Women in the FCO

So, Simon raised the issue of women in the FCO, particularly the lack of women in senior management. An excellent point, and definitely, for me at least, a bit worrying. Its hard when you are starting out your career as a keen (!) new entrant to think about which direction your career might go when you are a little short on role models. It even worried me when I was applying - how will working in a male dominated environment feel? Will I really have all the opportunities that a man starting out in my position will have? Will the office inherently be structured in a way that fits male working styles and approaches better? Is there even really such a thing as male working styles and approaches!?

Anyway, I suppose it does all still worry me a little. Particularly when I joined with an intake vastly dominated by men! (I have since found out that this is a genuine anomaly in the intakes of recent years, and of course encouraging proof that positive discrimination hasn't taken hold).

But, since I've joined, I have seen more than just rhetoric about changing the office, and more women than I imagined moving fast up the ladder. Inevitably a shift in the demographics of the office won't happen overnight. The important thing for me is that I feel that there is nothing that I cant achieve in the office on my own merit, and being a woman in the FCO is in no way a hindrance.

There is obviously still some way to go, as in many industries, in making the organisation more family-friendly, but that is in no way an issue limited to women (something the organisation is slowly realising).

One thing I can say with certainty - senior management in the office will look very different in ten years time.

Posted at 09:52 26 January 2008 by Sarah Russell  |  Comments[8]