For the past 25 years, former President of Liberia Ellen Johnson Sirleaf and I have listened with awe to the stories of Rwandan women who came together to rebuild their country after a savage genocide. This afternoon, The Boston Globe published our piece about this privilege of a lifetime, and I want you to be […]
It’s a strategic blind spot for the Pentagon, but gender and warfare are inextricably intertwined. Let’s train our forces to face that. In 2009, frustrated that several male insurgents had escaped a cordoned area by disguising themselves as Afghan women in burqas, U.S. Marine Corps Capt. Matt Pottinger established the first U.S. Female Engagement Team […]
At the 2018 Academy Awards, Oscar winner Frances McDormand explained in two words how movies can be more diverse: inclusion riders. These contractual provisions allow film industry leaders to demand a more representative cast and crew. This approach is one worth considering well outside of Hollywood—including in the context of ending war and building peace. […]
Hurricanes Maria, Irma, and Harvey have devastated Puerto Rico and other parts of the Caribbean as well as the southern United States in recent weeks. But none will be the great social leveler that catastrophic storms are often thought to be. If international experience is a guide, this extreme weather will cause greater suffering for […]
The apparently ISIS-inspired attack, at a concert by Ariana Grande, whose fans are disproportionately young and female, has drawn heated argument about the roles gender and sexism play in terrorism. We want to move past the pundits to hear what terrorism scholars and impacted communities have to say. Today, Inclusive Security President Jacqueline O’Neill and […]
This article was originally published by Public Radio International as part of its “Balance of Power” series. As the election between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump nears, the prospects have never been greater that the United States could join the 50 other democracies that have been led by a woman. So it’s timely to ask: […]
This article was published by PBS NewsHour. As increasingly costly, disruptive and deadly conflicts unfold around the world, a House hearing last week highlighted that when women participate in negotiations, the resulting agreement is 35 percent more likely to last at least 15 years. “Think about the lives saved and economies maintained by a 35 […]
This article was originally published by Foreign Policy. Tuesday is International Women’s Day, which means that in conference rooms and auditoriums across the globe, panels of predominantly female experts will tackle pressing issues. It’s a refreshing picture, to be sure. But we shouldn’t have to designate a date to get women on stage. In most […]
This article was originally published by Defense One. With a fresh diplomatic push under way to restart Syrian peace talks this month, we should absorb a critical lesson from the Bosnia conflict as we grapple for a way out of the Syria deadlock: To create sustainable peace, women must have a seat at the negotiating […]
This article was originally published by Global Post. Open your favorite fashion magazine these days and you may see an unfamiliar sight: women in uniform, holding automatic weapons. Strangely glam portraits of fierce female warriors have recently proliferated. To most, they seem novel, out of the ordinary. But the truth is that women have taken […]
