Yet another male-dominated field needs an overhaul

What does security look like when women lead? Not just symbolically, but substantively, as policymakers, peacebuilders, intelligence analysts and counterterrorism experts?

For too long, global security has been a male-dominated space. But if we want peace to last, and if we want policies that serve entire communities, not just the powerful, then women must be empowered, not merely included.

A recent study from the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung Foundation, titled “Spotlight on the Gender Knowledge Gap in Security Policies”, offered a striking insight. Across several European countries, when surveyed about political and security issues, especially in relation to the war in Ukraine, women were far more likely than men to respond: “I don’t know.”

This wasn’t because women were less informed. When asked about personal safety or local security concerns, women answered just as confidently as men. But when it came to geopolitics or EU-level security policies, their confidence dropped.

One reason may be what social scientists call “social-desirability bias”. In many societies, men are socialised to appear confident, especially on “hard” topics such as defence or foreign policy, even when unsure. Women, on the other hand, often hesitate to speak unless they feel 100 per cent qualified. This reflects not a knowledge deficit, but a societal one.

Globally, women still make up less than 30 per cent of national parliamentarians. They’re better represented in so-called “soft” ministries, like social affairs, gender equality, or family services where they hold about 45 per cent of positions. But when it comes to “hard” portfolios such as defence or policing, only 12 per cent of ministers globally are women.

The military side of security tells a similar story. Women make up about 11 per cent of Nato’s combined military personnel. They don’t even make up 20 per cent of the military personnel in any Nato member state. At current rates, it could take more than 400 years to achieve full gender parity within the alliance’s military ranks.

So why is this issue important to come to terms with today? When citizens, young and old alike, rarely see women in leadership roles in these spaces, the message is subtle but powerful: this isn’t your domain. That doesn't just shape who aspires to lead, it influences who feels confident, empowered and entitled to speak up in the first place.

In 2000, the UN Security Council unanimously adopted Resolution 1325, launching the Women, Peace, and Security agenda. It called for the prevention of conflict, the protection of women and girls, and the inclusion of women in peacebuilding and post-conflict recovery.

The logic behind including women in peace processes was always compelling, and evidence since has only reinforced it. When women participate meaningfully in peace and security efforts, the outcomes tend to be more inclusive and sustainable. Studies show that women’s involvement helps strengthen peacekeeping missions, prevent radicalisation, accelerate post-conflict recovery, and increase the overall durability of peace agreements. Simply put, when women are at the table, peace has a better chance of lasting.

Yet 25 years later, progress remains frustratingly slow. As of 2022, only 33 per cent of peace agreements included references to women or gender. And most “gender-related” funding still goes to projects where gender equality is peripheral, not central. Rebuilding a hospital in a post-conflict zone is vital as women benefit from access to increased health care, but this is not the same as training women to serve as negotiators or local mediators. Funding that puts women at the table is still alarmingly scarce.

Despite the barriers, women have made critical contributions in some of the most sensitive corners of the security world, from intelligence to counterterrorism to nuclear disarmament. In the field of intelligence, women have long played pivotal but often overlooked roles. They served as codebreakers during the Second World War, worked as covert operatives during the Cold War, and provided essential analytical and language expertise during the Gulf War and the Vietnam War.

In more recent years, women have risen to senior leadership positions. In 1992, Stella Rimington broke barriers in the UK as the first female director general of MI5. In 2021, Avril Haines became the first female director of national intelligence in the administration of former US President Joe Biden, overseeing all 18 intelligence agencies in the country. Both leaders brought a broader, more transparent approach to national security, helping to shift traditional institutional cultures.

In counterterrorism, women are often the first to detect early signs of radicalisation within their families or communities. Despite this, their insights have historically been underutilised in formal counterterrorism frameworks. That’s slowly beginning to change.

Programmes such as UN Women’s “Preventing Violent Extremism in the Sahel” have trained female leaders to serve as peacebuilders and community-based early warning systems, offering a more localised, preventative approach to tackling extremism.

In the realm of disarmament, Swedish lawyer Beatrice Fihn led the global campaign that resulted in the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, the first legally binding international ban on nuclear arms. Under her leadership, the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons was awarded the 2017 Nobel Peace Prize. Her work reflects the humanitarian and community-centred lens women often bring to arms control, prioritising human security and community resilience over purely military or state-centric approaches.

In the US, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion initiatives were created to correct systemic imbalances in hiring and advancement – including in defence, law enforcement and intelligence sectors. But under the administration of President Donald Trump, a number of DEI efforts were dismantled.

Critics called them “divisive”. In reality, eliminating DEI weakens protections for women and minorities, widens the gender pay gap, and narrows the pipeline of talent entering security leadership roles. It’s a step backward at a time when the challenges facing our world – such as climate insecurity, cyberwarfare and disinformation – require diverse thinking and lived experiences more than ever.

Women’s perspectives in security add value and reshape how we define and pursue peace. To fully realise this potential, we must ensure intentional inclusion in every space where security decisions are made. This means investing not only in programmes that benefit women, but in those led by women, and ensuring their work is visible and recognised so that future generations understand what leadership can and should look like.

Security is no longer solely about borders, weapons or deterrence. It is equally about trust, resilience and who gets to shape our shared future. And women, almost half the global population, belong at the centre of that conversation.