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Meeting of Women Members of Parliament and Ambassadors in the Czech Republic, hosted by the British Embassy Prague 21 October 2010
"Agents of Change"
First of all, thank you to the British Ambassador for the invitation to this joint meeting of Czech Women Ministers, Parliamentarians, Ambassadors to the Czech Republic. Forum 50% and all other valued guests.
Not very long ago, this meeting could have been held in a broom closet.
But the career world for women has changed dramatically. We have been recognized as a national resource and confronted by the privilege of choice.
And once experienced, few are likely to relinquish this option for a return to the conditions of no choice which still characterizes the lives of large numbers of women in many parts of the world.
Czech women Deputies have increased impressively in number. Congratulations. You may not yet have reached the Forum 50% target. On the other hand you may soon exceed it -I don't think there is any stopping Czech women now -following on the trail blazed by Madeleine Albright -who, incidentally, is also known for saying something that we all understand very well: that "guilt" is every woman's middle name.
What is it that makes some of us politicians and others diplomats but enables our two different worlds to interact so seamlessly as they to here in Prague today?
Initially, I imagine a real sense of adventure turns girls and women to the foreign service, while it is usually a wish to change society that makes women become politicians.
Both seem to be equally motivated by the desire to serve their countries, albeit from different vantage points: Politicians are on the inside looking out and diplomats are on the outside looking in!
From my own experience I don't believe you can have the ideal temperament for both. I loved the immediacy of politics, of decision making, where you know what is going to be in the papers before they are printed, as opposed to reading the news after it has happened.
For the job of diplomat it seems you must have be prepared for the long haul and preferably remain out of the limelight!
Of course, what you need for both, is a good memory and language skills: for politicians who talk a lot and for diplomats who need a lot of languages, even for quiet diplomacy!
At her leadership school in America, Madeleine Albright told a next generation of female leaders earlier this year: "Women’s issues are not soft issues. They are basic to the functioning of international society. But the system is not in our favour."
That does not mean that we are victims. Most certainly we are not victims.
In fact, what we are, diplomats and politicians alike, first and foremost, over and above all, are agents of change.
Both women diplomats and politicians have this in common. It is what enables us to do our different jobs and fulfill those ideals which brought us here in the first place.
Let's celebrate this wonderful confluence.
Thank you
