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Women of the World: Rise of the Female Diplomat
Throughout the twentieth century and long before, hundreds of determined British women defied the social conventions of their day in order to seek adventure and influence on the world stage. Some became travellers and explorers; others business-owners or buyers; others still devoted their lives to worthy international causes, from anti-slavery and women’s suffrage to the League of Nations and world peace. Yet until 1946, no British woman could officially represent her nation abroad. It was only after decades of campaigning and the heroic labours performed by women during the Second World War that diplomatic careers were finally opened to both sexes.
Women of the World tells this story of personal and professional struggle against the dramatic backdrop of war, super-power rivalry and global transformation over the last century and a half. From London to Washington, Geneva to Tehran, and in the deserts of Arabia, the souks of Damascus and the hospitals of Sarajevo, resolute women undaunted by intransigent officials and hostile foreign governments proved their worth.
Moved by a longing to escape domestic redundancy, to follow in the footsteps of fathers or brothers, to build a more peaceful world, to discover cultures other than their own or simply to serve the nation which denied them full equality, these women were extraordinary individuals fighting prejudice in high places. Drawing on letters, memoirs, personal interviews and government records, these heroines caught up in the larger endeavours of the world’s greatest empire are brought vividly to life to enrich our understanding of Britain’s global history in modern times.
Women of the World tells this story of personal and professional struggle against the dramatic backdrop of war, super-power rivalry and global transformation over the last century and a half. From London to Washington, Geneva to Tehran, and in the deserts of Arabia, the souks of Damascus and the hospitals of Sarajevo, resolute women undaunted by intransigent officials and hostile foreign governments proved their worth.
Moved by a longing to escape domestic redundancy, to follow in the footsteps of fathers or brothers, to build a more peaceful world, to discover cultures other than their own or simply to serve the nation which denied them full equality, these women were extraordinary individuals fighting prejudice in high places. Drawing on letters, memoirs, personal interviews and government records, these heroines caught up in the larger endeavours of the world’s greatest empire are brought vividly to life to enrich our understanding of Britain’s global history in modern times.
416 pages, Hardcover
First published May 22, 2014
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About the author
Helen McCarthy
6 books2 followersLibrarian note:
There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name
University Lecturer in Modern British History - University of Cambridge (UK)
https://www.hist.cam.ac.uk/directory/...
There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name
University Lecturer in Modern British History - University of Cambridge (UK)
https://www.hist.cam.ac.uk/directory/...
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
June 3, 2016
British women have been exploring the world for centuries. Long before the tide of equality rolled over feebly protesting diplomats, women have travelled the world as explorers, adventurers, businesswomen, unofficial diplomats, and yes, wives and mothers. They have, singly and accompanying their husbands, been to the furthest reaches of the globe, through jungle and tundra and desert. Diplomatic wives were expected to uproot themselves and accompany their husbands to posting, filling unofficial 'soft diplomacy' roles that were in many ways just as important as the official roles of their husbands. That they were unpaid and mostly unappreciated goes without saying.
And yet until 1946 no woman was permitted to represent Britain on the world stage. Women were slowly, and grudgingly, allowed into the lower ranks of the Foreign Service after the First World War, as typists and clerks, but the higher diplomatic levels were barred to them. It was arguably only the Second World War, with the unprecedented entry of women into the workforce in general, that began to nudge open those doors hitherto locked to them. Even then women faced an uphill struggle - many mission chiefs actively refused to accept female postings, many women were barred from the language tuition they would need for certain postings, and the marriage bar meant that no married woman would be accepted and any woman wishing to marry was required to resign her position.
This book could have been subtitled 'A Less-Than-Diplomatic History of the Foreign Office's Resistance to Modernity'. If most government departments tend to lag behind the times when dealing with issues of equality and diversity, then for much of its history the Foreign Office has not so much lagged behind but barricaded itself inside a Gentleman's Club, hurling drunken sailors and unruly foreign hosts at the imagined hordes of women beating at its doors.
If I sound frivolous, be assured that this book and the topic are very far from that. It is just bewildering and at times amusing to read about the mental contortions and outright deception many in the Foreign Office went through in its long years of resisting women in any kind of position of authority. 'How could a woman possibly cope with drunken sailors?' is indeed one of the objections raised to female consuls, as though no woman in history has ever had to cope with a drunken man on her doorstep.
It has been a long journey since the days of ambassadresses like Lady Dufferin in India in the nineteenth-century, using her position to create hospitals and schools, whilst also expected to arrange banquets and social events. It took until well in the modern day, all the way to the 1980s and arguably even later, before equality of treatment took hold. The first female ambassador was not appointed until 1976, the first married woman in 1987. Currently roughly 20% of British ambassadors are female. And yet, to finish on a sobering thought, a woman has still yet to hold one of the main diplomatic posts - in America, China, India, Japan, France, the UN, the EU. Only one of the 7 FCO ministers is female. In a recent study by Embassy Magazine, 87% of respondents felt diplomacy was still a man's game, and 75% had experienced prejudice both subtle and overt.
Perhaps in another ten years, McCarthy may need to update this with a new edition. I hope things have changed still more by then.
And yet until 1946 no woman was permitted to represent Britain on the world stage. Women were slowly, and grudgingly, allowed into the lower ranks of the Foreign Service after the First World War, as typists and clerks, but the higher diplomatic levels were barred to them. It was arguably only the Second World War, with the unprecedented entry of women into the workforce in general, that began to nudge open those doors hitherto locked to them. Even then women faced an uphill struggle - many mission chiefs actively refused to accept female postings, many women were barred from the language tuition they would need for certain postings, and the marriage bar meant that no married woman would be accepted and any woman wishing to marry was required to resign her position.
This book could have been subtitled 'A Less-Than-Diplomatic History of the Foreign Office's Resistance to Modernity'. If most government departments tend to lag behind the times when dealing with issues of equality and diversity, then for much of its history the Foreign Office has not so much lagged behind but barricaded itself inside a Gentleman's Club, hurling drunken sailors and unruly foreign hosts at the imagined hordes of women beating at its doors.
If I sound frivolous, be assured that this book and the topic are very far from that. It is just bewildering and at times amusing to read about the mental contortions and outright deception many in the Foreign Office went through in its long years of resisting women in any kind of position of authority. 'How could a woman possibly cope with drunken sailors?' is indeed one of the objections raised to female consuls, as though no woman in history has ever had to cope with a drunken man on her doorstep.
It has been a long journey since the days of ambassadresses like Lady Dufferin in India in the nineteenth-century, using her position to create hospitals and schools, whilst also expected to arrange banquets and social events. It took until well in the modern day, all the way to the 1980s and arguably even later, before equality of treatment took hold. The first female ambassador was not appointed until 1976, the first married woman in 1987. Currently roughly 20% of British ambassadors are female. And yet, to finish on a sobering thought, a woman has still yet to hold one of the main diplomatic posts - in America, China, India, Japan, France, the UN, the EU. Only one of the 7 FCO ministers is female. In a recent study by Embassy Magazine, 87% of respondents felt diplomacy was still a man's game, and 75% had experienced prejudice both subtle and overt.
Perhaps in another ten years, McCarthy may need to update this with a new edition. I hope things have changed still more by then.
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May 3, 2017Author interview
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abandoned
February 27, 2024No rating as I did not read the whole thing. I read the first third, and then the last chapter. Very well-researched and accessibly written, but very focused on the British foreign/diplomatic service. What I did read was interesting though - it gave me some good insights into the culture of my employer (also a foreign service). Also, I was happy to read more about Gertrude Bell, who is endlessly inspiring and fascinating.
February 8, 2026
-It is an interesting read, and if you are interested in, or feel drawn to, the diplomatic life, you will enjoy this book, as it is full of names of great importance connected to the service.
-The book is written more as a narrative than a factual account. It is not heavy on dates but on anecdotes, so sometimes the timeline can become unclear and you might get confused about years and facts.
-A large part of the book focuses on the lives of diplomats’ wives. While this is not the author’s responsibility, it does reflect how the rise and position of female diplomats in the UK have been shaped.
-Unfortunately, the book does not have a “happy ending,” as the progress of female diplomats has been very tortuous and changes have been minimal.
-My favourite lines, which linger long after finishing the book, are:
"Still, there has never been a female chief sitting in Washington, Paris, Tokyo, Beijing or Delhi, or at the British delegations to the United Nations in New York or the EU in Brussels, all grade-one missions deemed of the highest strategic importance to Britain's foreign policy interests. Nor has a woman ever held the highest post of all: permanent secretary and head of the Diplomatic Service."
-The book is written more as a narrative than a factual account. It is not heavy on dates but on anecdotes, so sometimes the timeline can become unclear and you might get confused about years and facts.
-A large part of the book focuses on the lives of diplomats’ wives. While this is not the author’s responsibility, it does reflect how the rise and position of female diplomats in the UK have been shaped.
-Unfortunately, the book does not have a “happy ending,” as the progress of female diplomats has been very tortuous and changes have been minimal.
-My favourite lines, which linger long after finishing the book, are:
"Still, there has never been a female chief sitting in Washington, Paris, Tokyo, Beijing or Delhi, or at the British delegations to the United Nations in New York or the EU in Brussels, all grade-one missions deemed of the highest strategic importance to Britain's foreign policy interests. Nor has a woman ever held the highest post of all: permanent secretary and head of the Diplomatic Service."
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews