Did you know that only 15% of ambassadors in the world are women? And that women represent only 6.7% of Heads of Government and 5.2% of Heads of State? The first South American Foreign Ministers was the Bolivian Maria José Calvimontes, who held the position at the beginning of the 19th century. The country with the highest number of female Foreign Ministers on the continent is Colombia (7), followed by Peru, Suriname, and Ecuador (4). Brazil and Uruguay have not had a female Minister for Foreign Affairs to date.

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The lesson "Female Leadership in the International Agenda", was held on the 26th of October and attended by the Former Ambassador of Brazil in Austria and Russia, Thereza Quintella, and the Commissioned Advisor and Head of the Political Sector of the Brazilian Embassy in Bulgaria, Amena Yassine, with moderation by CEBRI's Director of Institutional Relations and Communication, Carla Duarte, and by the former Ambassador and Founder of CEBRI, Gelson Fonseca Junior.

Currently, women represent more than 40% of those who take the Foreign Ministry's entrance exam but only less than 25% pass. Within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, they face a series of difficulties to rise in the diplomatic career. "Men reserve positions of power for themselves and their network of contacts, and women are placed in marginal and less important positions in administrative tasks," Quintella pointed out.

Check out Amena Yassine's presentation by clicking HERE.

The Exame magazine published a feature about the course. Check it out by clicking HERE.