  Despite mounting evidence that women in foreign policy often bear the brunt
of online hostility, the extent of online gender bias against diplomats remains
unexplored. This paper offers the first global analysis of the treatment of
women diplomats on social media. Introducing a multidimensional and
multilingual methodology for studying online gender bias, it focuses on three
critical elements: gendered language, negativity in tweets directed at
diplomats, and the visibility of women diplomats. Our unique dataset
encompasses ambassadors from 164 countries, their tweets, and the direct
responses to these tweets in 65 different languages. Using automated content
and sentiment analysis, our findings reveal a crucial gender bias. The language
in responses to diplomatic tweets is only mildly gendered and largely pertains
to international affairs and, generally, women ambassadors do not receive more
negative reactions to their tweets than men, yet the pronounced discrepancy in
online visibility stands out as a significant form of gender bias. Women
receive a staggering 66.4% fewer retweets than men. By unraveling the
invisibility that obscures women diplomats on social media, we hope to spark
further research on online bias in international politics.
