The Face of the Nation : Gendered Institutions in International Affairs

The Face of the Nation studies women''s leadership and gender relations across some of the worst performing and most male-dominated spheres of state--international affairs. Exploring the stories from almost 80 global women leaders, as well as institutional histories and policies across diplomacy, defense, national security, policing, and intelligence, this book seeks to understand why women remain under-represented on the global stage, despite many changing social and policy norms. Using Australia as a leading case study, the book extends theories on gender and international institutions to understand the gendered, racialized, and heteronormative structures that continue to limit and impact on diverse women''s leadership and participation internationally.

Foreign services globally are undergoing fundamental and rapid gendered change, spurred on by shifting social and governance norms and even the adoption of an explicit feminist foreign policy in some stages. For some, this has resulted in women''s rapidly increasing representation at the frontlines of global governance. Yet, compounded by COVID-19, a rise in right-wing misogyny and extremism, and sometimes archaically slow-moving institutions, progress is marred by women''s continued, entrenched under-representation in leadership and devastating challenges that have increased in recent years. Women remain frequently side-lined, marginalized, under-valued, and overlooked in international affairs. In short, international affairs has a gender problem, and remains one of the worst-performing sectors of the state. After studying women''s leadership and gender relations across four international affairs agencies spanning diplomacy, defense, national security, policing, and intelligence, The Face of the Nation contributes empirical data from the last 30+ years on women''s representation in a leading case context--Australia--to understand the disconnect between pockets of progress and undercurrents of resistance. Australia is a global leader in terms of representation of women and policy supports for gender equality in governance. Yet, Australia also demonstrates how deeply gendered, racialized, and heteronormative international institutions remain. Through in-depth interviews with almost 80 global leaders, including with Australia''s first female prime minister, Julia Gillard, and first female foreign minister, Julie Bishop, this book delivers a much-needed Intersectional Feminist Institutionalist approach to trace the evolution of inequalities in international affairs and interrogate why women still remain under-represented in international affairs.