A list of authors, past and present
Canada and France are amongst NATO’s leading countries in advancing gender parity. With their Armed Forces compromising between 16-17% of women actively serving in the military. Despite these achievements both countries continue to face significant challenges with recruitment and retention specifically amongst women with strong backgrounds in STEM and cybersecurity. The underrepresentation of women in defence and cybersecurity presents a critical challenge to long term defence readiness and resilience.
With the U.S. rollback of the Pentagon’s Women, Peace, and Security program, the global WPS agenda appears to be at a crossroads. In the context of increasing geopolitical volatility, peacebuilding initiatives such as WPS must be at the forefront of NATO’s operational goals. Canada’s National Action Plan offers a leading example of how states can reinforce the global WPS agenda through comprehensive national policy.
Canada’s new plan to name a new Women, Peace and Security (WPS) ambassador is a positive signal, considering WPS and Feminist Foreign Policy (FFP) have historically been a reflection of Canadian values, as champions of peace and multilateral cooperation. Isabelle Zhu argues that Canada’s current “middle power” strategy would allow it to move forward as the new champion of FFPs and WPS, enhancing its position within the Alliance and on the international stage.
The transition toward drone warfare is transforming the frontline. Drawing on Ukraine’s experience, this article explores how remote warfare challenges conventional standards for combat effectiveness. These transformations create new opportunities and threats; the necessity for precision, composure, and critical thinking bolsters women’s greater capacity to perform as impressive drone operators. Alternatively, gendered stereotypes and psychological challenges persist. This article outlines pathways through which NATO can integrate gender perspectives into the deployment of uncrewed systems in order to optimize the integration of combat innovation.
Isabelle Zhu argues that NATO DIANA can serve as a key platform to uplift women in STEM. By providing opportunities to connect women across the Alliance with the private and public sectors, government, and academia, DIANA has the potential to advance women’s involvement and participation in these fields.
Women’s political representation is an integral condition for achieving durable peace, however, progress toward parity has begun stalling recent years. This article examines the mechanisms through which women’s substantive political representation produces positive outcomes for NATO’s peace and security agenda. The NATO Alliance must cultivate a political order where women lead, not only as a gender equity imperative but as a peace imperative, as women’s leadership presents the surest defence against adversaries seeking to destabilize the Alliance.
As Arctic security becomes increasingly central to Canada’s defence strategy and the broader priorities of NATO, women and notably Indigenous women, retain imperative roles in deploying Canada’s northern security strategy. Integrating women’s leadership into Arctic defence planning is critical to ensuring that Canada’s northern security strategy is both operationally effective and socially sound. This article aims to highlight key women currently contributing to Canada’s Arctic strategy, as well as illuminate the broader gendered implications of resilience in the North.
Female journalists experience harmful stereotypes, increased susceptibility to violence, and additional barriers, especially when reporting in conflict zones. Journalism is a crucial mechanism that contributes to peace and security, and it is essential to support women in this space as they add differing perspectives in this traditionally male-dominated space.
Overlapping structural barriers, including economic inequality, racism, and social inequalities, work to limit women’s agency, reinforcing problematic assumptions around gender and reasons for women’s inclusion. Contextual considerations to peacekeeping operations (eg. geography, history, culture) as well as overlapping factors that affect women’s experiences should be accounted for when determining responsibilities/mandates. Missions could benefit from incorporating an intersectional perspective, beyond just the gendered dimension; race, class, sexuality, and other social identities have organizational, institutional, and field-level effects in the conflict resolution process.
Canada’s Defence Industrial Strategy (DIS) aims to strengthen national defence posture by investing in domestic supply chains. This article explores whether the opportunities created by this expansion will produce meaningful gains for women in Canada’s defence and security industries. By examining initiatives among leading Canadian defence firms, this article assesses current efforts to promote women’s industrial participation and prescribes how the DIS can pursue gender-inclusive growth among Canada’s broader defence procurement strategy.
