Since the adoption of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 in 2000women’s inclusion in peace and security processes has been formally recognized as a global priority. Resolution 1325 marked the beginning of the WomenPeace and Security (WPS) agendawhich calls for the fullequaland meaningful participation of women in conflict preventionpeace negotiationspost-conflict reconstructionand political transitions. Yetdespite global and regional commitments and the efforts of countless women peacebuilders and advocatesthe number of women included in formal peace processes remains notably low.[1]

Between 1991and 2011women constituted only 2% of chief mediators4% of signatories and witnessesand 9% of official negotiators. More recent figures point to a continued underrepresentation of women in peace processes. In 2022they made up just 16% of negotiators in UN-led processesa decline from 23% in 2020. In some of the most critical and protracted conflicts – such as those in EthiopiaMyanmarthe BalkansSudanand Yemen – no women were included in official negotiating teams. Of the eighteen peace agreements concluded in 2022just one included a woman signatoryand only one-third contained dedicated provisions for women and girls.[2]

Too oftenwomen are also excluded from the earlyagenda-setting phases of peace processeswhere priorities are shaped and access is negotiated. This early-stage exclusion has long-term consequenceslimiting their influence and the visibility of gender perspectives throughout the process. Even in negotiations where women are presenttheir participation tends to diminish during implementationa stage critical to ensuring that gender commitments translate into lived realities. This gap contributes directly to delays or failures in realizing the provisions that are meant to support agender-responsive peace.[3]

Women’s participation in peace processes is not only a right but it also positively impacts peace outcomes. Thuswomen’s exclusion in peace processes is not just a failure of representation; it is a failure of effectiveness. A growing body of research demonstrates that women’s meaningful participation in peace processes improves both the quality of agreements and the likelihood of sustainable peace. When women are able to influence negotiationspeace agreements are more likely to be reachedsignedand implemented. Research showed that women are able to exercise stronger influence on negotiation processessignificantly increasing the chances of a final agreement. Women presence also increased the chances that the resulting peace would be sustained. In many caseswomen were more likely than any other group to pressure parties toward agreement.[4] Furthermorewomen’s participation leads to better accord content and higher implementation rates. Research found that peace agreements signed by women included more provisionsa higher proportion of gender-sensitive provisionsand higher rates of implementationall of which are associated with longer-lasting peace.[5]

Despite persistently low levels of participation in formal peace talkswomen have consistently found creative and courageous ways to make their voices heard in peace processes. When excluded from official negotiation spacesthey have organized parallel processes to articulate their priorities. When physically locked out of the rooms where decisions are madethey have pushed their position papers and their recommendations through the gaps under the doors.[6] Women actively advocate for inclusion in formal negotiationssupport the legitimacy of official talkspush for women’s rights in peace agreementsprovide crucial information on human rights violations,engage in local conflict resolutionand advocate on behalf of parties involved in the conflict.[7] Additionallythe existence of global and regional networks of women peacebuilders further strengthens their influence. These networks are not just support systems; they have become parallel diplomacy infrastructures. In places like SudanAfghanistanYemenand Myanmarwomen continue to leaddelivering aidcalling for peaceand holding their communities together in the face of deepening conflict.

It is time to stop treating inclusion as a gesture and start treating it as a core strategy. The exclusion of women is a structural problemand it demands a structural solution. We must go beyond merely giving women a seat at the table and begin redesigning the table itself. This means creating processes where diverse women are able to participate meaningfully and influence decisionsfrom the early stages of negotiation to the long arc of implementation.

The future of peace depends on it.

[1] AsanteD. (2020). Two decades after United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325: global,nationaland local implementation of the WomenPeace and Security agenda: The Oxford Handbook of WomenPeaceand Securityedited by Sara E. Davies and Jacqui TrueNew YorkOxford University Press2019.

[2] See: Council of Foreign Relations. Women’s Participation in Peace Processes. Link

[3] Fal-DutraSantosA.(2021). Towards gender-equal peace. From ‘counting women’ to meaningful participation. https://hdcentre.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/Towards_gender-equal_peace_WEB.pdf.

[4] PaffenholzT.et. al.(2016). Making Women Count - Not Just Counting Women: Assessing Women’s Inclusion and Influence on Peace Negotiations. The Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies and UN Women.

[5] KrauseJ.KrauseW.& BränforsP. (2018).Women’s participation in peace negotiations and the durability of peace. International interactions, 44(6)985-1016.

[6] UN Women. Women’s Participation in Peace Negotiations: Connections between Presence and Influence.https://www.un.org/shestandsforpeace/sites/www.un.org.shestandsforpeace/files/wpssourcebook-03a-womenpeacenegotiations-en.pdf

[7] DayalA. K.& ChristienA. (2020). Women’s participation in informal peace processes. Global Governance: A Review of Multilateralism and International Organizations, 26(1),69-98.

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