An exciting initiative empowering and inspiring young women to pursue leadership in diplomacy

Our vision for women in diplomacy

In the long-term, our vision is two-fold: we want to see more women in senior roles in the diplomatic community and more opportunities for young women to engage meaningfully with the diplomatic community.

Read the Australian Youth Statement to CSW70

Young people are underrepresented and structurally locked out of decision-making, despite being on the front line of intersecting crises. The Persephone Network has surveyed young people across Australia and created this Statement to advocate for their voices at the United Nations.

This year’s CSW focuses on gender equality and justice demands that governments and institutions share power with the people who will inherit the consequences of today’s decisions.

Young people’s priorities included:

safety and freedom from gender-based violence, including technology-facilitated abuse
bodily autonomy and sexual and reproductive health rights
economic and housing security
climate and environmental justice

We are not asking to simply be consulted. We are demanding co-governance: real decision-making roles, clear accountability, and follow-through.

Read the CSW70 Youth Statement

Learn more about CSW

Read our latest publication

Girls Run the World and the Australian National University’s Strategic and Defence Studies Centre are proud to present the first edition of Voices of the Future. This publication was authored by alumni of the Women in Strategic Policy program, discussing the importance of building a social license for AUKUS and providing tangible recommendations of how to do so. We encourage policymakers to engage with their work, consider their recommendations, and take active steps to integrate young Australians into the national security conversation - not just as the leaders of tomorrow, but as contributors today.

Read it here

2022 Participant

“This experience did a wonderful job at breaking down the boundaries which normally exist and tend to make a career in diplomacy look so unachievable, especially to young female students.”