International Day of Women in Diplomacy
Next: June 24, 2027
More women at the table.
The story
Where it comes from
The UN General Assembly proclaimed the International Day of Women in Diplomacy on 20 June 2022, adopting resolution 76/269 by consensus and to a burst of applause. A core group of countries from every region, among them Maldives, Qatar, Lebanon, Kenya, South Africa, Grenada and Latvia, led the initiative. The resolution recognises the important contributions women make to diplomacy while noting that they are still under-represented, and affirms that women's equal part in decision-making is essential to peace, democracy and sustainable development.
How it's celebrated
The UN invites governments, international organisations, universities, civil society and associations of women diplomats to mark the day in whatever way suits them, especially through education and raising public awareness. Foreign ministries use it to speak up for gender balance at every level of diplomacy. A simple way to join in is to learn about a pioneering woman diplomat from your own country.
Did you know
- In 1953 India's Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit became the first woman elected President of the UN General Assembly.
- Between 1992 and 2019, women made up 13% of negotiators and 6% of mediators in peace processes around the world.
- When the day was proclaimed in 2022, only 21.7% of the ambassadors heading countries' missions at UN Headquarters were women.
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