Does Australia have a feminist foreign policy?

In July 2019 the Lowy Institute released Foreign territory: Women in international relations. The report found a severe gender imbalance within the departments and organisations in Australia that are responsible for conducting Australia’s international relations. It subsequently identified issues with the ‘pipeline’ of women via recruitment, as well as the ‘ladder’ of promotion once women were in these institutions. The report concluded with several concrete recommendations for improving the recruitment and retention of women in these workforces.

This report has provided much needed quantitative assessment of gender imbalances in the apparatuses that undertake Australian foreign policy. However, its scope did not include an assessment of the nature of Australian foreign policy itself, nor the impacts this may have on the structures and workforces needed to implement the policy. The majority of countries have ‘gender-blind’ foreign policy. Such policies fail to take into account gendered discrimination, inequalities and violence, and lack of inclusion of women and other marginalised groups. The limited success of such policies has seen the emergence of feminist forms of foreign policy, described by Swedish Foreign Minister Margot Wallstrom as “standing against the systematic and global subordination of women.”

In order to meet the growing call for ethical and inclusive policy, Australia needs to reflect on its own foreign policy. Foreign Policy under Australia’s first female Prime Minister, Julia Gillard, was not explicitly focused on gender equality. However, her administration received praise for supporting inclusion and equality “at the very highest political level.” Australia’s first female foreign minister, Julie Bishop, eschewed the label of feminist, but spoke about making gender equality central to global peace and security. Many states that speak of their own feminist foreign policy are not actually implementing one. In reality, effective, inclusive, and enduring feminist foreign policy requires substantial resources and the reflective process of overturning male-dominated power structures.

WIIS-Australia convened a workshop on September 12th at the University of Queensland, St Lucia, to assess whether or not Australia has a feminist foreign policy and, if not, what are some steps that can be taken to remedy this?

The outcomes of the workshop can be found at https://www.lowyinstitute.org/the-interpreter/australia-needs-feminist-foreign-policy