Inspired by Beyonce's hit song Who Run The World (Girls), a non-profit based in Canberra is supporting future leaders in a sincere bid to bridge the gender gap in Australian diplomacy.
Close to 50 young women will take over the general delegation of Palestine to Australia and rub shoulders with diplomats at the start of Girls Run The World's latest program.
Many of them have never spoken to an ambassador before and are not experienced in diplomacy.
Past participant Zoe Crowston, who picked the Swedish ambassador's brain over lunch one day, said the program helped her "demystify" the diplomatic landscape.
Co-chair Riya Menon, who is leading the initiative in its seventh year, said access was a big challenge. Not knowing what these influential spaces look or feel like was a hurdle for young women aspiring to be leaders.
"Our vision for this event is to create an open and approachable environment where where participants can freely interact with diplomats," she said.
Ms Menon recalled the most important thing she learnt when she first began running Girls Run The World programs - realising her power. She realised she had what it took to command a leadership position and ask for meetings with ambassadors, things that can initially seem daunting.
"Meeting senior diplomats and actually realising that we could be in the same room, have discussions and that my opinion would be valued ... that's something we do for our participants as well," Ms Menon said.
In 2021, female heads of Australian diplomatic missions made up 39 per cent of diplomatic leaders, the Lowy Institute reported. The same report said First Nations women, women of colour and LGBTQIA+ people were the least represented as diplomats.
Such an absence in influential spaces reflects a big gap in Australian diplomacy, Ms Menon said. It's an acknowledged problem that had led numerous embassies and high commissions in Canberra to open their doors to organisations like Girls Run The World.
"We're still a long way away from properly achieving adequate numbers of women and gender-diverse people in the diplomatic community," Ms Menon said. She said the initiative also welcomed trans and non-binary people aged 18 to 25.
"Not only is it a matter of representation, but it's also a matter of them realising that they can, and they should, be a part of the diplomatic community," she said.
She added that ensuring exposure to diplomacy's "old boys' club" was all about building confidence and a sense of belonging, that participants are capable of occupying such spaces.
"[Participants] learn to accept power ... and then feel like [they] can exercise it," Ms Menon said. "We are fortunate to have so many [female ambassadors] in the Canberra diplomatic community, until you can see them and interact with them. You don't realise that you could one day be them."
This year, participants have a chance to visit 29 different diplomatic missions in Canberra.
