Washington, D.C., December 22, 2020

Dear Members and Friends,

It has been a challenging year, but we are also grateful for all that has been accomplished. A highlight of 2020 was the response from across the globe to our UNSCR 1325 essay competition. The innovative and timely proposals on how to energize and move forward with the Women, Peace and Security and gender equality agendas make us hopeful for the future.

WIIS continues to expand geographically. Our international affiliates and national chapters continue to grow and are extremely active in their communities. WIIS also continues to grow programmatically. In 2020, we launched the second edition of our Think Tank Scorecard with a focus on the nuclear community. We also worked with the Department of Defense’s US Southern Command to examine how well the military and national police in Latin America and the Caribbean have integrated WPS and gender equality principles into their policies and operations. The book, The Gender & Security Agenda: Strategies for the 21st Century examining gender dynamics in ten sub-fields of security was published by Routledge in July. In addition, we published many new Policy Briefs and blogs.

We are grateful to all our funders and partners who have helped us grow and attain our objectives to advance the professional development of women in the national and international security field; increase knowledge and understanding of the nexus between gender and security; and bridge the divides between the traditional security communities and the gender and WPS communities. Most importantly and speaking on behalf of the whole WIIS Global team, we are grateful for the continued support and engagement of our members.

We hope we can continue to draw on your support in 2021. WIIS is dedicated to the future –we have many exciting new plans for 2021 and beyond in the works. We seek to continually enhance our programs, publications, and partnerships, but we cannot do it without your support.

We encourage you, this December, to make WIIS part of your holidays by becoming a member, giving the gift of membership, or making a donation. Please get in touch if you would like to learn more about supporting any of our programs and publications or to learn of additional opportunities to help us continue to advance the mission of WIIS.

On behalf of the entire WIIS team, we wish you very happy, safe, and healthy holidays.

Dr. Chantal de Jonge Oudraat

President, Women In International Security

Download the letter here.

To advance WIIS’ mission in 2019, WIIS has expanded its ongoing programs, events, leadership training, and Jobs and Events Hotlines. In addition, WIIS created new programs such as the WIIS Words Podcast and continued to publish policy briefs and blogs. WIIS also continued its work on the Gender, Peace and Security initiative through hosting the 2019 Next Generation Symposium.

View the 2019 Year in Review Infographic Here

Read the full 2018 Year in Review Report

View the 2018 Year in Review Infographic

Washington, D.C., December 21, 2018

Dear WIIS Friends:

I am proud to report that Women In International Security (WIIS) continues to grow and enhance its prominence in the national and international security field.  We now have ten chapters across the United States and twenty-six international affiliates on six continents.  Our network reaches Australia, Asia, the Horn of Africa to the Middle East, Europe, and the Americas.

From the beginning, our core mission has been to advance the professional development and leadership of women in the field of national and international security.  We continue to do so by encouraging and supporting young women entering the field and by promoting women experts in the United States and around the globe.  In 2018, we also continued to expand our research and policy engagement initiatives on critical global security issues, including the nexus between gender and security through policy roundtables and the publication of policy briefs.  The WIIS 2018 Gender Scorecard of Washington, D.C. think tanks showed that significant gender gaps remain at expert staff and board levels.  To address the board level gap, WIIS will launch in 2019 the Blue Book, a roster of women experts available for service on governing boards.

In 2018, we also continued to develop partnerships with other institutions, including our highly successful collaboration with the Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO), the United States Institute of Peace (USIP), and the University of California, Berkeley on the Missing Peace Initiative.  This important Initiative brings greater attention to the topic of sexual violence in conflict and post-conflict settings.  WIIS and its partners in the Initiative met twice in 2018, including at the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony in Oslo that honored Nadia Murad and Denis Mukwege for their efforts to end the use of sexual violence as a weapon of war.

WIIS chapters and affiliates organized and co-sponsored more than fifty events worldwide, published numerous policy briefs, and supported other critical programs that further our mission of advancing women in peace and security.  In November 2018, WIIS Germany celebrated its fifteenth anniversary with an international conference in Berlin.

As 2018 comes to a close, I would like to thank all of you for your support.  Again in 2018, WIIS has demonstrated that it turns your financial support into innovative programs that help WIIS members and the world in which we live in.  I invite you to renew your membership and make a tax-deductible donation to WIIS. You can use the link or write a check with attention to WIIS (1301 Connecticut Avenue NW, Suite 750, Washington, D.C. 20036).  Your support is tremendously important.

Lastly, I would like to thank all of my wonderful colleagues heading up the WIIS chapters and affiliates and my terrific colleagues at WIIS HQ.  Without them, we would not have made all this significant progress.  I want to extend my special thanks to:  John Arnold, Beatriz Carboni, Nadia Crevecoeur, Ellen Haring, Jeanette Haynie, Karin Johnston, Soraya Kamali-Nafar, Sarah Kenny, Hannah Lynch, Diana Peiffer, Madeline Purkerson, Antonieta Rico, and Gina Taddeo.

Stay tuned as we start 2019 with exciting new programs, including a reprise of the Next Generation Symposium.

With warm regards and best wishes to you for a terrific 2019!

Dr. Chantal de Jonge Oudraat

President, Women In International Security

To advance WIIS’ mission in 2017, WIIS has expanded its networking events, leadership training, mentoring programs and Jobs Hotline. In addition, we have developed research and policy engagement projects on critical international security issues where we have powerful comparative advantages. This includes projects on the Gender, Women, Peace and Security agendas; women in the military; and terrorism and violent extremism.

Read the full 2017 Year in Review report here

Washington, D.C., December 20, 2015

Dear WIIS Colleagues and Friends:

We are proud to report that Women In International Security (WIIS) continues to grow as an international organization, gaining greater visibility and prominence in the security field. We now have seven chapters across the United States and 21 international affiliates on five continents. With members in 47 countries around the world, WIIS is truly a global organization.

From the beginning, WIIS’ core mission has been to advance the professional development and leadership of women in the field of international security. To advance this mission, WIIS is expanding its array of local, national, and international networking events, leadership training, and mentoring programs. In addition, we are also developing a set of research and policy engagement projects on critical international security issues where we have powerful comparative advantages. This includes projects on UN Security Council Resolution 1325; the Combat Integration Initiative; the Missing Peace Initiative on sexual violence in conflict and post-conflict settings; and women and violent extremism. We are also working on a world-wide membership conference to explore and highlight evolving global security challenges.

I have been inspired this past year by the growing number of young women joining WIIS and the continued support of women leaders in the security field. The increased inter-generational nature of the network as well as the diverse professional background of our member makes WIIS an international network that is intellectually stimulating and professionally rewarding.

As 2015 comes to a close, I would like to thank all of you for your support. To learn more about the accomplishments of WIIS in 2015, please visit our website www.wiisglobal.org and see the attached Year in Review. I also invite you to renew your membership and make a tax deductible donation to WIIS. Also, do not forget to update your profile. Indeed, your support is critical as we are reaching out to foundations and governments for the funding of projects.

Do not hesitate to reach out to us with any questions or concerns at coudraat@wiisglobal.org or info@wiisglobal.org.

Lastly, I would be remiss if I did not thank all my wonderful colleagues heading up the WIIS chapters and international affiliates and my terrific colleagues at WIIS HQ–without them we would not have made all this progress. A special thanks to Brooke Stedman, Ellen Haring, Carolyn Washington, Jeanette Haynie, Monia Zgarni, Nehal Ali, Bushra al-Huthi, Julienne Denecke, Shannon Travis, Shelby Bourgeault, Stephanie Breitsman, Rose Blanchard, Alexander Bro, Gabriel Daley and Cathy Howell. Special thanks also to Pamela Aall, Catherine Kelleher and Gale Mattox for their support and outreach efforts.

With warm regards and best wishes for a happy end of year.

Chantal

Washington, DC
December 23, 2014

Dear WIIS Colleagues and Friends:

We are proud to report that Women In International Security (WIIS) is beginning a new and exciting chapter in our organization’s development. Starting this past Spring, WIIS has been established as a fully-independent 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Since the founding of WIIS in 1987, we have been based at various times at the University of Maryland, Georgetown University, and the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). We are now on our own!

This is also an exciting time for WIIS because we are expanding our national and international reach. We now have six chapters across the United States and 21 chapters on five continents. With members in 47 countries around the world, WIIS is truly going global.

From the beginning, WIIS’ core mission has been to advance the professional development and leadership of women in the field of international security. We have accomplished a great deal, but there is still much to do. Our mission is still vitally important – for individual women, for our countries, and for the world as a whole. WIIS will be needed for years and decades to come.

To advance this mission, WIIS is expanding our array of local, national, and international networking events, leadership training, and mentoring programs. We are also developing a set of research and policy engagement projects on critical international security issues where we have unique and powerful comparative advantages. This includes projects on UN Security Council Resolution 1325, as well as participation in the U.S. Civil Society Working Group on Women, Peace, and Security; the Combat Integration Initiative; the Missing Peace Initiative on sexual violence in conflict and post-conflict settings; and the Men, Peace, and Security Symposium.

WIIS is now at a critical juncture. Since 1987, WIIS has received valuable institutional support from Maryland, Georgetown, and CSIS. This included office space and general administrative support. We are now fully independent. We are of course reaching out to foundations, corporations, government agencies, and international organizations for project and institutional support, but they will be looking to us – the members of WIIS – to show our commitment.

WIIS is launching a membership drive to propel us into this new phase in our organization’s development. This is a multi-front campaign:

• If you haven’t paid your membership dues for 2015, please do so now. You can find information on membership categories and payment links on our website: wiisglobal.org.

• I am calling on all of the senior members of WIIS and every member who has the means to do so to pledge $500-1000 for 2014 and again in 2015. We need 200 of our members to step up and join this Leadership Circle. Your donation will be tax deductible.

• I am calling on every member of WIIS to recruit a new member over the next 12 months.

Like many of you, I have found my relationship with WIIS to be intellectually stimulating and professionally valuable. I have made some of my best contacts – and met some of my closest friends – through WIIS. WIIS is a great organization because, fundamentally, it is a great group of people. I am very grateful for your support of WIIS and this next chapter in our work.

With warm regards,

Dr. Chantal de Jonge Oudraat