Add America’s top diplomats to the growing field of women who say they have been mistreated and sexually harassed on the job by powerful men, including inside the White House and the State Department.
Several female ambassadors told of the toxic environments they have worked in for a largely overlooked August edition of the American Foreign Service Association’s Foreign Service Journal. Their stories, similar to those out of Hollywood, the media, and Capitol Hill, are now getting a second look.
In that issue, Gina Abercrombie-Winstanley, who served as U.S. ambassador to Malta from 2012 to 2016, told two horrific stories about being harassed at the White House and at the State Department.
“My generation was taught to be careful of male egos and power, so I generally did the usual and laughed it off, avoided the person where I could or made excuses to reject the advances,” she said.
Without giving details, she added, “There was one occasion in the department when a boss touched me and I told him if he did it again, I’d knock the s— out of him. He did not repeat it, but he did try to get me to curtail from the position.”
Harassment from a lawmaker happened while she was in the White House. “On another occasion, it happened at the National Security Council. Initially, I parried the advance from a senior member of Congress, but when he continued to call me, I reported to the NSC’s executive secretary that it was happening, and told him that if I had to do violence to repel it, I would. I was letting him know beforehand, I said, because I did not expect to lose my job as a result. After a moment of shocked silence, he said, ‘Thanks for letting me know.’ And the member stopped calling me.”
She was a member of the National Security Council during the George W. Bush administration.
The diplomats wrote of a culture of sexism in diplomatic circles. But it extended to other parts of their job.
Laura Dogu, the U.S. ambassador to Nicaragua, for example, spoke of focusing on female guests at events and even women reporters at press conferences.
“I am frequently the only woman in meetings outside the office with the host country, and when I have control over the guest list, I insist that we include at least 30 percent women, if not more. When dealing with the press, I always make sure to respond to questions from women, despite male reporters often speaking over the top of them,” she said.
Paul Bedard, the Washington Examiner’s “Washington Secrets” columnist, can be contacted at [email protected]
