The impeachment hearings featured three women form America's diplomatic service: Ambassador Marie Yovanovitch, Jennifer Williams, and Fiona Hill.

All three women showed the best of the US foreign service and are an example for the future.

Overall, the hearings have provided a boost to America's battered diplomatic corps.

Brett Bruen was the director of global engagement in the Obama White House and a career American diplomat. He runs the crisis-communications agency Global Situation Room.

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I want to grow up and be an ambassador. It is not such a common comment by most kids, especially young girls.

Yet it could become much more popular after watching the stellar performances of Ambassador Marie Yovanovitch, Jennifer Williams, and Fiona Hill during the impeachment hearings. They may well end up being responsible for much larger numbers of women choosing to enter diplomacy.

Women have long been underrepresented in the American Foreign Service. Until 1972, female diplomats were forced to quit their jobs at the State Department upon marriage. In fact, the first woman to be allowed to join in 1922 was Lucile Atcherson, who left five years later when she got married. It would be four more decades until the first woman, Eugenie Anderson, was even appointed as an ambassador by President Harry Truman.

Today, men still represent almost 60% of American diplomats. That number has not changed much in the past few years. By comparison, the most recent class of new British diplomats was 62% female. The male-dominated American diplomatic system stands stubbornly stacked against women, whether getting in or getting promoted.

The State Department also remains far too slow in responding to issues like sexual harassment. And while the situation has gotten better in some respects, too many men remain unwilling to give up their careers to follow a partner or spouse abroad, forcing many to make tough choices.

A female American diplomat told me, "We literally can't have it all in the system as it's currently set up, usually on one income — all while being thousands of miles from our support networks at the same time."

Secretaries of State like Madeleine Albright, Hillary Clinton, and Condoleezza Rice have certainly helped redefine what diplomatic leadership looks like at the top. That did not necessarily lead to an immediate change in the lower ranks. Similarly, naming a female secretary of defense would not be expected to reshape the military overnight.

But seeing these powerful women testify before Congress could have a different effect.

Rep. Adam Schiff, the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee read off each of their biographies, from a small mining town in Northeast Britain, an outpost in Somalia, and an embassy Beirut to an ambassadorship and senior advisors to a president and a vice president. It was as if he was offering an accessible road map to the young women who may want to follow in their footsteps.

Then came their stunning strength and intellect. The words of Hill, Williams, and Yovanovitch were heavy with the weight of experience. Their poise under pressure belied the many crises they had navigated during their careers.

The three seasoned officials withstood an onslaught of presidential tweets and disingenuous Congressional attempts to twist the truth. In an age when everything has become so hyper-partisan, their testimony was a refreshing reminder of the common values we are all supposed to share. At a time when courage is in short supply, they gave us reason to hold out hope for principles and purpose.

A testament to America's diplomats

Diplomacy has been badly battered in the past few years. The impeachment inquiry may represent something of a turning point.

First, Trump for a time may be somewhat tamed. He is less likely to pursue his foreign favors through such irregular channels. Second, diplomats have unquestionably distinguished themselves and their profession during this trying period for our country. They have demonstrated how to defend what is right in its hour greatest need.

Our diplomatic corps will need to be rebuilt after the Trump administration. It would be a fine and fitting legacy for its ranks to finally be overwhelmingly filled by women.

Classes of new officers, inspired by Hill, Williams, and Yovanovitch, who won't be interrupted or intimidated. These are the kind of fearless diplomats we need to stare down dictators and despots. They are the ones who can truly help to restore our reputation as defenders of democracy around the world.

These three women serve as extraordinary examples for a generation of girls wondering how to put the world back together and if diplomacy is really right for them. For years to come, young women will replay again and again their testimony for inspiration and emulation. Their names will come to be synonymous with a type of seasoned diplomat who can handle anything and anyone.

They did more than lift their hand for truth. They did more than lift up our dispirited diplomats. They did more than lift up the Constitution when we needed it most. Their legacy be having lifted up the scores of women who will follow them.

Bruen is president of the crisis-communications firm Global Situation Room Inc. He was director of global engagement at the White House and spent 12 years as an American diplomat. In addition to teaching crisis management at Georgetown University, he serves on the board of the FDR Foundation at Harvard and the Clinton Institute at University College Dublin.