Welcome to Our Secure Future’s monthly Women, Peace and Security (WPS) Research Digest, “the done for you” newsletter on WPS. Every month we curate the latest articles and reports on intersectional, cross-cutting issues focused on women’s rights, and international peace and security matters. This June, we searched the web for you, and here’s what we found…
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Economic Empowerment
Staying the course: The role of gender equality in fostering poverty reduction and economic development (Brookings Institution)
“In the face of deepening crises and dramatic reductions in development assistance, those who believe in gender equality and women’s rights need to stay the course by strengthening their coordination and redoubling their efforts. There is a long-standing body of experience and evidence demonstrating the critical importance of gender equality and women’s empowerment for economic development.”
Breaking ground to empower women in the Kenyan construction industry (International Development Research Centre)
“Buildher is a non-profit social enterprise that uses an innovative, holistic approach to help get more women into Kenya’s booming but overwhelmingly male-dominated construction industry. Throughout East Africa, gender segregation in work results in most women having low-paying jobs and a higher share of the unpaid care work required in the home. Dalberg Research in Kenya has teamed up with Buildher to identify valuable lessons from the innovative training model that could help drive women’s empowerment in construction and other sectors throughout the region.”
Global Gender Gap Report 2025 (World Economic Forum)
“The Global Gender Gap Index annually benchmarks the current state and evolution of gender parity across four key dimensions (subindexes): Economic Participation and Opportunity, Educational Attainment, Health and Survival, and Political Empowerment. Since launching in 2006, it is the longest-standing index tracking the progress of numerous countries’ efforts towards closing these gaps over time.”
Women’s Economic Empowerment as a Cornerstone of Peace and Humanitarian Response (United Nations Development Programme)
“This session convened UN entities, Member States, civil society, and financial institutions to spotlight the structural barriers to women’s economic security in crisis-affected settings, share good practices, and catalyze stronger collaboration . . . Opening the session, H.E. Helena Kuzee, Deputy Permanent Representative of Namibia to the UN underscored the urgency of action: 158 million women and girls are projected to be pushed into poverty over the next 25 years. In addition, only 16 out of 99 peace agreements between 2000 and 2016 had substantive gender provisions focused on women's socioeconomic recovery and economic participation.”
WPS in the US
What does the State Department’s reorganization mean for Women, Peace and Security? (Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security)
“Last week, Secretary Marco Rubio sent Congress a formal notice describing how he intends to reorganize the Department of State, and the Trump Administration followed this with a request to withhold Congressionally approved funds to align with this plan. This vision, if approved by Congress, will have a devastating impact on global peace and security. It would eliminate Women, Peace and Security (WPS) expertise from America’s soft power toolkit, leaving diplomatic and development efforts less effective as a result. It would hurt societies writ large, and it would directly undermine the safety and empowerment of women and girls around the world.”
Technology
AI threatens one in four jobs – but transformation, not replacement, is the real risk (United Nations)
“Women and clerical workers face the highest risk of their roles being radically transformed by Artificial Intelligence, prompting calls for inclusive policy responses. The study finds that in high-income countries, jobs considered at the highest risk of AI-driven task automation account for 9.6 per cent of female employment – nearly three times the share for men.”
Inside Modern Defense Tech (Center for Strategic & International Studies – Smart Women Smart Power Podcast)
“Vannevar Labs at its core has a bold mission: bring the best technology American innovation can offer into close partnership with the U.S. government to equip public servants with the tools they need to keep the country safe. Host Dr. Kathleen McInnis sits down with Erin Biggers, Vice President of Mission at Vannevar Labs, for a conversation on how she went from service in the Air Force to playing a pivotal role in scaling the impact and operations of a new modern defense tech company.”
Climate
Explainer: Why Gender Will Be High on the Agenda at COP30 (Earth.Org)
“At COP30, to be held this November in Belém, Brazil, gender will be one of the major topics on the agenda. In particular, a decision is expected at this year’s conference on a new Gender Action Plan.”
The Next Decade Starts Now: Gender, Climate, and the Stakes for COP30 (Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security)
“Insights from the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) Conflict Tracker show how climate change is intensifying existing security risks for women—from drought-driven food shortages in the Sahel to climate disasters and floods in Southeast Asia—risks that will worsen without urgent action to mitigate the most severe potential climate scenarios . . . COP30 offers a crucial chance to rebuild trust in multilateralism by strengthening international cooperation for the next decade of ambitious, inclusive climate action.”
Unpacking Intersectional Approaches to Climate Change Adaptation (International Institute for Sustainable Development)
“The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change identifies intersectionality as a fundamental question for just and equitable climate change adaptation. But how do we apply an intersectional approach in practice? This working paper introduces a set of principles for applying intersectional approaches to climate change adaptation.”
Building a climate-resilient Viet Nam: Strengthening women’s role in agriculture and leadership (UN Women Asia and the Pacific)
“As one of the most climate-vulnerable countries in the world, Viet Nam is facing an escalating climate crisis. Rising sea levels and increasingly severe disasters threaten not only its stunning landscapes but also the lives and livelihoods of millions of its people, from urban centers to mountainous regions and coastal areas.”
General WPS
Empowering Women: A Critical Force in the Fight Against Human Trafficking in Thailand (Our Secure Future)
“As many countries in the Asia-Pacific region continue to prioritize initiatives to combat human trafficking, this analysis looks at the crucial role of women in counter-trafficking efforts in Thailand, specifically their participation in the security and justice sectors, and through local community initiatives . . . This article explores the crucial role women play in combating human trafficking in Thailand and examines the structural setbacks they continue to face in achieving broader impact.”
The Odd Couple: Women Peacebuilders and Security Actors Bridging Positions, Building Trust (International Civil Society Action Network)
“In March 2024, ICAN, in partnership with the Norwegian Mission to the UN, convened the first formal dialogue between civil society women peacebuilders and security actors at the United Nations. This report captures the key discussions, initiatives, and actionable recommendations, focusing on three core areas of work between the two sectors: addressing the threat of violent extremism; reframing and reforming the security sector; and confronting election-related violence.”
How the Taliban is using law for gender apartheid, and how to push back (Atlantic Council)
“So far, the Taliban has adopted more than two hundred decrees targeting women and girls. The bans and restrictions affect all aspects of life . . . To implement these decrees, Taliban authorities exercise broad discretionary powers to interpret and enforce the law, relying on a range of extrajudicial methods. In effect, the Taliban regime has employed the instruments of lawmaking and law enforcement to establish a system of control and oppression of women that amounts to gender apartheid.”
Facts and figures: Women’s leadership and political participation (UN Women)
“Women’s equal participation and leadership in political and public life are essential to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030. However, data show that women are underrepresented at all levels of decision-making worldwide and that achieving gender parity in political life is far off.”
Femicide laws worldwide: 50 years of evolution and ongoing gaps (World Bank)
“The threat of femicide is not only a justice crisis—it is also a profound economic and development issue. When femicide does occur, the consequences ripple outward: each woman killed is a lost member of society and often a primary caregiver whose absence destabilizes households. The intergenerational impacts are severe - children who lose their mothers to femicide suffer lasting trauma, impacting their education and overall well-being. These costs are borne not only by families, but also by health, education, and justice systems, and ultimately by the broader economy.”
The Courage to Talk, Not Kill: Peace, Security, and Syria's Women (International Civil Society Action Network - If You Were in Charge Podcast)
“The fall of the Assad regime came swiftly in the end, with far less violence than anyone imagined. How did this happen? Can Syria emerge from its decades of brutality and bloodshed to become a bastion of hope in the Middle East? Sanam talks to Abir Hajibrahim, co-founder of Mobaderoon and one of Syria’s leading peacebuilders, who has built a network of dedicated peacebuilders and volunteers—preventing violence, reconciling communities, and mobilizing people to be active, engaged citizens determining their own futures.”
How do women ambassadors reshape diplomacy at the UN Security Council? (Peace Research Institute Oslo)
“In 2014, the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) made headlines for an unprecedented reason: for the first time in history women made up 30% of its ambassadors (also referred to as ‘permanent representatives’). This milestone was hailed as a potential turning point for gender equality in diplomacy, as the UNSC up until then was known for its long-standing tradition of an all-male or one-female Council.”
Upcoming and Past Notable Events
May 13-14, 2025 - Thematic Meeting of the Women, Peace and Security Focal Points Network (WPS Focal Points Network)
“Representatives from over 50 countries and regional organizations convened in Oslo from 13 to 14 May 2025 for the Thematic Meeting of the Women, Peace and Security Focal Points Network (WPS-FPN), hosted by Norway and Japan, the Network’s 2025 Co-Chairs. Held under the theme “Deepening WPS Commitments for Action: Innovating and Adapting to Deliver on Peace and Security,” the meeting focused on inclusive peacemaking and peacebuilding in a milestone year commemorating the 25th anniversary of UN Security Council Resolution 1325 (2000).”
June 4, 2025 – Women's Leadership in Rethinking Security: Beyond Fear, Force and Deterrence (Open Nuclear Network)
“As global tensions rise and militarisation accelerates, traditional security paradigms rooted in fear, force and deterrence are becoming increasingly unfit for today’s complex challenges. How can we reimagine security to reflect a more inclusive, cooperative and sustainable future? This public panel brings together leaders in nuclear diplomacy and international security to explore what rethinking security means in the 21st century.”
June 9, 2025 – Women, Peace and Security Congressional Caucus Briefing (WPS Congressional Caucus)
On June 9, the US Women, Peace and Security (WPS) Congressional Caucus held a bipartisan briefing on WPS for Congressional staffers. The briefing covered the history of the US WPS Act and the WPS Congressional Caucus, the background of UN Security Council Resolution 1325 and National Action Plans, as well as why WPS is important in the current geopolitical landscape and concrete examples of WPS in practice. Speakers included representatives from the Offices of Representative Lois Frankel and Representative Jen Kiggans, Our Secure Future, Texas A&M University Bush School of Government & Public Service, Center for Strategic and International Studies, aXXelerate, and Alliance for Peacebuilding.
June 10, 2025 - In-Person DC Roundtable: Advancing Women’s Political Representation and Democracy (Council on Foreign Relations)
“Progress for women’s political leadership is stagnating around the world, alongside global democracy decline. Linda Robinson, senior fellow for women and foreign policy at the Council on Foreign Relations, and Cynthia Richie Terrell, executive director of RepresentWomen and co-founder of FairVote, discuss ongoing research on recent elections and how electoral rules and systems impact women’s political representation around the world.”
June 25, 2025 - Bolivia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, and Panama move forward with determination in their national plans on Women, Peace and Security (Our Secure Future and UN Women)
“From June 24-26, 24 leaders from Bolivia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, and Panama gathered to learn about how to design and implement Women, Peace and Security (WPS) National Action Plans . . . The second edition of the Regional Academy, organized by UN Women and Our Secure Future, culminated in Panama with concrete results and renewed commitments.”
July 16, 2025 - Women Peace and Security Agenda: Contributions and Challenges (American Bar Association)
On July 16th, Our Secure Future Vice President Sahana Dharmapuri will be a panelist in "The Women, Peace and Security Agenda: Contributions and Challenges," a public virtual webinar hosted by the American Bar Association. Tune in for a conversation with experts on how the WPS framework has been utilized to date, how countries, including the United States, have implemented WPS in their foreign policy, and what more can be done to highlight the central role women play in conflict prevention and peacebuilding.
September 23, 2025 - 2025 Women In Defense National Conference (Women in Defense National Conference)
“Women In Defense invites you to the 2025 National Conference — an essential event for leaders, innovators, and change-makers in the defense community. This year’s theme, “Winning Tomorrow: Unlocking Mission Success Through Innovation and Efficiency,” emphasizes the importance of collaboration, modernization, and agility in shaping the future of national security. The event brings together professionals and leaders across government, military, industry, and academia to share insights, foster partnerships, and elevate forward-thinking strategies in defense.”
Opportunities
Herbert Scoville Jr. Peace Fellowship Program (Scoville Peace Fellowship)
“The Herbert Scoville Jr. Peace Fellowship Program invites recent college and graduate school alumni to apply for full-time, six-to-nine month fellowships in Washington, DC. Outstanding individuals will be selected to work with nonprofit, public-interest organizations addressing peace and security issues. Applications are especially encouraged from candidates with a strong interest in these issues who have prior experience with public-interest activism or advocacy.”