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Belgium's Foreign Minister Sophie Wilmès and her Spanish counterpart Arancha González in an interview with EU Foreign Affairs Representative Josep Borrell (in February 2021): "One of the most obvious forms of discrimination is the lack of women in foreign policy positions"
Photo:
YVES HERMAN / REUTERS
German foreign policy is male: only 18 percent of German ambassadors abroad are women, and there has never been a female foreign minister in the history of the Federal Republic of Germany.
In the military, just twelve percent of the workforce is female.
In the European Union, Germany is in the middle of the field of member states.
Hannah Neumann, member of the Green Party in the European Parliament, wants to change that.
It has collected data for the EU and the G20 countries: its SHEcurity index shows how long it will take to achieve equality in foreign policy.
To person
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Hannah Neumann
Photo: Lennart Kleinschmidt
Hannah Neumann, born in 1984, has been a member of the European Parliament for the Greens since the 2019 European elections.
She deals with peace processes in crisis regions and represents her group in the Committee on Foreign Affairs.
SPIEGEL:
UN Resolution 1325 was passed a good 20 years ago.
Since then, women are to be more involved in peace processes and foreign policy.
How is the EU doing, how is Germany doing?
Neumann:
Unfortunately, the EU and Germany still pursue a policy that does not consistently take female perspectives into account.
Often it is said: Let's solve the problem first, then we can take care of the women.
A big part of the problem is that we don't care about women, they don't have a say from the start.
Conflicts can be proven to be better and faster resolved with women at the negotiating table.
SPIEGEL:
That is easy to say.
Can you give an example?
Neumann:
With a feminist foreign policy, more money would be spent on educational institutions than on weapons.
The good solutions, however, are usually more detailed: Our trade agreements in Africa, for example, help large agricultural corporations earn a lot of money.
Above all women try to earn money through smallholder agriculture.
This is how we cement old role models.
"Germany didn't do as much for women as I would have expected."
SPIEGEL:
Germany is ruled by a woman.
Did the country not use the EU presidency in the second half of 2020 to address these things?
Neumann:
Germany did not stand up for women as strongly as I would have expected on the 20th anniversary of UN resolution 1325 and the 25th anniversary of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action.
Some guidelines are blocked again and again by the federal government, and Germany is also cautious about Poland and Hungary.
SPIEGEL:
What do you mean by that?
Neumann:
The Polish and Hungarian governments are pursuing a coordinated strategy to remove any mention of the term »gender« from European politics.
No area is left out: wage payments, digital policy, biological diversity, culture or foreign policy.
In a council meeting, all heads of state and government only had to discuss it for more than three hours.
And in the end a compromise was found with a reference to an eight year old document.
I would have liked Germany to have a clearer edge here, especially during the Council Presidency.
Because Poland and Hungary are never concerned with the matter, only with enforcing their nationalistic and misogynous ideology.
At the latest, the tightened abortion laws in Poland and the announcement to withdraw from the Istanbul Convention should have made those responsible in other capitals sit up and take notice that we are really experiencing a violent roll-back here.
What is the # SHEcurity Index?
On the 20th anniversary of UN resolution 1325, MEP Hannah Neumann compiled the figures for the EU and G-20 states on the representation of women in foreign and security policy.
The areas of politics, economy, diplomacy, military, police, civil and military missions were recorded.
The figures are intended to reflect a development in the representation of women in important foreign policy decision-making positions.
The complete data of the # SHEcurity-Index is available here.
SPIEGEL:
You have been collecting figures on the representation of women in foreign policy positions for over half a year, thus creating what is known as the # SHEcurity Index.
What's this?
Neumann:
I was allowed to prepare a report for the European Parliament on equality in foreign and security policy in the EU.
The problem was that there were hardly any numbers.
That is why we wrote to embassies and foreign ministries of the EU and G20 countries for months to find out how the representation of women in security and foreign policy has changed since the adoption of UN resolution 1325.
SPIEGEL:
And what did the result?
Neumann:
In some areas, such as diplomacy, these figures are usually not collected at all.
We had to search for a long time in others.
SPIEGEL:
Were there any results?
Neumann:
Hungary, for example, has the highest proportion of women in the military at just under 20 percent.
This is probably due to the fact that in many communist countries it used to be much more common for women to work in all areas.
However, this observation does not refer to management positions: there is only a small proportion of women in parliament and among the heads of the embassy.
Incidentally, Hungary was not ready to provide us with figures because they supposedly do not collect figures on the representation of women.
We then researched the numbers differently.
SPIEGEL:
In your report you are calling for a feminist foreign policy for the EU.
What is that supposed to be?
Neumann:
The aim of feminist foreign policy is to recognize, name and dismantle structures of discrimination.
One of the most obvious forms of discrimination is the lack of women in foreign policy positions, which then affects what decisions are made and where money goes.
Often times not where it combats discrimination against women and minorities.
SPIEGEL:
What do MPs from member states like Hungary think of feminist foreign policy?
Neumann:
There are progressive MPs in Hungary too.
Overall, I was surprised at how well the report was received - and that we could even smuggle the term »feminist foreign policy« into it.
It was really a success.
After all, member states like Poland or Hungary are already blocking every decision in the EU if the word gender appears anywhere.
SPIEGEL:
What resources does the EU have to implement your demands?
Neumann:
Following my report, the Commission decided on the third gender action plan (GAP3), i.e. a plan with which the Member States jointly set specific goals for promoting equality in foreign and security policy.
24 out of 27 countries have approved the plan.
Of course, it must also be checked whether the member states and the Commission keep what they promise.
I also see that as my job.
The numbers of the # SHEcurity-Index can be a means of pressure: Now the states have to give an annual account of what they have achieved.
more on the subject
20 years of UN resolution 1325: Bitter anniversary by Milena Hassenkamp
Women in foreign policy: let's not call it feminismBy Milena Hassenkamp
Expert on feminist foreign policy: "We have had a male quota for centuries" An interview by Milena Hassenkamp and Valerie Höhne
SPIEGEL:
So far, the EU's options for sanctions seem to be limited.
Should the EU have worked harder on Poland when the country tightened its abortion law?
Neumann:
We are currently in Article 7 proceedings with Poland.
SPIEGEL:
That means that the Council of the European Union is examining whether Poland has violated the rule of law.
But it is not very promising.
Neumann:
Nonetheless, it is important to carry out targeted infringement proceedings against Poland or Hungary on women's issues.
Regardless of the outcome.
Just so that the people in the country who take to the streets against the abortion ban know that they have support and backing from the EU.
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