9th October, 2026
From the diplomatic corridors to
the healthcare system, Ambassador of Switzerland to India
and Bhutan Maya Tissafi highlights the persistent gender
gap, the economic costs of women’s ill health, and the
need to defend sexual and reproductive rights.
In her
thirty years of experience in diplomacy, peace building and
development, Maya Tissafi has witnessed a significant
transformation in the representation of women in the
diplomatic service. Yet, she says, the journey towards
genuine gender equality remains unfinished.
Globally,
women occupy only around 21% of ambassadorial positions
despite constituting half of the world’s population. For
the Swiss Ambassador, while this figure reflects a
deep-rooted institutional problem, it also needs to be
viewed against the progress that has been
made.
“When I started my career, women were still a
clear minority in diplomatic leadership,” she says. Today,
women constitute 40.3% of Switzerland’s diplomatic corps,
an increase of about 10% since 2013. Women also account for
almost 36% of Swiss ambassadors serving abroad –
significantly higher than the global figure of
21%.”
The Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs
(FDFA), she points out, has set itself an even more
ambitious target of achieving 45–55% representation of
both women and men at all hierarchical levels by
2028.
“So, I would not describe the situation simply
as a story of a persistent gap. It is also a story of
significant progress. The challenge is to make that progress
sustainable – and to ensure that the next generation of
women diplomats does not have to overcome the same barriers
that previous generations faced,” she said.
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Ambassador
Maya Tissafi gave an exclusive interview with CNS ahead of
SHE & Rights session on gender equality and human right
to health.
Diplomacy’s gender gap reflects deeper
structural barriers
For Tissafi, the
under-representation of women in diplomacy cannot be
separated from the way diplomatic institutions have
historically been structured.
“Diplomacy is no
exception to institutions that were historically shaped by
and for men,” she says.
She rightly points out that
foreign-service careers frequently demand mobility, repeated
postings abroad and long periods away from home. Such
requirements can be particularly difficult to reconcile with
caregiving responsibilities, which continue to fall
disproportionately on women. Alongside these structural
challenges informal professional networks, stereotypes about
leadership and the lack of visible female role models
compound the problem.
But representation can itself
become a catalyst for change. Once women occupy positions
where decisions are made – not merely attending meetings but
leading negotiations and heading missions – the assumptions
surrounding leadership begin to shift.
“Once women are
present in the room – not simply as participants, but as
ambassadors, negotiators and decision-makers – perceptions
change as well.”
Women’s health is also an economic
and development issue
The same inequalities that
block women’s access to power can also block something
even more fundamental – their access to
health.
Tissafi’s perspective on gender equality
extends beyond diplomacy. Her career has included work on
health-sector reforms in Tanzania, while her academic
training includes a Master of Public Health. All this has
shaped her understanding of the persistent inequalities
women face in accessing healthcare.
“My background in
public health has taught me that health outcomes are never
simply biological. They are shaped by social conditions,
economic opportunities and political decisions,” she
says.
Women’s health has historically been
under-researched and underfunded, while medical research has
frequently relied predominantly on male bodies. This has
implications for the diagnosis and treatment of conditions
that affect women differently. At the same time, millions of
women continue to lack adequate access to maternal, sexual
and reproductive healthcare.
But, Tissafi believes
that the discussion needs to go beyond healthcare itself and
examine the economic dimension of women’s ill health that
receives less attention.
Poor health can interrupt
girls’ education, limit women’s participation in employment,
reduce earnings and increase unpaid care responsibilities.
At household level, this can deepen poverty; at the national
level it means economies are failing to make full use of
women’s potential.
“Investing in women’s
health,” she says, “is not only a matter of human rights
and health equity. It is also an investment in human
capital, economic participation and sustainable
growth.”
This requires a fundamental shift in how
women’s health is viewed.
“We need to stop thinking
of women’s health as a specialised or secondary issue. It is
a core issue of health, equality, human rights and economic
development.”
This framing places women’s health
firmly within the broader development agenda. Healthier
women are better positioned to study, work and earn, while
also contributing to their families, communities and
economies.
Switzerland too is facing a pushback on
gender equality
Switzerland’s reputation for strong
institutions and a long-standing commitment to human rights
does not place it outside the wider global debates around
gender equality.
Tissafi acknowledges that
“Switzerland is not immune to the broader pushback against
gender equality and women’s rights that we are seeing
internationally.”
It is experiencing increasingly
polarised debates, including those over reproductive rights,
gender-based violence and women’s role in
society.
Such developments, she says, need to be taken
seriously.
At the same time, she points to
Switzerland’s institutional framework, civil society and
longstanding commitment to human rights and gender equality
as important safeguards. Women’s rights and gender equality
are embedded in Switzerland’s constitutional and legal
framework and form an integral part of its human rights
diplomacy.
The Swiss Federal Department of Foreign
Affairs has identified five strategic priorities in its
gender equality work: strengthening women’s economic
empowerment and political participation; combating
gender-based violence; promoting sexual and reproductive
health and rights; and placing gender equality at the centre
of bilateral and multilateral engagement.
Recently, at
the UN intergovernmental Commission on Status of Women
(CSW70), Switzerland emphasised on: effective and equal
access to justice for women and girls; strengthening the
rule of law and accountability (including for international
crimes); combating gender-based violence (including
conflict-related sexual violence); equal participation of
women in decision-making; protection of civic space; and
specific needs of older women and of women in
detention.
Switzerland’s work on the Women, Peace and
Security agenda is one example. It seeks to strengthen
women’s meaningful participation in conflict prevention and
peace processes while protecting women from sexual and
gender-based violence in situations of conflict.
For
the Ambassador, the answer to the current pushback is not
defensiveness but a clearer articulation of the principles
of equality and their benefits.
“The way forward is
not to become defensive when these issues are challenged. It
is to stand up clearly for the principles we believe in,
demonstrate their value with evidence, and keep building
broad support for equality,” said Maya Tissafi.
Her
argument is that advancing women’s rights should not be
framed as a ‘competition’ in which gains for women
necessarily come at someone else’s expense.
Gender
equality is not a zero-sum game
For Tissafi “Gender
equality is not a zero-sum game. It strengthens societies,
economies and, ultimately, peace and
stability.”
Tissafi places safe abortion within the
broader framework of sexual and reproductive healthcare,
arguing that when safe and timely services are unavailable,
women can face serious consequences not only for their
health but also for their ability to participate fully in
social and economic life.
“Women must be able to
make decisions about their own bodies and their own health,
based on evidence, dignity and access to appropriate
healthcare. For me, this is ultimately about dignity,
equality and the right to make informed decisions about
one’s own life.”
And amid the often polarised debate
surrounding abortion, she says the individual women affected
should not disappear from view. “We should not lose sight
of the women behind the debate: their health, their choices
and their dignity must remain at the centre.”
From
representation to structural change
Across diplomacy,
healthcare, reproductive rights and peace building, a common
thread runs through Tissafi’s reflections: representation
matters, but representation alone is not enough.
The
growing number of women in diplomatic leadership
demonstrates that institutional change is
possible.
The larger challenge now is to make that
progress sustainable – to move from individual advances to
structural change—so that equality is not dependent on
women having to overcome the same barriers generation after
generation.
Shobha Shukla – CNS (Citizen News
Service)
(Shobha Shukla is a feminist, health and
development justice advocate, and an award-winning founding
Managing Editor and Executive Director of CNS (Citizen News
Service). She serves as Chairperson of Global AMR Media
Alliance (GAMA), Host and Coordinator of SHE & Rights
(Sexual Health with Equity & Rights), President of Asia
Pacific Media Alliance for Health, Gender and Development
Justice (APCAT Media), and founder leader of DJOP
(Development Justice for Older Persons) initiative. She is
the author of 2026 book “Justice Unbound: Feminist Voices on
Gender Equality, Health Rights, and Inclusive Futures” and
was also the Lead Discussant for SDG-3 at United Nations
inter-governmental High Level Political Forum 2025. GAMA ,
led by her, received the AMR One Health Emerging Leaders and
Outstanding Talents Award at UN High Level Ministerial
Conference on AMR 2024. Follow her on X @shobha1shukla or
read her writings here www.bit.ly/ShobhaShukla)
