President-Elect Obama looks set to confirm he is appointing his former rival Hillary Clinton as his Secretary of State. She would become the third woman within the last ten years to hold the second most important public office, following in the footsteps of Madeleine Albright and Condoleezza Rice. So why have women been so successful in securing America鈥檚 top diplomatic role? Jane talks to Bronwen Maddox, Chief Foreign Commentator of The Times, and to Cynthia Weber, Professor of Politics and International Relations at the University of Lancaster.