Feminist foreign policy has been progressively implemented by different governments in Europe and the world, including Sweden, France, Mexico and Canada. But what are the outcomes and benefits of feminist foreign policy?

This panel will address a number of questions about feminist foreign policy, including its implementation in different contexts, the challenges associated with its adoption and the value it may create if implemented strategically.

Some of the questions this panel will address are:

• What is a Feminist Foreign Policy and what does it looks like in practice?
• Is Feminist Foreign Policy a means to an end, or means in and of itself?
• Does Feminist Foreign Policy simply offer a different perspective or is it a more complicated mechanism that requires us to rethink the very nature of institutions and how they operate?
• How can Feminist Foreign Policy redefine the ways in which we perceive and understand peace, security, international development or sustainability, values associated with Feminist Foreign Policy, and the ways in which we define policy solutions to address those issues?

Meet the speakers and chair

Sofia Calltorp (@SofiaCalltorp) is the Ambassador for Gender Equality and Co-ordinator of the Feminist Foreign Policy, Swedish Ministry for Foreign Affairs.

Judith Macgregor (@JudithMacgregor) was British High Commissioner to South Africa from September 2013 until March 2017, when she retired from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office after some 40 years in the Diplomatic Service. She is an Independent Non-Executive Director of the UK/Mexican mining company, Fresnillo plc and Vice Chair of the Council of Southampton University. In 2018 she joined the Arts and Humanities Research Council, as well as becoming a trustee of the University of Cape Town Charitable Trust. In February 2020 she was appointed Chair of the Strategic Advisory Group to the Global Challenges Research Fund and in March 2020 she became a Trustee of the Caradon Lecture trust. Beyond her Board activity, Dame Judith is a member of the Advisory Council for Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford, and an Honorary Bencher of the Middle Temple. In 2018 she became a Deputy Lieutenant for Hampshire.

Maryam Monsef (@MaryamMonsef) is the Founder and CEO of ONWARD. She is a globally recognised feminist, leader, and changemaker. This Afghan-Canadian activist comes from a long line of strong and resilient women. Against all odds, she escaped war and survived poverty and displacement. She rose from refugee, to community organizer, to cabinet minister where she drove social and economic justice files for the Government of Canada at home and abroad. Maryam has led public policy files at the highest levels. In 2018 and 2019, she was recognized, along with Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Michelle Obama and Malala, as one of the top 20 global influencers on gender equality. Maryam has spent thousands of hours delivering powerful speeches, and giving media appearances, from Davos, G7, G20 and the UN, to hot seat political shows, classrooms and workplaces. She is a member of the National Speakers Bureau.

Nina Bernarding (@NinaBernarding) is the Co-Director of the Centre for Feminist Foreign Policy, having joined the Centre briefly after its establishment in Germany. Nina is a peace support professional, with experience in dialogue and mediation support processes, including designing and supporting Track 1 and Track 1,5 dialogue processes, as well as natural resource management. Nina has a deep regional expertise in the Horn of Africa with a strong track record of strategic and collaborative initiatives involving a wide range of national and international political actors, including the African Union, the Intergovernmental Authority on Development, the United Nations and the German Federal Foreign Office.

Karen E Smith is Professor of International Relations and Head of Department, Department of International Relations, LSE.

More information about the event

This event is hosted by LSE IDEAS

Event hashtags: #LSEWID

LSE IDEAS (@lseideas) is LSE's foreign policy think tank. Through sustained engagement with policymakers and opinion-formers, IDEAS provides a forum that informs policy debate and connects academic research with the practice of diplomacy and strategy.