below compares the proportion of women heads of mission in main postings across Group of Seven (G7) member countries, for selected years.
Figure 2 – Proportion of Women Heads of Mission in Main Postings in Group of Seven Countries
Note: In a main posting, the person is the resident ambassador, who may also have concurrent accreditations (also known as side postings).
Data available are disaggregated by men and women. Data on other genders are unavailable. Data for Germany are unavailable before 1998.
Source: Figure prepared by the Library of Parliament using data obtained from Birgitta Niklasson and Ann E. Towns, “The GenDip Dataset on Gender and Diplomatic Representation,” University of Gothenburg, Database, accessed 29 April 2024.
For its part, the Women in Diplomacy Index – a research project at the Anwar Gargash Diplomatic Academy – ranked Canada first among 169 states for its percentage share of women ambassadors and permanent representatives in 2023. The data revealed that 51% of Canada’s ambassadors were women, compared to a global average of 21%. The same index recognized Canada as the country having made the most progress in gender equality for the period from 2018 to 2023, during which time its percentage share of women ambassadors rose from 35.6% to 51%.
Despite the progress that has been made, some stakeholders continue to express concern about gender equality in the foreign service. On 25 January 2023, the Women’s Network at GAC submitted a brief to the Standing Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Trade in which it contended that, although gender parity exists at the early stages of a foreign service career, gender gaps remain in representation abroad. For example, they argued women tend to remain in Ottawa longer than men later in their careers, rather than serving abroad. Reasons advanced to explain this divergence included consideration for spousal or partner employment, children’s educational needs and the need to care for elderly family members.
During the Senate committee study, stakeholders highlighted the experiences of women with intersecting identity factors and noted the importance of having data disaggregated by identity factors to underpin policy development. For example, in her appearance before the committee, Sandra McCardell, then Assistant Deputy Minister and Champion of the Women’s Network at GAC, explained that the Network was encouraging the department to obtain and analyze intersectional data to help it “understand the root of the obstacles and develop policies to encourage the promotion of Black women.”
Parliamentary Diplomacy and Gender Initiatives
Canadian parliamentarians regularly undertake diplomatic activities. For instance, they attend meetings of interparliamentary organizations, participate in bilateral missions and welcome foreign delegations.
Canada’s parliamentary diplomacy is led by the Speaker of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Commons. The Honourable Raymonde Gagné, Speaker of the Senate, is the third woman Speaker in the history of Parliament.
Recently, a Canadian delegation participated in the 147th Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union in which the organization’s Standing Committee on United Nations Affairs adopted a motion regarding gender equality at the UN General Assembly. Among other calls for action, the motion urged all parliaments to review the recruitment process for their national foreign service to ensure that women are encouraged to apply and given the same opportunity for advancement as men.
As well, Canadian parliamentarians conduct certain diplomatic activities that have a particular focus on gender. Some of this work is conducted through forums and groups like the Assemblée parlementaire de la Francophonie’s Réseau des femmes parlementaires, the Commonwealth Women Parliamentarians, the Inter-Parliamentary Union’s Forum of Women Parliamentarians and ParlAmericas’ Parliamentary Network for Gender Equality. Since 2022, parliamentarians have also had the opportunity to discuss gender equality through the Organization for Security and Co‑operation in Europe Parliamentary Assembly’s (OSCE PA’s) informal gender network, which was launched by the Honourable Hedy Fry, P.C., M.P., the OSCE PA’s Special Representative on Gender Issues.
Additional Resources
Annett, Clare and Dominique Montpetit. Women in the Parliament of Canada: 100 Years of Representation. HillNotes, Library of Parliament, 1 December 2021.
Keenleyside, H. L. “Canada’s Department of External Affairs.” International Journal, Vol. 1, No. 3, July 1946, pp. 189–214.
Mychajlyszyn, Natalie. Parliamentary Diplomacy: Canadian Parliamentarians and the World. HillNotes, Library of Parliament, 18 November 2021.
Niklasson, Birgitta and Ann E. Towns. “Diplomatic Gender Patterns and Symbolic Status Signaling: Introducing the GenDip Dataset on Gender and Diplomatic Representation.” International Studies Quarterly, Vol. 67, No. 4, December 2023.
Senate of Canada, Standing Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Trade. More than a Vocation: Canada’s Need for a 21st Century Foreign Service. Twelfth report, December 2023.
By Michel Cristerna, Library of Parliament
Categories: Government, Parliament and politics