The aim of this thesis is to describe the gender patterns in the ambassadorial appointments of the United States. The choice of the United States as the critical case is highly relevant, not only because they have placed emphasis on gender equality in foreign service, but also due to their dominant position in the international arena, their unique ability to spread norms and influence the world politics on a larger scale. Based on two institutional theories about gender, co-variance between sex of the ambassadors and characteristics of the countries of placement is made. The result from the quantitative analysis shows that men and women are placed differently. Men are often placed in relatively powerful states, while women on the other hand are placed in relatively weak states. The results indicates that even though the field of foreign policy have developed and gone to a more gender equal direction, there is still long way to go. Gender equality can only develop by examining the situation of women and men in different fields, and emphasizing its importance