What you probably already know: In addition to being largely excluded from corporate and legislative leadership positions, women are also overwhelmingly absent from international peace negotiations. The United Nations reports that only 5% of negotiators at the 57 peace processes that occurred last year were women. The International Peace Institute found that women’s participation in peace talks increased the probability of an agreement lasting at least two years by 20% and the probability an agreement would last 15 years by 35%.
Why it matters: In 2000, the UN passed its landmark Security Council resolution 1325, which acknowledged women’s importance to lasting world peace and called for all world actors to increase participation from women in their negotiation efforts. Twenty-six years later, the UN is finding these efforts have taken a step back during a time where the world is already watching the highest number of state-based conflicts happen since 1946. A lack of female involvement has shown to also have a negative effect on women’s rights mentions. The UN found that less than one-fifth of global peace agreements included references to women, girls, gender, or sexual violence; and none of the 13 ceasefire agreements in 2025 included conflict-related sexual violence or other gendered forms of insecurity as prohibited acts. In 2025, roughly 19% of the female population (756 million women and girls) lived within 50 kilometers of armed conflict — the highest number since the 1990s. Conflict-related sexual violence has also more than doubled since 2022 with 9,788 cases in 2025.
What it means: There is definitive proof that involving women in negotiations and including women’s issues in those negotiations leads to sustained peace, including fewer deaths, more stable economies, and reductions in conflict-related sexual violence.
What happens now? In its report, the UN directly called for world actors to adhere to its promise — “women negotiators at every peacemaking table and their needs reflected in every peace agreement.” The UN also requested donors direct more of their spending toward women-led foreign aid organizations as military spending continues to skyrocket while aid donations plummet. “This political and financial retreat has real-life consequences,” said UN Secretary-General António Guterres in a prepared speech. “From the closure of clinics and safe spaces for women and girls. To reductions in UN peacekeeping and political missions, including gender and women protection advisors. To the loss of vital humanitarian support for women and girls. To lifesaving women’s organizations being forced to cease operations due to lack of resources.” In addition, 43 UN Member States, international and regional organizations, and other mediating actors signed a pledge in 2024 to promote women’s equal representation in peace talks and commit to concrete steps forward.
