Talking Data: Representation Of Indonesian Women As Ambassadors Is Less Than 6%

The representation and involvement of women in the field of foreign policy and diplomatic activities is still very limited. So far, foreign affairs are still synonymous with male-dominated and masculine-inspired affairs.

This is in line with the findings of several  global studies which show that the number of women in strategic positions such as Ambassadors (Ambassadors) is only in the range of 15% -20%.

Globally, there are 42 women who are currently serving as Minister of Foreign Affairs (Menlu) in a number of countries. On the Asian continent, only 17 countries have had or currently have a female foreign minister. Specifically in Southeast Asia, only the Philippines, Timor Leste, Myanmar and Indonesia have experienced having a female foreign minister.

Retno LP Marsudi, a career diplomat, became the first female Foreign Minister in the country. He has headed Indonesia's diplomatic corps for the past eight years.

Retno's leadership – as a woman – in a strategic position in the field of foreign policy certainly shows progress on women's representation as part of a gender mainstreaming strategy.

But what about the representation of Indonesian women as ambassadors, and what does this mean for gender mainstreaming?

Representation Of Indonesian Women Ambassadors

To be able to answer the questions above, the teaching and student team from the Center for Business and Diplomatic Studies ( CBDS ), Bina Nusantara University (BINUS), compiled a database for the Indonesian Ambassador.

The data, which was&feature=share"> launched on 15 December 2022 and can be accessed at www.DataDubes.com , presents more than 1,200 current and former Indonesian Ambassadors from 1947 to 2022, complete with their biographical data such as gender, country of placement, professional background, year of inauguration. , as well as the president who appointed them.

The data we have compiled shows that the more here, the more women become ambassadors ( Table 1 ).

If during President Soekarno's era the percentage of women as ambassadors was 1.14% or only two out of a total of 175 ambassadors, during the reign of President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo, this figure jumped to 13.46% or 21 out of a total of 156 ambassadors.

Table 1. Pattern of Assignment of Ambassadors by the President (1947-2022)

However, even though the pattern has increased, the average representation of women as ambassadors as a whole in the last 75 years has only been 5.28% or 65 women out of 1,230 assignments.

In addition, the distribution of female ambassador assignments was also uneven. It can be seen from Figure 1 that Indonesian women have never been assigned to lead diplomatic missions in big powers such as the United States (US), Japan, Germany, China and Britain.

The highest percentage of representation for Indonesian women ambassadors was recorded in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Panama and Ecuador. In these countries, one in three ambassadors is a woman or a representation rate of 33.33%. Next were Denmark and Finland (30.77% each), Norway (27.27%), Croatia, Czechia, Romania, Slovakia and Ukraine (25% each), Switzerland (21.05%), and New Zealand and Peru with 20% each.

From this representation pattern, it can be seen that female ambassadors tend to be placed at Indonesian Embassies (KBRI) in countries that have the following characteristics: (1) diplomatic missions have recently opened, (2) are in Scandinavian territory, or (3) have been hit by war.

This trend shows that there are certain expectations for the role and approach of female diplomats in leading representative offices in countries with the above characteristics.

For example, because Scandinavian countries – such as Norway and Sweden – have a policy paradigm that supports gender equality, appointing female diplomats will be in line with the local country's policy orientation, so it is expected that bilateral relations between the two countries will be warmer and more effective.

The low level of representation of Indonesian female diplomats, both in terms of the number and distribution of assignments, shows the still weak commitment to gender mainstreaming in government institutions, including the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Kemlu).

Gender mainstreaming in the working environment of diplomats

After the New Order era, Indonesia entered the Reformation period in which one form of political reform was increasing women's representation at various levels and agencies, one of which was through a gender mainstreaming strategy.

Gender mainstreaming is a strategy for the development and development of institutions, organizations and policies whose implementation is based on the principles of gender equality and equity.

Foreign Minister Retno has paid special attention to the importance of a gender perspective in the formulation and implementation of Indonesia's foreign policy. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has enacted Minister of Foreign Affairs Regulation (Permenlu) No. 21 of 2020 concerning Guidelines for Gender Mainstreaming in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as a guide for the agency in its efforts to create a professional and conducive work environment.

The gender mainstreaming policy within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs does not only regulate planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation, but also funding in integrating the experiences, aspirations and needs of men and women.

This policy was then implemented in representative offices of the Indonesian government, especially the Indonesian Embassy, ​​and in the organizational structure, including in terms of commitment to equal human resource empowerment.

The implementation of gender mainstreaming policies in general has been a national commitment since 2000, but implementation in each ministry and government agency varies. Generally, this commitment to implementing gender mainstreaming is realized through the establishment of special units within internal institutions that formulate and implement related policies, for example the establishment of a Gender Mainstreaming Working Group at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

However, in Indonesia, policies of this kind still tend to use an " integrative approach ", that is, when an institution has included a gender equality agenda in its policy, but has not yet been oriented towards changes in structure and more balanced power relations. This type of approach has succeeded in formally introducing gender mainstreaming into an institution's policies, but has been less effective in its implementation.

Going forward, gender mainstreaming needs to use more of an agenda-setting approach or approach in setting the agenda. This approach does not only stop at improving existing formal policies, but also transforming the root causes of problems that are structural in nature to achieve gender balance.

The gender mainstreaming agenda within diplomats – in this case the Ministry of Foreign Affairs – needs to be more than just increasing the representation of women in ambassadorial positions and other diplomatic leaders, but also must be transformative and consistent in disseminating the importance of awareness of gender equality widely at various levels.

Socialization and awareness of a gender perspective in diplomacy is important because diplomatic activities are not gender neutral . In the diplomatic tradition, there are still norms, rules and practices that are gender biased.

The fact that female diplomats are often placed at Indonesian Embassies in certain countries cannot be separated from masculine and hierarchical norms that have been rooted and institutionalized. That is why, when women occupy strategic positions such as Foreign Ministers and Ambassadors, they have broken conventional gender norms in the diplomatic environment.

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Optimism for the future

The question now is whether the number of female and male ambassadors will be equal or balanced in the future?

Considering that half of the diplomats the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has received in recent years are women, some are optimistic that the answer is "yes".

However, some other parties remain pessimistic, because the position of ambassador, which is very political, coupled with a strong patriarchal culture, will be a challenge for more substantive representation of women.

Amidst this pessimism, we still need to appreciate progress in the commitment and strategy of gender mainstreaming in Indonesia's foreign policy. This can be seen not only in the gradual increase in the number of women's representation in strategic positions, but also in Indonesia's increasing activeness and initiative on the agenda of advancing women's rights and gender equality on the global stage.

Ella S. Prihatini is a Senior Lecturer in International Relations, Binus University, Athiqah Nur Alami is a Researcher, National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN), published the article first with The Conversation.