NYU Program in International Relations presents
A Conversation with
Development Policy Advisor, Embassy of Denmark in the United States
Please note that this event is open to MA in IR students only.
Diplomacy as an institution has been characterized by the interaction of continuity and change in its norms and practices throughout history. One of the most recent major changes to diplomacy is the effect of the increasing number of women participating in diplomacy at ministries of foreign affairs (MFAs) across the world. In this presentation, the Danish diplomat, Ms. Helena Mølgaard Hansen, will demonstrate how the MFA of Denmark has improved its gender balance significantly, following decades of progressive gender budgeting and gender sensitive programing across the public sector in Denmark. Yet, women still remain underrepresented in top positions in the Danish MFA, which prompts the question: Can norms and practices within diplomacy become gender equal simply by increasing the number of female diplomats, or are diplomatic norms and practices gendered?
Helena Mølgaard Hansen manages Denmark’s relations with the multilateral institutions in Washington, DC as Development Policy Advisor in the Department for Foreign, Security, and Development Policy at the Royal Danish Embassy. In addition to foreign aid and foreign policy matters, she also engages with the US administration on matters pertaining to gender equality and women’s empowerment as the gender focal point at the Embassy.
Prior to the Danish Foreign Service, Helena contributed to crisis management and thought leadership programs at the New York-based consultancy firm Finsbury. Besides her private sector experience, she also has experience with humanitarian operations across the world via her position as a consultant with the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in New York.
As a Fulbright scholar, Helena graduated with a Master’s degree in International Relations from New York University in 2014. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Rhetoric from the University of Copenhagen.
