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Ahead of Tuesday’s International Day of Women in Diplomacy, let us look at the status of women in politics and diplomacy. According to the 2024 Women in Diplomacy Index, only 21 percent of ambassadors and permanent representatives to the UN are women, a slight increase from 20.5 percent in 2023. Progress, yes, but at a very slow pace.

Similarly, the Global Gender Gap Report 2025 released this month showed that gender parity in political empowerment increased slightly from 22.5 percent in 2024 to 22.9 percent. Gender parity in political empowerment remains far behind the three other dimensions measured by the index, which found economic participation is at 61 percent, educational attainment at 95.1 percent and health at 96.2 percent among 148 countries. However, across the 19 editions of the index, political empowerment has seen the most improvement, from 14.3 percent in 2006, but at the current pace it will take 162 years to fully close the gap.

Globally, women remain significantly underrepresented in the political sphere, including legislative bodies, where they represent fewer than a third of parliamentary speakers. A 2025 report by the Inter-Parliamentary Union revealed that women held an average of 27.2 percent of parliamentary seats. Women are also underrepresented in Cabinet portfolios. In addition, there is the “implementation gap,” whereby gender equality laws are not backed by the infrastructure needed to enforce them. Adopting high legal standards alone is not enough, there has to be robust implementation mechanisms to translate policy into outcomes.

Looking at the Middle East and North Africa region in particular, it ranks last among the eight regions in the Global Gender Gap Index. Although it ranks fifth globally in educational attainment and sixth in health, women’s economic participation is a great challenge for the region at 42.4 percent, while it also continues to trail in political empowerment, with the lowest global score of 10.5 percent. But its regional average has more than tripled since 2006. In terms of ambassadorial roles, the region again ranks last, falling well below the world average at 10 percent, according to the Women in Diplomacy Index. It also ranks last in terms of women in parliament, with an average of 16.7 percent, putting it below the global average.

�������� ranked 132nd in the 2025 Global Gender Gap Index and seventh in the MENA region, but it is among the fastest-moving countries in terms of the speed of its progress, especially in economic participation and political empowerment. In educational attainment and health, it is very close to gender parity.

Saudi women have been working at the Foreign Ministry since the early 2000s and in international and regional organizations since the 1970s, reaching leadership positions. The first female ambassador, Princess Reema bint Bandar, was appointed in 2019 and the Kingdom now has five female ambassadors. There has been a steady increase in the number of women in leadership positions in politics during the past few years, including in the Shoura Council and in ministries with roles in international relations.

In ��������, there has been a steady increase in the number of women in leadership positions in politics during the past few years. 

Maha Akeel

Research indicates several obstacles to women’s presence and advancement in politics and diplomacy, especially as they are areas that require travel or relocation, which can be a challenge for women, who are considered to be primary caregivers. In addition to balancing family life and career, they also have to deal with being in the public eye and the sexism and harassment that can come with that, from both inside and outside of foreign ministries.

It is also one of those gendered stereotypical perceptions that such roles are generally done by men. Research suggests that foreign ministries should ensure a fair recruitment process, provide mentorship and coaching, and introduce policies that reduce the challenges of being posted abroad.

According to the Arab Barometer Gender Report 2024, women across the region have suffered a setback in terms of views on gender equality in politics in recent years. In six of the seven countries surveyed, there was an increase in how many people agreed with the statement: “In general, men are better at political leadership than women.” This increase brings the level back to that observed a decade ago. Interestingly, this increase in perception that men are better at politics is found among both men and women. However, in every country, women are far more likely to disagree than men.

On the other hand, a majority of citizens surveyed by the Arab Barometer think there should be Cabinet positions and parliamentary seats reserved for women. Moreover, most citizens also think that having women in positions of political power advances women’s rights, which is why it is important to have female representation. A majority of the citizens surveyed believed that having female political leaders advances women’s rights to a great or medium extent, although there is still a significant gap between men and women.

Support for women’s role in politics is more prevalent among citizens who are engaged in politics through political parties, which indicates greater confidence in women’s abilities and willingness to promote women’s participation in the political arena. The survey also found that citizens who have working female relatives are less likely to agree that men are better political leaders, which again indicates that women being in the workforce increases the positive perception of their abilities and political leadership skills.

With everything going on in the world today, from wars to humanitarian suffering, would having greater female representation in political decision-making circles make a difference? Research shows that diversity of opinion and female involvement in conflict resolution and foreign policy do have a positive impact.

• Maha Akeel is a Saudi expert in communications, social development and international relations. She is a member of the UN’s Senior Women Talent Pipeline. X: @MahaAkeel1