FAQ

What is Our Secure Future?

Our Secure Future: Women Make the Difference (OSF) was founded in 2016 as a program of One Earth Future (OEF). Our work aims to integrate WPS into mainstream policy-making to achieve better peacebuilding, national security, and social outcomes. This is achieved through consultations with multiple WPS stakeholders across the world, collaborating on common narratives and influencing new and existing funding sources to take a greater interest in women peacebuilders. In 2024, OSF moved to OEF's sister foundation, PAX sapiens – part of Marcel Arsenault and Cynda Collins Arsenault’s network of philanthropic institutions working to build a more peaceful world.

What is our mission?

Our Secure Future’s mission is to strengthen the Women, Peace and Security governance frameworks to enable more effective policy decision-making. By strengthening the governance frameworks unique to WPS, OSF’s work ties directly to our foundation’s mandate of peace through governance. Since the passage of UNSCR 1325 in October 2000, the WPS governance framework has expanded to include multiple General Assembly and Security Council resolutions, embracing existing legal obligations and policy commitments developed by the international community. Increasing the participation of women in decision-making in governance structures, and the use of a gender perspective in international peace and security matters, are critical to achieving peace through governance.

Why is there only one comma in “Women, Peace and Security”?

The United Nations founding documents and subsequent publications relating to UNSCR 1325 use the phrase “Women, Peace and Security” without an Oxford comma. This emphasizes the importance of women’s participation and decision-making in peace and security. Ambassador Chowdhury, then-President of the UN Security Council, originally recommended the phrase “Women and Peace and Security.” However, the US National Action Plan on WPS and the US WPS ACT of 2017 use the phrase “Women, Peace, and Security” with an Oxford comma. Both versions are used depending on whether they are referring to the UN or the US context.

Does WPS Only Benefit Women?

No, research shows that meaningfully incorporating women into decision-making improves outcomes for all members of society, not just women. For example, when women participate in peace processes, the resulting peace is 35% more likely to last 15+ years. Higher levels of gender equality are also associated with a lower propensity for conflict both between and within states.

WPS needs male partners who ally with, listen to, speak with (not for), and open doors for women’s groups and individuals working to advance gender equality in international peace and security efforts. Without male allies, women’s rights cannot be fully realized. Women’s equality and advancement is not a zero-sum game: women entrepreneurs contribute to the economy, educated women lead to better social and economic outcomes, and promoting women’s rights is promoting equal rights. For more information on male allies, visit our project page Mobilizing Men as Partners for WPS.

OSF Advisory Committee Members

Our Secure Future collaborates frequently with members of its Advisory Committee and with its fellows and partners.

What are some examples of OSF's convenings?

We use our convening power to strengthen the global network of women peacebuilders and women-led organizations working on international peace and security issues by bringing together multiple actors across sectors to foster new avenues of collaboration.

These gatherings provide space for long-term strategic thinking about Women, Peace and Security policy and practice. We ensure that women peacebuilders represent a significant portion of our participants, supporting our goal of amplifying women’s voices in international peace and security decision-making by:

Capturing women peacebuilders’ analysis and perspectives.
Connecting women peacebuilders to the larger policy and practitioner community.
Sharing their views, expertise, and analysis with multiple stakeholders who may have limited engagement with women peacebuilders and the WPS agenda.

Some recent convenings include:

Women, Peace and Security Curriculum Consortium: In partnership with Peace is Loud and the Naval War College, OSF brought together 26 academics, military officials, and policy practitioners for a half-day WPS Curriculum Consortium. The event identified the increasing number of educational and training resources on WPS and the lack of information sharing between sectors, alongside the growing demand from students to study and implement WPS in their work. The consortium aimed to foster conversation, strengthen networks, and explore expectations and resources in teaching WPS.

Civil Society Consultation on the Global Fragility Act (GFA) with the Departments of State, Defense, and USAID: OSF organized civil society consultations with the US Departments of State, Defense, and USAID, including sessions on tools for advancing gender integration, interagency metrics, and the role of WPS in the context of great power competition. The consultations were held jointly with the Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security, and the McCain Institute for International Leadership.

Women, Peace and Security: How Women in Sudan are Charting a New Course: Co-hosted with the McCain Institute, this event showcased the work of Sudanese women peacebuilders, their efforts to create an inclusive democracy, and the challenges they face. It featured remarks by Mrs. McCain and a panel discussion moderated by Paul Fagan and Sahana Dharmapuri.

Women, Peace and Security: The Role of Women in Belarus: Co-hosted with the McCain Institute, this event focused on the role of women in Belarus' protests and how the international community can support them. It featured a panel discussion moderated by Natalia Arno, with introductory remarks by Paul Fagan and Sahana Dharmapuri.

Mobilizing Men as Partners for Women, Peace and Security (MMPWPS): Led by Ambassador Donald Steinberg, MMPWPS began by engaging global figures and senior advisors from various institutions at a convening in New York City in 2018, emphasizing the importance of male involvement in the WPS agenda.

How does OSF conduct its research?

OSF conducts independent research to close existing gaps in the field and produce actionable insights that influence policy-making in international peace and security. A gender perspective is integral to all our research, guided by the needs of activists, academics, policymakers, and security actors. We regularly consult partners to support the work of those implementing WPS globally.

OSF’s Not the Usual Suspects report analyzes the challenges and opportunities of engaging male leaders in WPS, featuring perspectives from over 50 interviews conducted in partnership with Jolynn Shoemaker.

In partnership with Peace Is Loud and the US Naval War College, OSF released the policy brief Grooming the Next Generation of Foreign Policymakers: Women, Peace and Security in Practice, outlining key findings and recommendations from WPS curriculum experts.

OSF, World Pulse, and Women’s Alliance for Security Leadership released Transforming Security: Women Define Security Differently, highlighting stories from over 400 women in 62 countries about security, violence, and representation.

The Legal and Policy Commitments that Support WPS:

Existing legal and policy documents that support OSF’s work: