Women In Diplomacy : How is the Problem of Absence of Women in Diplomacy Framed by the UN?

The following Bachelor’s thesis is analyzing contemporary advocacy for more women in diplomacy by the United Nations (UN), with the help of framing theory. More specifically, it examines, (1) how is the absence of female diplomats represented as a problem? (2) What is represented as the causes of that problem? And finally, (3) what is represented as the solutions to that problem? The thesis examines one UN body: UNITAR, which is the only body that focus on the promotion of women explicitly in diplomacy. This is a single case study with a qualitative approach, and makes use of framing theory, based on social constructivism. Through gathering of outward-focused documents from UNITARs webpage, it has been observed that UNITAR frames the absence of women in diplomacy as an inefficiency problem. The argument is that by promoting more women in foreign policy, there will be greater productivity, enhanced economical growth and less poverty. The main causes of the problem are represented as a mix of societal, individual and organizational barriers. The solution to the problem is represented to be mainly training of individual women to improve skills needed to successfully carry out diplomacy, but also, to a lesser extent, training of organizations to inforce a gender mainstreaming approach. Key Words: Women in diplomacy, framing, United Nations, women in foreign policy, international campaigns