Nepal’s all-women leadership in Beijing signals a new era in diplomacy

A generation ago, women in Nepal’s foreign service could be counted on one hand. Today, at one of Nepal’s most strategic diplomatic outposts, the Embassy of Nepal in Beijing, women form the heart of the mission and make up nearly the entire core team. This is the first time in Nepal’s diplomatic history that any Nepali embassy—anywhere in the world—has been led and staffed almost entirely by women at the professional diplomatic level. The shift is not an orchestrated reform but a quiet revolution, reflecting how far Nepal’s diplomatic landscape has evolved.

For many years, public discussions on women in diplomacy have centered exclusively on the number of women appointed as ambassadors. While that metric is often highlighted, it does not capture the full picture of how diplomacy truly functions.

Ambassadors, many of whom may be political appointees, represent only one part of a mission’s leadership. The daily mechanics of diplomacy depend on career officers who negotiate agreements, manage political and economic relations, and keep institutions running. Progress, therefore, should be measured not only by symbolic ambassadorial appointments but by women’s rise into the professional ranks where decisions are shaped.

As the current Foreign Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Amrit Bahadur Rai notes, diplomats are “the pillars who support, advise and sometimes even guide the ambassador,” and recognizing their work is essential to understanding how modern diplomacy succeeds.

These are precisely the positions where representation matters and where Nepal’s women are increasingly reshaping the system from within. More women have been joining the Ministry of Foreign Affairs each year, and nowhere is this more visible than in Beijing. Today, almost every diplomatically appointed official at the embassy is a woman, with the sole exception of the military attaché, Colonel Jayendra KC and attache Raj Kumar Sah who joined the embassy less than a week ago. Beyond the career officers, women are the ones who keep one of Nepal’s busiest missions operating day to day, handling everything from political work and economic diplomacy to consular services and cultural outreach.

With the ambassadorial post currently vacant, Deputy Chief of Mission Roshan Khanal has been leading the embassy’s operations and high-level coordination with Chinese officials. Working alongside her is a team in which women hold nearly all key diplomatic portfolios: Minister (Economic) Prabati Aryal, counsellor for political, media, and cultural affairs Sabita Nakarmi, Second Secretary for consular and visa services Sanju Maharjan, and Third Secretary for accounts and administration Sumitra Bhandari.

The fact that an overwhelmingly women-led team now runs the Beijing mission is a landmark in Nepal’s diplomatic history. Beijing is not an ordinary foreign posting: it is one of Nepal’s most sensitive diplomatic fronts, given China’s role as a major investor, trade partner, infrastructure provider, and one of Nepal’s only two immediate neighbors. Decisions made in Beijing reverberate across Nepal’s security and foreign policy landscape. Women leading such a critical mission, therefore, is far more than a bureaucratic coincidence, it is a powerful signal of change.

For Khanal, who spent much of her career as the only woman diplomat in the room, the contrast still feels striking. “For years it felt normal to be the lone woman,” she says. “But now, walking into an embassy where everyone is a woman feels a little unusual.” Not because it is strange, she clarifies, but because it marks a historic break from what used to be typical in Nepal’s diplomatic service.

Yet this transformation was not the result of a deliberate strategy. Nepal’s foreign service did not set out to make Beijing a model for gender inclusion. The all-women leadership emerged through gradual institutional evolution: gender quotas opening doors, more women entering public service, and a ministry increasingly willing to promote talent on merit. “The composition of the Embassy evolved naturally, “says Foreign Secretary Rai. “Each officer earned her posting through merit, professionalism, and capability. Even in the case of Aryal, who is not a career diplomat but a senior officer at the Ministry of Finance appointed as the Embassy’s Economic Counsellor, her gender was incidental; the decision was based entirely on her professional merit. Only after the team came together did we realize how extraordinary this outcome was," he said. He believes their leadership is not just symbolic but strategic evidence that women are fully capable of shaping Nepal’s foreign policy.

For many in the broader diplomatic community in Beijing, this change has been impossible to ignore. At various events, diplomatic counterparts from other embassies often pause in surprise: “Oh wow, all your embassy staff are women?” Their reactions underline a sense of genuine transformation and makes it evident that gender equality in Nepal’s foreign service is no longer just a theoretical ideal, it is also increasingly visible in practice.

According to the MoFA, today, Nepal has 148 career diplomats posted abroad, of whom 40 are women. Across headquarters and missions, there are 76 women officers. Women hold 28 senior positions—joint secretaries, undersecretaries, deputy chiefs of mission, and counsellors—and five serve as ambassadors. 

These milestones, however, were not achieved in a vacuum. When Khanal joined the Foreign Ministry in 2010, women’s recruitment into the foreign service was so rare it made national headlines. The media treated it as a breakthrough because 14 women had entered the service that year, an extraordinary number that signaled a generational shift in a field long dominated by men.

But the barriers were real. “Some ministry buildings didn’t even have female-friendly infrastructure,” she recalls. Women were often overlooked, and biases were common. “Some heads of mission would even call the ministry requesting that female officers not be posted to their embassy,” citing claims that women “took more leave for family reasons” or were “less capable.” These stereotypes shaped postings and limited opportunities for many years.

Women were often limited to nearby postings like New Delhi so they could remain close to family responsibilities. The hesitation came not only from institutions; many families also felt anxious about daughters, wives, or sisters being posted far away. Thus, long-distance postings were often only for male diplomats.

Despite these challenges, Khanal rose to lead one of Nepal’s most significant missions. She emphasizes the importance of support systems. “I was fortunate to have a husband and family who encouraged me and never made me feel my ambitions were secondary,” she says. “Support at home and within the ministry is essential for women to thrive.”

Still, bias sometimes follows her even now. At diplomatic events where she is accompanied by her husband, people often assume that he is the diplomat, and she is accompanying him. “It happens often,” she says. “It’s a small matter, but it speaks volumes about the assumptions women still face. This shows how even at the highest levels, women have to assert our authority and presence while ensuring the work gets done.

Economic officer Aryal echoes similar experiences. With 16 years in Nepal’s civil service, including a posting in the UAE, where she was assigned under a government provision requiring at least one woman in each mission, she has seen the pressures women face. “The years when women begin to advance in their careers often coincide with expectations around marriage, family, and children. Women have so many responsibilities” For that reason, she stresses that shared domestic and professional responsibilities are vital for women’s long-term success.

The career path for women in diplomacy is often far more challenging than for their male counterparts. Beyond the demanding responsibilities of their professional roles, women frequently shoulder additional expectations at home as mothers, caregivers, and homemakers.

"Balancing these multiple roles is no small feat, and yet, many women in this field continue to perform their duties with extraordinary professionalism and grace. Their resilience and dedication are truly remarkable," says Foreign Secretary Rai. “I am constantly inspired by how they navigate these obstacles, often under circumstances that many might find overwhelming, and still manage to excel in their work. The strength and unwavering commitment that women diplomats demonstrate are not only praiseworthy but also a testament to their extraordinary capability and spirit."

Fortunately, the landscape has shifted. Stronger constitutional guarantees for inclusion and better representation across public service have accelerated the influx of women into diplomacy. The Government of Nepal’s Gender Equality and Social Inclusion (GESI) Strategy 2021–2023 outlines a roadmap for building more representative, responsive governance systems. It calls for measurable increases in women’s leadership, acknowledges deep-rooted cultural and institutional barriers and lays out mechanisms to overcome them from gender-responsive budgeting to inclusion benchmarks and leadership development programs.

These reforms are moving Nepal from “women participating” to “women shaping” policy and diplomacy. In this evolving environment, the all-women mission in Beijing emerges not as an exception but as a powerful illustration of what becomes possible when institutions prioritize inclusion.

When Khanal and Aryal began their careers more than a decade ago, women made up just 9% of the civil service; today, the figure stands at around 29%. They have witnessed how women in leadership from office managers to Chief District Officers, can reshape workplaces and improve outcomes.

Foreign Secretary Rai agrees that quotas opened the door, but women have been exceptional based on their merits even beyond quotas. “Women are increasingly proving themselves highly competitive on merit alone,” he says. The 2015 Constitution played a decisive role by mandating gender inclusion across public institutions, including a requirement that women make up at least one-third of parliament and that all state bodies ensure proportional representation. This constitutional shift reshaped recruitment and promotion pathways, including within MoFA, where more women began entering and excelling through competitive exams.

According to the MoFA, today, Nepal has 148 career diplomats posted abroad, of whom 40 are women. Across headquarters and missions, there are 76 women officers. Women hold 28 senior positions—joint secretaries, undersecretaries, deputy chiefs of mission, and counsellors—and five serve as ambassadors. A decade ago, these numbers were significantly lower.

Bindeshwori Shah, the first woman to join Nepal’s foreign service in 1959, laid the groundwork for what is now a rapidly evolving and increasingly inclusive system. When Shah joined, even small things such as posting arrangements, accommodation, and office assignments were designed without women in mind. Shah’s legacy was carried forward by a small but determined group of women who followed in subsequent decades. Ambika Manandhar Luintel became the second career woman diplomat to reach the ambassadorial level, serving in France. She was followed by former Foreign Secretary Sewa Lamsal—now Nepal’s ambassador to Belgium—and by Rita Dhital, who is currently the ambassador of Nepal in Pakistan. Together, they are part of a very small cohort: only four women from the Ministry’s career service have ever been appointed ambassadors.

Alongside them, Nepal has seen roughly a dozen women appointed as ambassadors through political channels. These include figures such as Australia’s Ambassador Chitralekha Yadav from Nepali Congress and former minister Shiva Maya Tumbahamphe and Denmark’s Ambassador Sumnima Tuladhar from CPN (UML). Their presence reflects both meaningful progress and the continued reliance on political nominations to bring women into top diplomatic positions.

The appointment of Lamsal as Nepal’s first female Foreign Secretary in the ministry’s seven‑decade history in 2023 had also marked another historic milestone. Her appointment, alongside the rise of diplomats like Khanal and Aryal in senior roles shows that Nepal’s diplomatic service is no longer just opening doors for women but also trusting them with true leadership.

Globally, diplomacy is changing too. Women now constitute around 40% of diplomatic staff worldwide and about 25% of ambassadors. The numbers look small, but this should still be taken as a meaningful progress, considering that senior diplomatic posts were overwhelmingly male just one decade ago. Countries such as Sweden, Canada, Mexico, and Rwanda have adopted feminist foreign policies aimed at expanding women’s influence in global decision-making.

With merit-based recruitment and sustained institutional support, more women are poised to step into leadership, not just in diplomacy, but across Nepal’s public service. 

This shift is also backed by studies and evidence. Research by UN Women and the Council on Foreign Relations shows that peace agreements with women’s participation are 35% more likely to last at least 15 years. Harvard’s Program on Negotiation finds that women tend to use more collaborative, less adversarial negotiation styles—leading to breakthroughs when talks stall. Studies from the Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security show that women negotiators broaden peace agendas to include community needs, reconciliation, and long-term stability—issues often overlooked in male-dominated negotiations. Taken together, these researches show that women don’t just add diversity to diplomacy they also enhance outcomes.

Beyond geopolitics, researches also show how gender-diverse leadership teams outperform on problem-solving, communication, and overall team effectiveness. These studies suggest that women’s presence contributes to healthier and more collaborative environments—a finding echoed by many embassies worldwide. Consular research by the IOM and the Migration Policy Institute further shows that missions with more women officers provide more empathetic, nuanced, and culturally sensitive support, especially for vulnerable migrant workers. For Nepali embassies, which serve a large number of diasporas, this dimension is especially important.

Foreign Secretary Rai observes similar trends in Nepal: “There is substantial evidence that women bring valuable perspectives to diplomacy and negotiation. Their presence has contributed to more empathetic, and balanced engagements. This is still evolving, but the direction is positive.”

Yet both Khanal and Aryal emphasize that diplomacy is ultimately collective. “If the team works well, the mission succeeds,” they said. With years of experience in this field, they believe that mixed-gender teams work best because men and women bring different experiences and perspectives. “True inclusivity is not defined by women outnumbering men, but by achieving genuine balance. A balanced team is always a better team,” they said.

For them, the goal is not an all-female embassy, but an institution where men and women work alongside one another with equal opportunity and equal recognition. For now, however, the prominence of women in Beijing stands as an important and encouraging step—an example of what becomes possible when institutions finally open their doors and women are trusted with responsibility at every level.

Change often comes slowly and then suddenly. Today, the changes in Nepal’s foreign service are evident in Beijing. What we’re seeing there is more than just a rare and historic occurrence. Gender inclusion is no longer just a concept on paper; it’s becoming part of Nepal’s identity in diplomacy.

Just recently, Nepal marked a historic milestone by appointing former Chief Justice Sushila Karki as its first female Prime Minister. These breakthroughs, like the all-women leadership in Beijing, are not isolated events but part of a gradual widening of Nepal’s institutional imagination. Progress has been incremental and at times uneven, yet its momentum is undeniable. Together, these developments signal a future in which women are not only present in the country’s corridors of power but are increasingly shaping the direction of Nepal at every level.

“The future is bright for women in our diplomatic service. Our goal is to make sure women are not only present at the table but are leading it—helping shape Nepal’s future on the global stage,” says Foreign Secretary Rai. “What’s happening in Beijing is just the beginning. An all-women team leading one of our most important missions is a milestone. It’s a powerful sign of progress, and I hope it inspires more women to take on leadership roles across our ministry and beyond.”

Looking ahead, the hope is that Beijing becomes not an exception but a model. With merit-based recruitment and sustained institutional support, more women are poised to step into leadership, not just in diplomacy, but across Nepal’s public service.

(Ms Baral holds a Bachelor’s degree from the University of International Business and Economics in Beijing)