Database "Women diplomats in newly Independent States in the Former USSR (1991-2022)": structure and analysis possibilities

The article is devoted to the possibilities of a prosopographic database for studying the problems of gender representation of women in senior diplomatic positions. The authors characterize the structure of the database "Women diplomats in newly independent States in the former USSR (1991-2022)" and analyze the information contained therein. The analysis of the database data is aimed at identifying a number of significant characteristics of the social portrait of women diplomats of post-Soviet states (quantitative indicators in relation to various time periods and states, the ratio between career and non-professional diplomats, the distribution of ambassadors by host countries, the average age of appointment to the post of ambassador and other temporary indicators of professional career, the availability of professional education and the degree of proficiency in foreign languages). The problem-oriented approach to database design provided a flexible presentation of relevant information from sources diverse in structure and content and an effective analysis of the main characteristics of the social portrait of female diplomats (on the one hand, as a gender-homogeneous professional group, and on the other hand, as a nationally heterogeneous aggregate). Conclusions are formulated about the features of the social portrait of women diplomats of post-Soviet states based on the dynamics of the number, professional education, indicators of labor activity in senior diplomatic positions. The article identifies three groups of States with different models of gender representation in the diplomatic service.

diplomacy, female diplomats, post-Soviet states, prosopography, social portrait, collective biography, database, gender, facet classification, career diplomats