The Swedish MFA: Ready to Live Up to Expectations?

Abstract

This chapter maps to what extent women are represented at different units and levels of the Swedish MFA and how this has changed over time. The data is based on yearly publications of MFA employees 1971–2014. The results show that women dominate the MFA workforce since the beginning of the 21th century, but that they are underrepresented at leading positions. Social norms, formal rules, discrimination, the closed recruitment system, and an overrepresentation of women carrying out administrative tasks and “soft” functions are examples of factors that may slow down women’s career advancement. But there are also forces working in the opposite direction; female employees, the political leadership, and interest groups push for change. Today, 42 percent of the MFA managers are women