Volume XXXII – Number 1
Carol Weil
Abstract: This article examines the role of women in international policy-making. Women’s participation in high-ranking government offices has always been relatively low with a few exceptions such as former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright. Several aspects of women’s participation in international affairs merit attention. For example, women’s participation in the United Nations and peacekeeping operations shows efforts used to keep them in low-level position. In 1993, 30 percent of the Secretariat staff was women while 70 percent of women who participated in peacekeeping operations were in clerical grades. A similar dynamic can be seen in the Department of State, Agency of International Development, and the Office of the Secretary of Defense. Although the female employment rate for most of these agencies was over 50 %, most of those jobs are of low ranks. For example, in 1997, in the Foreign Service only 17.1 % of Senior Foreign Service Generalist positions were held by women. Barriers that hinder women from advancing include stereotyping and recruitment and placement policies.
Keyword: Policy-making, Madeleine Albright, Foreign Service, Agency of International Development, United Nations, Peacekeeping.
