Becoming an ambassador is the peak of the diplomatic career, but even at those rarefied heights, gender inequalities persist, despite the equality policies put in place by several EU countries.

An EDJNet investigation led by Civio analysed the level of female representation in the diplomatic sphere among across the European Union, discussing what are the possible reasons behind this glass ceiling.

Main findings:

• In 2024, females averaged only around 30% of all EU ambassadors in 2024. Finland was the only EU country with more female (39) ambassadors than male ones (34).
• The majority of EU countries started appointing female ambassadors only relatively recently. While in some cases this was the result of a traditional understanding of diplomacy as a male-reserved domain, in some others there were also explicit bans on women entering the diplomatic service.
• Both at the global and EU level, the proportion of female diplomats has increased, but the absolute percentages remain remarkably low.
• Today, women are still dealing with many social pressures that have been preventing them from accessing high-rank positions in the past. In many cases, female diplomats are not getting the support they would need to take on international postings.

Stories

The data unit

EDJNet members which took part in this investigation:

Media uptakes

From EDJNet members:

• Civio (Spain), Only three out of ten ambassadors from European Union countries are women, 04/12/2025