Gendering Diplomatic Careers. Distance and Time in International Assignment Practices Among 600 French Diplomats

Romain Lecler and Yann Goltrant

Gender, Work and Organization, 2025, vol. 32, issue 5, 1944-1965

Abstract: Over the past few decades, diplomatic organizations have recruited increasing numbers of women as career diplomats. However, research in the fields of both expatriation and diplomacy emphasizes that transnational careers have been historically monopolized by men, that most “trailing spouses” are still women, and that men's transnational careers still take precedence in dual‐career couples. Our study uses the “gender turn” in diplomatic studies to better understand how gender disparities continue to structure diplomatic careers, even as more women take on primary roles in expatriation. We focus on international assignment practices that we redefine as “gendered diplomatic practices”. We present an original random sample of 300 male and 300 female French diplomats employed in 2015. We show that men cover 1.5 times more distance than women throughout their careers, and that they travel 1.3 times further for each international assignment. We also show that men spend 14 years abroad on average, 3 years more than women. In addition, women spend 1 year longer in each assignment to avoid frequent relocation. These gendered disparities hold for diplomats who access managerial positions. They underscore the necessity for ongoing research and efforts to address sex disparities in transnational careers and measure the gendering of diplomatic practices.

Date: 2025
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