Women of the World: The Rise of the Female Diplomat (2014) is about the personal and professional struggles of women to work as foreign diplomats for the government of their country, against the challenges of expectations of women at work, war, and super-power rivalry over the past 150 years.
This book is written in four parts spanning from 1878 to the present day: (1) Unofficial Envoys, (2) The Battle for the Foreign Office, (3) Lady Diplomatists at War, and (4) Equal Colleagues?
Until1946, no British woman could officially represent her nation abroad. It was only after decades of women campaigning for these government positions and careers that the doors were finally opened.
Researching letters, memoirs, personal interviews and government records, McCarthy follows the historical changes of the female diplomat – initially travelling with their diplomat husbands before being given a posting of their own.
Researching letters, memoirs, personal interviews and government records, McCarthy follows the historical changes of the female diplomat – initially travelling with their diplomat husbands before being given a posting of their own.
The first female ambassador was not appointed until 1976, the first married woman in 1987. Currently roughly 20% of British ambassadors are female. Is it still seen as a man’s domain? At the time of writing, McCarthy concludes: "Still, there has never been a female chief sitting in Washington, Paris, Tokyo, Beijing or Delhi, or at the British delegations to the United Nations in New York or the EU in Brussels, all grade-one missions deemed of the highest strategic importance to Britain's foreign policy interests. Nor has a woman ever held the highest post of all: permanent secretary and head of the Diplomatic Service."
One great line is: ‘diplomats are like buses (you spend a lifetime waiting for one and then three come along at once)’ – although McCarthy was referring to both males and females.
The book focuses on the life of diplomats' wives to a large extent, before eventually focusing on female diplomats themselves, and there is a heavy focus on British women. However, the book is well-researched, well-written, and interesting, highlighting the long diplomatic road at the highest echelons of government public service.
MARTINA NICOLLSis an international aid and development consultant, and the authorof:- Similar But Different in the Animal Kingdom(2017), The Shortness of Life: A Mongolian Lament (2015), Liberia’s Deadest Ends (2012), Bardot’s Comet (2011), Kashmir on a Knife-Edge (2010) and The Sudan Curse (2009).
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