International Day of Women in Multilateralism: Women’s leadership at the heart of global cooperation

From Geneva to New York, Vienna, Paris and Strasbourg, EU Delegations and EU Member States came together to amplify women’s voices in multilateral spaces and to underline a simple message: women’s leadership in diplomacy is not optional, it is essential.

Multilateralism works best when it is inclusive. At a time of growing global challenges and increasing pressure on the multilateral system, the perspectives, expertise, and leadership of women are indispensable to building trust, advancing dialogue, and delivering collective solutions.

As part of the campaign, EU Delegation Geneva launched ‘Straight to the Point’, a short-format video series designed for social media. The concept is simple: women diplomats respond to a fixed set of questions on multilateralism using answers that are as brief as possible. Sometimes one word, sometimes a few. Always clear and authentic.

In Geneva, EU Ambassador Deike Potzel shared short reflections on what multilateralism means today, the challenges it faces, and what gives her hope in her work. By deliberately limiting time and words, the format puts the focus on substance and clarity, offering a fresh and accessible way to engage wider audiences with diplomacy and multilateral cooperation. Several EU Member States picked up the format and had their women ambassador and diplomats go ‘Straight to the Point’, too.

The campaign even expanded beyond Geneva: EU Delegations in New York, Vienna, Paris and Strasbourg, alongside several EU Member States, participated by featuring women ambassadors and diplomats active in multilateral settings. Across platforms and locations, the messages converged: women are central to effective multilateralism. Their leadership strengthens international cooperation, improves outcomes, and contributes to a more resilient global system.

The International Day of Women in Multilateralism is both a moment of recognition and a reminder of the work still to be done. While progress has been made, women remain underrepresented in senior diplomatic and multilateral leadership roles worldwide. Through initiatives like Straight to the Point and broader Team Europe engagement, the EU continues to support greater visibility, participation, and leadership of women in diplomacy, not just on one day, but throughout the year. Because multilateralism is stronger when it reflects the full diversity of the societies it serves.