On October 31, 2000, the United Nations passed the UN Security Council Resolution on Women, Peace, and Security (UNSCR 1325). The resolution established an international goal of “full, equal, and meaningful participation” of women in peacemaking initiatives by 2030 (OSAGI).
The meaningful inclusion of women in peace negotiations not only advances gender equality, but directly impacts the longevity of peace agreements. When women are included in negotiations, the likelihood of agreements lasting over 2 years increases by 20%, and 15 years by 30% (Stone, 2014). Still, women remain a significant minority in formal conflict transformation efforts.
The Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) reports substantial inequalities in the gender demographics of formal peace leadership. Among the seven current peace efforts tracked by the CFR, women comprise only ~16.7% of negotiators—less than a 1% increase from 2022. Progress has also not been linear, female negotiators dropped from 23% in 2020 to 16% in 2022 (CFR). While fulfillment of UNSCR 1325 has yielded limited top-down change, women continue to advance peace from the ground up. Increasingly, conflict transformation begins with community transformation.
Civil society groups such as the Carter Center, Northern Ireland Alternatives, and the Sennar Women’s Association provide pathways for local women to shape peace beyond formal negotiations. Peace agreements built through civil society collaboration are 64% less likely to fail (Pfaffenholz, 2006). Sustained communication between communities, women, and civil society actors strengthens both the quality and durability of peace processes (Krause, Krause, and Branfors, 2018). Though locally driven, these initiatives reflect a broader global pattern.
The Carter Center is a non-partisan non-profit organization dedicated to empowering communities in peace-building initiatives (The Carter Center). In 2021, it expanded efforts through the Inform Women, Transform Lives initiative, collaborating with 48 cities to increase women’s access to information about rights, resources, and economic opportunities (Transform Women, Change Lives).
São Paulo, Brazil, served as a pilot city, illustrating how community participation can translate into policy. Prior to the initiative’s launch, the city convened a forum for women to identify pressing concerns. Violence against women emerged as the primary issue, shaping the municipal campaign’s focus (Prefeitura de São Paulo 1). Five Woman Citizen Centers were then mobilized to provide services addressing gendered violence while offering women a sustained platform to influence municipal policy (Prefeitura de São Paulo 2). In a discussion on WUCF’s Global Perspectives program, Director Barbara Smith underscored the broader principle: “…you can’t have peace without human rights. You need inclusion of women to have effective sustainable peace” (Global Perspectives).
Community transformation shaped by women’s participation does not require explicitly gendered mandates. Northern Ireland Alternatives (NIA), a restorative justice program addressing low-level community crime, incorporates a gender-conscious approach despite its broader focus (Alternatives). Co-Director Debbie Watters has emphasized that true peace stems from equality, a perspective reflected in the organization’s leadership and staffing (Peace by Piece).
In contexts where formal peace remains elusive, grassroots women’s initiatives mitigate the immediate effects of conflict. The Sennar Women’s Association mobilizes more than a thousand volunteers to address hunger and displacement caused by the war in Sudan. Through “women’s response rooms,” volunteers prepare meals, maintain essential services, and provide education for displaced children where international aid has been inconsistent (The Borgen Project). While the association’s current focus is emergency response, The New Humanitarian notes the future implications which come from its brokerage with outside women’s groups. One day, this peace initiative may serve as a springboard for post-war feminist activism (The New Humanitarian). While time will determine the association’s long-term political impact, its immediate influence continues to promote stability in the region.
Achieving parity in peace negotiations by 2030 remains a goal of UNSCR 1325, and while significant strides still need to be made for this achievement to come to fruition, women continue to build peace around the world- one community at a time.
Sources:
OSAGI- https://www.un.org/womenwatch/osagi/wps/
SSRN (Stone, 2014)- https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2485242
Council on Foreign Relations- https://www.cfr.org/womens-participation-in-peace-processes/index.html
World Bank (Pfaffenholz, 2006)- https://documents1.worldbank.org/curated/en/822561468142505821/pdf/378130Peacebuilding0WP3601PUBLIC1.pdf
Taylor & Francis (Krause, Krause, and Branfors, 2018)- https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/03050629.2018.1492386
The Carter Center- https://www.cartercenter.org/programs/inform-women/
Inform Women, Transform Lives- https://www.informwomen.org/
Prefeitura de São Paulo
Prefeitura de São Paulo 1- https://prefeitura.sp.gov.br/web/relacoes_internacionais/w/en/311009
Prefeitura de São Paulo 2- https://prefeitura.sp.gov.br/web/relacoes_internacionais/w/en/news/321047
Global Perspectives- https://www.pbs.org/video/barbara-smith-msnud2/
Alternatives- https://alternativesrj.co.uk/
Peace by Piece- https://www.buzzsprout.com/1816172/9033273/transcript
The Borgen Project- https://borgenproject.org/volunteers-in-sudan/
The New Humanitarian- https://www.thenewhumanitarian.org/news-feature/2025/01/28/how-mutual-aid-helping-women-survive-sudan-war