The face of the nation : gendered institutions in international affairs / Elise Stephenson.

New York, NY : Oxford University Press, [2024]

xiii, 283 pages : illustrations ; 25 cm.

"Foreign services globally are undergoing fundamental and rapid gendered change, spurred on by shifting social and governance norms and even the adoption of an explicit feminist foreign policy in some stages. For some, this has resulted in women's rapidly increasingly representation at the frontlines of global governance. Yet, compounded by COVID-19, a rise in right-wing misogyny and extremism, and sometimes archaically slow-moving institutions, progress is marred by women's continued, entrenched under-representation in leadership and devastating experiences of challenges that have in some cases increased, not decreased, in recent years. Women remain frequently side-lined, marginalised, under-valued, and overlooked in international affairs. In short, international affairs has a gender problem, and remains one of the worst-performing sectors of the state. After studying women's leadership and gender relations across four international affairs agencies spanning diplomacy, defence, national security, policing, and intelligence, this book contributes empirical data from the last 30+ years on women's representation in a leading case context - Australia - to understand the disconnect between pockets of progress and undercurrents of resistance. Australia is a global leader in terms of representation of women and policy supports for gender equality in governance. Yet, Australia also demonstrates how deeply gendered, racialized, and heteronormative international institutions remain. Through in-depth interviews with almost 80 global leaders, including with Australia's first female prime minister, Julia Gillard, and first female foreign minister, Julie Bishop, this book delivers a much-needed Intersectional Feminist Institutionalist approach to trace the evolution of inequalities in international affairs and interrogate why women still remain under-represented in international affairs"-- Provided by publisher.

Online version: Stephenson, Elise. Face of the nation New York : Oxford University Press, 2024

English

March 22, 2024

Studies in feminist institutionalism.

Includes bibliographical references and index.