Although Black people make up 55.5% of Brazil’s population, according to the 2022 Census, they account for only 15.7% of the country’s diplomatic corps. At the top of the hierarchy, racial inequality is even more pronounced: among leadership posts abroad – including embassies, consulates, and permanent missions – just 4.9% were headed by Black diplomats as of September 2025.

The data comes from the 4th Ethnic-Racial Statistical Bulletin of Brazil’s Foreign Service, produced by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Brazil (Itamaraty) based on diplomats’ self-identification. The information was obtained by BdF through Brazil’s Access to Information Law. The reference date is September 29, 2025, using records from the SIAPE and SouGov systems.

Among the 204 overseas leadership posts, 91.7% were held by white diplomats. Black diplomats classified as pretos accounted for 1.0%, while pardos represented 3.9%. Indigenous diplomats made up 1%, and Asians 1.5%. One percent did not declare race. Chiefs of mission are diplomats responsible for leading Brazil’s diplomatic representations abroad and play a strategic role in foreign policy.

The same pattern appears at the very top of Itamaraty. Since the 1988 Constitution, no Black person has ever led Brazil’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs – nor has the ministry ever been headed by a woman.

A rigid career structure and slow progression

Brazil’s diplomatic career follows a strict hierarchy, from entry-level Third Secretary to First-Class Minister, the highest rank. Admission is through a highly competitive public exam, and promotions depend on seniority, performance evaluations, merit criteria, and completion of internal training courses at the Rio Branco Institute. Only one promotion – from Third to Second Secretary – is based exclusively on seniority.

The bulletin details racial distribution across all six ranks. The overall trend is clear: the higher the position, the lower the presence of Black diplomats – and the greater the concentration of white diplomats.

Black diplomats make up 33.9% of Third Secretaries, 23.2% of Second Secretaries, but only 6.3% of First-Class Ministers. In this top rank, 90.1% are white. Asians account for 2.8%, and no Indigenous diplomats appear in this category.

Indigenous representation is minimal across all ranks and nonexistent at the top, while Asian representation remains consistently low, ranging from 1.1% to 4.5% depending on the class.

Gender inequality compounds racial disparities. According to the 2025 Statistical Bulletin on Women in Brazil’s Foreign Service, women represent only 23% of active diplomats, and just 18% of leadership posts abroad.

Diplomat challenges promotion in court

In an interview with Correio Braziliense published in February 2024, Ambassador Isabel Cristina de Azevedo Heyvaert said she was passed over for promotion to First-Class Minister despite ranking higher than the colleague who was promoted.

At the time, she was the only Black woman among eligible Second-Class Ministers and ranked 25th on the promotion list. The selected candidate, a white man, ranked 61st. The promotion occurred in December 2023.

With no internal administrative mechanism to contest the decision, Heyvaert filed a preventive writ of mandamus at Brazil’s Superior Court of Justice (STJ). The injunction was denied, but the case remains pending.

She criticized the lack of transparency in promotion processes, noting the absence of written records or minutes from meetings that decided promotions, and questioned how different types of overseas postings are weighted in career promotions.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs declined to comment, stating it “does not discuss ongoing legal cases”.

Itamaraty cites career structure and highlights affirmative action

In a statement to BdF, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs argued that racial inequality in senior positions stems from the structure of the diplomatic career itself. As a state career composed almost entirely of civil servants hired through public exams, advancement is slow and hierarchical, limiting the impact of corrective measures in the short term.

The ministry said the link between rank and access to leadership positions reinforces racial inequality over time. Promotion processes follow the Brazilian Law No. 11,440/2006 and Decree No. 6,559/2008, and deliberations by promotion committees are confidential by law.

Affirmative actions without targets or deadlines

Itamaraty noted that it has implemented racial diversity policies since 2002, when it launched an affirmative action program offering scholarships to Black candidates preparing for the diplomatic exam. Over 22 years, 78 scholarship recipients have been admitted. The 2025 edition offers 53 scholarships, including 15 reserved for low-income Black women.

The ministry also cited the creation of an internal diversity and inclusion system in April 2023 and the launch, in December 2024, of a 49-page Action Plan for the Federal Affirmative Action Program. The document outlines principles and initiatives such as prioritizing Black diplomats in promotions, increasing representation on internal committees, reserving internship slots, promoting Black culture in cultural diplomacy, staff training, combating racism in consular services, and monitoring workforce composition.

However, the plan sets no numerical targets or deadlines for increasing Black representation in leadership positions, nor does it establish concrete goals to correct racial disparities throughout career progression.