On 05 September 2014, Former Secretary of Foreign Affairs Delia D. Albert served as guest speaker on the third Diplomat’s Hour of Batch XXI of Foreign Service Officer Cadets. Secretary Albert was the first woman to occupy the position of Secretary of Foreign Affairs.

Ambassador Albertstarted in the Department as a Foreign Service Staff Officer (FSSO). For her,there was “no job too big, no job too small, as long as you do your job well, it is not impossible for a staff to advance his or her career into management level.”

She also stressed that learning foreign languages was important. Language, in her experience, can be an asset. She encouraged the new FSOs to continue to learn other languages.

Being the first woman secretary, another topic that she discussed was gender inequality. As advice to female cadets, Ambassador Albert told them to know and do their jobs well and to not look at themselves as women, for she believes that “there is no such thing as gender inequality as long as you do your job well.”

As a wife, mother, and working woman, family and work-life balance will be achieved if you educate your family with the demands of your job and if you can maintain good communication with them.