The Foreign Service Journal, July-August 2017

44 JULY-AUGUST 2017 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL Seven female ambassadors candidly discuss the challenges and successes of building both careers and families. Making It Work: Conversations with Female Ambassadors Leslie Bassett retired recently from the Senior Foreign Service. She is a former U.S. ambassador to Para- guay. Amb. Bassett has also served as deputy chief of mission at the U.S. embassies in Manila, Mexico City and Gaborone. She compiled these interviews in her informal role as coordinator of Women Ambassadors Serving America at the State Department. D uring a recent virtual ambassadors’ roundtable, initiated by the group Women Ambassadors Serving Amer- ica, seven female envoys agreed to share their experiences building both their careers and their families, and the specific successes and challenges they encountered along the way. We recognize that male colleagues face similar challenges and hope the excerpts from these interviews are insightful for all. Amb. Leslie Bassett: Tell us about a time when your profes- sional and family responsibilities came into conflict. Amb. Gina Abercrombie-Winstanley: Our toughest time was during my three years as principal officer in Saudi Arabia. Our daughter was 6 and our son was 9. In addition to the many cultural challenges, my family was evacuated twice before being prohibited from returning to post. The three-year tour kept us apart for 18 months. We had to decide whether I should curtail, or separate the family. I was warned by a colleague that such separations had ended his marriage and I should consider my decision carefully. Fear of stalling my career and confidence in our relationship led my husband and me to decide we could manage the separation—and to underestimate the impact on our children. We had early affirmation of the decision as I learned shortly after that I was being nominated as an ambassador based on my performance in Saudi. Nonetheless, our son was angry for years about the separation, and we’ve all had some therapy to deal with the fallout. Amb. Nina Hachigian: While I am generally decisive, deci- sions that weigh family against career priorities take longer and feel more wrenching. As an ambassador, I do have some control over my schedule, and that helps. It was the worst when I was at the National Security Council, working crazy long hours, and couldn’t even talk on the phone with my husband without constant interruption. He had moved to D.C. for me, and our marriage was tested by that experience. Amb. Deborah Malac: Parenting from thousands of miles away is a particular challenge. Although I felt competent at my job most of the time, I often did not feel so confident when it came to parenting and the things I thought I “should” be doing. Particularly when I was working in Washington when my chil- I NTERV I EWS CONDUCTED BY L ES L I E BASSETT FEATURE