(Above: Pauline Carmona, Consul General of The Frech Consulate, following the #JeSuisCharlie rally on January 11th at Civic Center plaza)

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In the male-dominated world of diplomacy, more and more women are stepping up to represent their countries in cities around the world, and no where is this more prevalent then San Francisco.

We sat down with the ambassadors from the French, British and Norwegian Consulates in San Francisco to discuss work-life balance, life in the Bay Area, and what it means to be a woman in diplomacy.

Pauline Carmona, Consulate General of France

How did your career begin? I started my career in 1997 at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Paris. I was 24, and my team and I were in charge of the ex-Yugoslavia and the Balkan Peninsula. At the time, the war in Bosnia was just ending and the one in Kosovo was starting. We were only a few people in the office, so I had to learn everything fast.

Before San Francisco... I was in Paris for five years at the Ministry's Human Resources Department.

To be a diplomat, you must... learn the art of tolerance. This job is mainly about understanding other cultures. The ultimate goal is always to build bridges between cultures. As a General Consul, I have to be faithful to my own country and at the same time follow the rules and be aware of the values of the country I live in. The diplomat career is a lot of networking, helping people to connect with each other, and supporting them in different ways. I think that being a woman is an advantage because we are better than men in terms of networking.

Any advice for other women? Women have to be daring. In France we have what we call "the gender quotas project" where the law has to promote equal access for women and men to electoral mandates and elected offices. When I was elected, a man in my Ministry told me that I had won just because of the quotas and not because of my professional skills. I am sure that if I was a man he wouldn't have said that. Those sexist remarks are more common in Latin countries where diplomatic career are more difficult to attain for women. So women need to stick together and build a community who can support them in their choices and push them to dare. In France, I helped found "Women in Diplomacy." The idea is to help women build networks, to teach them how to be confident and ask for higher responsibilities.

After San Francisco... I am going back to Paris.

Priya Guha, British Consulate General

How did your career begin? When I was a child I wanted to be an astronaut, so I thought that a diplomatic career was the closest job to my dream one. My first assignment was in Madrid as second Secretary to the British Embassy where I dealt with European Union Policy.

Before San Francisco... I spent four years at the British High Commission in India.

To be a diplomat... You have to be very organized and good at multitasking. The British Consulate in San Francisco has to cover seven states: Northern California, Oregon, Washington, Alaska, Montana, Idaho, and Wyoming. On a daily basis I need to engage with all those states. I have to make sure to travel there and be active within each local community.

Any advice for other women? The diplomatic career still has a reputation of being male dominated, even though that's slowly changing. Today, you see a lot more females as Consul General, especially in San Francisco. That being said, I am the first woman in this position in San Francisco and it's always a topic of conversation. Moreover, I am British-Indian, and usually that is the second topic of conversation.

How do you balance your private and public life? I am very thoughtful about my agenda, and I tend to prioritize my private life as much as my public life. If my private life needs my attention, I make sure it gets some TLC.

Hilde Janne Skorpen, Norwegian Consulate General

How did your career begin? In 1993 I joined the Norwegian National Defense College as a senior faculty advisor—I have a background in Security Policy. I obtained a Ph.D. in Political Science at Boston University and my dissertation was on Norwegian Security Policy during the Cold War-era.

Before San Francisco... I served as Deputy Head of the Norwegian Mission to the UN in Geneva and have been posted to the Norwegian Delegation to Nato in Brussels, Belgium.

To be a diplomat...You have to like people. You'll have many meetings during the day with entrepreneurs, diplomats, business man, artists and all the members of your staff. In San Francisco, we are a small team, so I have to make sure that we are not losing the big picture. I always have to prioritize the tasks that allow me to serve my country at my best.

Advice to other women: I come from a country where gender equality is a very important value and there has always been a good balance between genders. We had a women Prime Minister in the '80s, Gro Harlem Brundtland, and half of her government was composed by women. The industry in general is still male dominated, but we are making progress.

How do you balance your private and public life? I have a fantastic husband, Ole K. Stubben, who is a retired army colonel and he takes care of everything that has to do with the organization of receptions. We are a team.