Diversity and Women’s Representation in Small States’ Diplomacy: A Case Study of Lithuania

Abstract

Since 1991 women have broken many political ‘glass ceilings’ in Lithuania by getting elected to the presidency, the prime ministership and several ‘power’ ministries. The number of women diplomats has also steadily increased, reaching solid representation in the Lithuanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (LMFA). However, women are still markedly underrepresented at the ambassadorial level and the LMFA’s upper ranks. Using historical and feminist institutionalisms this article first examines the LMFA’s gendered origins. Then, drawing on a newly collected ambassadorial dataset and empirical analysis, it presents the most comprehensive socio-demographic profiling of Lithuanian ambassadors to reveal the extent of diversity and women’s representation in Lithuania’s foreign service. Through empirical mapping and application of a gender in diplomacy theoretical approach, it identifies where women (and men) are located in the country’s diplomacy and compare — for confirmation or refutation — observed patterns in Lithuania’s ambassadorial appointments against those discerned globally.