Welcome to Our Secure Future’s Women, Peace and Security (WPS) Research Digest, “the done for you” newsletter on WPS. Every month, we curate the latest articles and reports on cross-cutting issues related to women’s rights and international peace and security. This August, we searched the web for you, and here’s what we found...
Defense and Security
As Ukraine’s troop needs to grow, women step into the fight (Stars and Stripes)
August 19
“In Ukraine, the military has made “quantum leaps” in becoming more receptive to women... but they still grapple with traditional sexist attitudes and barriers that have plagued women service members elsewhere.”
Who Will Govern Gaza? Women Are Missing from the Emerging Transition (The Global Observatory)
August 18
“The National Committee for the Administration of Gaza should establish a standing consultative mechanism to allow women-led and women’s rights organizations, persons with disabilities, and affected communities to submit proposals, review policies and budgets, participate in hearings, and receive written responses.”
Record 756 million women now live in the shadow of armed conflict (Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO))
August 17
“Almost one in five women globally were living within 50 kilometers of a deadly conflict event in 2025, according to a new report from the PRIO. The number of women living in conflict zones has nearly tripled since 1990, as violence spreads and becomes increasingly protracted.”
Economic Empowerment
Going the Last Mile: Strengthening Financial Inclusion in Africa (Observer Research Foundation)
August 18
“Women’s financial inclusion and institutional reform are the prerequisites for economic growth and inclusive development. When women gain access to formal financial services, credit and savings opportunities, it strengthens their economic participation, boosts household resilience, and expands prospects for livelihood and enterprise.”
Investing in women’s economic empowerment: A Q&A with Georgia Levenson Keohane, CEO at Soros Economic Development Fund (The Global Impact Investing Network)
August 11
“Strong impact and financial performance go hand in hand with empowering women. Companies with greater gender diversity in leadership tend to outperform their peers on revenue growth, experience lower turnover and foster higher levels of innovation.”
Empowered women, a catalyst for South Africa’s economic growth (IOL)
August 8
“Gender equality is not only a constitutional imperative but also an economic necessity. Excluding women from the mainstream economy limits South Africa’s productive capacity and undermines efforts to accelerate industrialisation, strengthen localisation, expands SMMEs and build a competitive digital economy.”
Technology
From Reaction to Prevention: WPS and Artificial Intelligence
(New Lines Institute)
August 19
“No comprehensive governance framework integrates gender analysis, conflict-prevention research, and the WPS agenda into the life cycle and application of AI systems for security. This gap between the capabilities of AI and its application in preventing conflict and mitigating risks is increasing. Addressing it requires coordinated action across sectors and issue areas to move beyond reactive governance toward a prevention-focused approach.”
Why the Future of Cybersecurity Depends on Women Being Able to Thrive in the Workplace (She Can Code)
August 5
“Cybersecurity has a real opportunity to become one of the most accessible and future-facing careers in tech for women. But realizing that opportunity requires more than bringing women into the field. It requires creating workplaces where women can grow and stay on board.”
Climate
As Heat Rises and Wildfires Rage, Gender Inequality Is Turning Deadly (Ms.)
August 14
“The impacts of climate change are not gender-neutral. Heat affects different populations in different ways. Climate vulnerability depends on intersecting factors like age, income, occupation, disability, race, but also gender, which is often overlooked.”
The gendered dimension of climate change: why women need to be at the centre of policy (The George Institute for Global Health)
August 12
“Women and girls experience the greatest impact of climate change and have the least capacity to respond to climate-related disasters. Yet, women’s unequal participation in policy, decision-making and labor markets continues to sideline them from shaping climate solutions and ultimately limits countries’ ability to prepare and respond to climate hazards… The UN estimates that up to 80% of people displaced by climate change are women, illustrating the unequal impact of climate change on multiple dimensions of health and life.”
How Global Climate Initiatives Can Risk Indigenous Women’s Land Rights (weADAPT)
August 12
“The actions necessary to achieve forest and biodiversity targets can sometimes result in pressure and infringement on Indigenous and local land tenure systems that are already insecure due to lack of formal recognition and communities’ weak participation in decision-making related to climate initiatives. These pressures are experienced differently by women and men because of social, economic and political dynamics that influence land tenure and community governance systems.”
General WPS
Protecting Women And Girls In Conflict: Sexual And Reproductive Health As A Global Health Security Imperative (NATO Association of Canada)
August 15
“As conflicts become increasingly protracted, attacks on healthcare facilities, the displacement of civilians, and widespread insecurity have disrupted access to essential healthcare services... These consequences extend beyond humanitarian concerns, posing significant challenges to global health security and the long-term stability of many communities… These impacts extend beyond individual survivors, affecting families, communities, and the long-term recovery of conflict-affected societies.”
August 12
“In the past year alone, the exclusion of women and girls from education, employment, public life, justice systems, and healthcare has only intensified, entrenching what remains the world’s most severe women’s rights crisis.”
Women bring vital experience to African peacekeeping missions (Institute for Security Studies (ISS))
August 6
“Research shows that the most essential skills for operational effectiveness are not inherently gendered, and women serve across all peacekeeping responsibilities. Restricting their value to these functions risks reinforcing the stereotypes that limit their advancement. Understanding what shapes women peacekeepers and where they come from needs to be part of the conversation.”
Changemaker Highlight
Women for Women International (WfWI)
WfWI Change Agents — women survivors of war who are trained in advocacy and leadership skills — led an inclusive and participatory consultation project in conflict-afflicted areas to study women’s participation in global policy, peace, and political processes.
More than 6,500 women in countries affected by conflict participated in the consults. The need for women’s meaningful participation in decision-making and other findings of this ambitious research project can now be found at a newly launched website here: https://womenforwomen.org.uk/fromaskingtoaction.
Upcoming and Past Notable Events
September 9, 2026 - Five Years On: Women’s Fight for Freedom in Afghanistan, (Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security (GIWPS))
Virtual
Join GIWPS and the Organization for Policy Research and Development Studies (DROP Afghanistan) for a virtual event to commemorate five years since the Taliban regained control of Afghanistan and the resistance and advocacy of women and girls to stand up for their rights.
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September 14, 2026 - Women in Defense (WID) National Conference
Arlington, VA
The 2026 WID National Conference brings together government contractors, defense industry leaders, students, and transitioning professionals for professional development at the intersection of cutting-edge technology and leadership.
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September 16, 2026 - Promoting Women with Disabilities in Peacebuilding and Conflict Transformation (Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security (GIWPS))
Virtual
Join GIWPS, Mobilizing Allies for Women, Peace and Security (MAWPS), Our Secure Future and Mobility International USA (MIUSA), and the Georgetown University Disability Cultural Center for a virtual panel on important lessons learned from women-led disability programs in conflict-affected and transition countries.
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September 22, 2026 - Women in Security with Christopher Newport University and the Hampton Roads American Society for Industrial Security (ASIS) Chapter
Newport News, VA
Join the ASIS and CNU for a screening of the Women in Security documentary, followed by a distinguished panel of women leaders in the security industry and a closing network reception.
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September 23-24, 2026 – Strengthening Policy Coherence on Women, Peace and Security and Climate Change in the Arab Region (Union for the Mediterranean (UfM))
Cairo, Egypt
The UfM in partnership with the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia, UN Women and the United Nations Development Programme, will organize the 2nd regional workshop of its Climate, Women, Peace and Security Network.
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October 8, 2026 – The Challenges Annual Forum (CAF26)
United Nations Headquarters in New York
Hosted by the Permanent Missions of Sweden and Denmark, the Forum will convene Member States, UN leaders, partners, and experts under the theme “Turning the Tide: Building Momentum for Peace Operations in a Demanding World.”
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