2/3 of Aspiring Diplomats Are Women

Women accounted for more than two-thirds of candidates who passed this year's exam for the diplomatic academy, and three male candidates only passed because of a gender equality quota.

The Ministry of Personnel Management on Thursday said 29 out of the 41 successful candidates were women. Both the candidate who scored the highest and the youngest one to pass were also women.

The government abolished the diplomatic service exam in 2012 and instead set up the academy to train future diplomats on a one-year, non-degree program.

Three out of the 12 male candidates passed only thanks to the gender equality rule for any test administered to recruit more than five civil servants. The rule says the bar has to be lowered for one gender if fewer than 30 percent of candidates of that gender pass.

Women accounted for more than half of successful candidates in the annual diplomatic service exam for the first time in 2005 with 10 out of 19. Since then the proportion of women has been less than half only in 2006 and 2009.

The trend is also apparent in other government service exams, yet the proportion of women in the upper ranks of the civil service is still a measly 4.7 percent.