ABSTRACT
Historical accounts from various countries globally have proven that women were exempt from officially participating in diplomatic activities until the early 1990’s. In Ghana, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration has helped implement Ghana’s foreign policy over the years. Although Ghanaian women have participated in decision making, management and development, not enough women in Ghana have played significant roles in politics and public service. Using the qualitative research method, this study looked at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and found out how women have had the opportunity to serve there, their numbers in the past and their current representation, as well as the challenges and opportunities they face. Findings from the study indicate that women’s representation at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional integration has improved over the years. Although there seem to be more women than men in the Ministry, more men occupy top positions than women. There was a general consensus that the only opportunity available to women that was not equally available to men was paid maternity leave. Opportunities available to women include recruitment and promotions, as these are based on merit from entrance examinations and interviews. Some of the challenges identified included appointments being more favourable to men, work life balance and sexual harassment particularly of women. Additionally, cultural factors hinder women’s advancement due to difficulties for the husbands of female officers to follow them on postings abroad, which has resulted in several cases of infidelity and divorce. A key finding was that, there was no real consensus as to whether or not the Ministry had any policies concerning sexual harassment. Recommendations include making the working environment within the Ministry more sensitive to the family, work life balance, enhancing inclusiveness of males in family life by increasing paternity leave, developing and implementing a sexual harassment policy and committee to address issues pertaining to sexual harassment. Furthermore, data should be made available for further research in the area.
CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION
Background to the Study
Since the earliest forms of society, human beings have engaged in diplomacy, and as long as human beings have engaged in diplomacy, then that diplomacy has been shaped by assumptions about gender (Crowe and Hamilton, 2018). Eleanor Roosevelt and countless others have observed that international politics is a man’s world. It is a world inhabited by Diplomats, Soldiers, and International Civil Servants most of whom are men (Tickner, 1992). Historically, women were deemed incapable of understanding what was going on in the international system and were hence excluded from participating in it (Tickner, 1992).
In Britain, a country that formerly colonized Ghana, for instance, the situation was such that a law had to be passed to help allow women into the Foreign service. This law was known as the Sex Disqualification (Removal) Act, and it was passed in 1919. For the first time, the Act introduced the possibility of admitting women to the administrative grade of the Diplomatic and Consular Services on to the horizon for the first time. This hope however, was short-lived. The Act stated, “a person shall not be disqualified by sex or marriage from the exercise of any public function, or from being appointed to or holding any civil or judicial office or post”. This was only qualified by provisions “giving power to reserve to men any branch of or posts in the Civil Service in any of His Majesty’s possessions overseas, or in any foreign country”. Regulations made in 1921 specifically restricted to men, all posts in the Diplomatic and Consular Services, and certain other posts overseas. Essentially, what this means is that, although on paper, women were considered free to join the administrative grade of the Diplomatic and Consular Services, it was not that simple because certain branches and posts, especially overseas, were still reserved for men (Crowe and Hamilton, 2018).
Aside the need for a law to be passed, a committee also had to be formed to deliberate on the pros and cons of admitting women into the foreign service. This committee, which was named the Schuster Committee in Britain, was formed to hear the evidence of 40 witnesses, on ten occasions. It produced a report in 1934 which summarised the arguments for and against the admission of women into the Diplomatic Service. Those in favour of women being allowed to join the foreign service declared that the objections to the employment of women were based “in part on prejudice, and in part on fear of the unknown”, and that the difficulties peculiar to the Service would not be insuperable (Crowe and Hamilton,2018). Arguments against the inclusion of women in the foreign service included the view that, there were many countries so different from Britain. This would make it extremely difficult for a woman to make the necessary contacts which form a large part of the work of diplomacy.
The argument against the inclusion of women was void because in reality, Britain was actually behind some countries at the time in allowing women into the diplomatic service. Women were admitted as diplomats around the world beginning in 1920 with Bulgaria. The United States followed in 1922, Chile and Netherlands in 1927. By 1933, thirteen (13) countries, including Latin and Eastern states such as Nicaragua and Turkey had admitted women to their Diplomatic and Consular Services. Norway admitted women in 1939 and Australia in 1943. France did this in 1945, the United Kingdom in 1946, Canada and Austria in 1947. Brazil appointed women as diplomats in 1954 and Japan in 1958. (Crowe and Hamilton, 2018).
In spite of all these developments across the globe, England, was still debating whether or not to allow women into the foreign service. Those in support of women being allowed to join the foreign service had declared that women were particularly fitted to contribute to the general work of a mission abroad in connection with social and philanthropic duties and the observance of women’s movements. Those in opposition to this believed that the work being proposed for
women to apply for was now adequately performed by wives and daughters of members of the Service without any cost to the State. This was reiterated by the British Minister in Berne, who noted that women already played a significant role in diplomacy as diplomatic wives, with the advantage that “you have two diplomats in your service for more or less the price of one” (Crowe and Hamilton,2018).
This means that the British government was hesitant to officially employ women in diplomatic capacities because they did not see the need to pay women for their contribution to the diplomatic service when they could get it for free by maintaining them as the wives of diplomats (Crowe and Hamilton,2018). In Britain, the story of women in diplomacy before 1939 was one of exclusion, whereas the years after 1945 may best be described by the phrase “cautious inclusion”. The official admission of women to the Diplomatic Service in 1946 closed the debate about women’s official eligibility for diplomatic work, yet questions of pragmatism and traditionalism persisted. The issues facing women in the twenty-first-century Foreign Office, namely recruitment, promotion, maternity care, joint postings and so on, have their roots in debates dating back to the Second World War (Crowe and Hamilton,2018).
Looking at the history of diplomacy, especially from the British perspective, it is evident that women have only recently been formally embraced into the diplomacy. It may be argued that women have always been part of diplomatic practices, as the wives of diplomats, yet in most cases, it was an informal position and the wives themselves did not receive any remuneration. Their contributions affected their husband’s ratings and in some cases, if their contributions as hosts of diplomatic functions were deemed satisfactory, it got their husbands a raise. Notwithstanding their relevance to the diplomatic community as wives, women’s prominence had constant portrayal as “effeminating” – weakening – state power in the concert of nations. They were what Gerda Lerner also called a standing wife. Their power, freedom, and position
“depended on their attachment to elite men.” A wife proved the masculinity of a diplomat and was a symbol of “civilisation”. “Diplomacy, therefore, re-enforced a gendered division of labour where domesticity was the essential aspect of female behaviour” (Farias, 2017).
In Ghana, women constitute more than half of the population (51.2%). Without their participation in the public discourse or decision making process, it would be difficult for Ghana to achieve sustainable development. Unfortunately, their participation at all levels of decision making is very low. This can be attributed to patriarchy or male dominance which is a key aspect of the Ghanaian social system. The woman’s role and status are recognizably inferior to those of the man in almost all aspects of social, political and economic life. Custom, law and even religion have been used to rationalize and perpetuate these differential roles to the extent that women themselves seem to have accepted and internalized them (Asuako, 2017).
The road to officially admitting females in diplomatic services all over the world has been a long and arduous one. Many obstacles stood in the way of women officially becoming diplomats in the past (Asuako, 2017). Looking at this history and the current change in narrative, the fact that women have been transformed from being outsiders to official representatives in the foreign service, makes it important to look at how this history has shaped women’s experiences in the foreign service, especially from the Ghanaian perspective (Asuako, 2017). Although women are included in diplomatic relations today, they are still very much at the periphery of political, economic and social decisions and rely most often on decisions made by others regarding their lives. Despite past and present efforts made the Government and civil society organizations, women’s participation in political leadership in Ghana is comparably low to other African Countries (Asuako, 2017).
Therefore, the study seeks to look at the representation of women in Ghana’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and to identify whether women’s participation, especially in leadership roles
has improved. It will also look at what opportunities are available to female diplomats presently, and whether the afore mentioned challenges facing women in the twenty-first- century Foreign Office apply to Ghanaian females working at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Statement of the Research Problem
In Women in Diplomacy: How is the Problem of Absence of Women in Diplomacy Framed by the UN? Moez Dharsani and Alexandra Ericsson (2013) assert that including women as active participants in diplomacy, results in increased efficiency and improved outcomes for foreign policy. Women’s active participation in diplomacy adds a level of complementariness in the sense that, women and men may generally approach issues differently (Dharsani and Ericsson, 2013). This allows creativity and diversity in arriving at the best possible solutions to problems. Capitalizing on the strengths of both genders ensures that the best possible outcome is achieved. Presently, men generally outnumber women, especially at the decision- making levels. This makes diplomacy one-sided and results in a gender imbalance. Men’s perspectives dominate on issues, and this results in men having to make critical decisions for women without women’s voices being heard in the decision-making process (Dharsani and Ericsson, 2013).
Ghana’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration (MFARI) is a professional environment that has historically been male dominated and can be characterised in some ways as an “old boy’s” network. This was due to the fact that males were the dominant figures at the Ministry. The MFARI has helped implement Ghana’s foreign policy over the years. For some time, although Ghanaian women have participated in decision making, management and development, their numbers have been few in politics and the public service. Not enough women in Ghana have played significant roles in politics and public service. This research is interested in finding out how women have had the opportunity to serve in the Ministry of
Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, their numbers in the past, and their current representation, as well as the opportunities and challenges they face.
Research Questions
- What is the gender-balanced representation at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration?
- What challenges and opportunities do women face at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration?
- Are women in Ghana’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration represented in leadership roles and positions?
Objectives of the Study
- To examine the gender-balanced representation at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration.
- To identify some of the challenges and opportunities facing women in Ghana’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration.
- To examine whether women in Ghana’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration are represented in leadership roles and positions.
Scope of the study
The scope of this study is specifically set at Ghana’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration to determine the opportunities and challenges women have within the institution. The time period 2000-2019 has been chosen because it is looking at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration since the start of the 21st century.
