Ongoing Programs
WIIS Global is launching a cyber, technology, and security project intended to break down the complexity and nuance of the cyber world into byte-sized pieces.
WIIS Global is launching a cyber, technology, and security project intended to break down the complexity and nuance of the cyber world into byte-sized pieces.
As we transitioned to virtual office spaces we began to discuss the role of technology in our lives in a new light. Our world is becoming increasingly interconnected with new technologies. These advancements require that we in the security realm critically analyze the benefits and vulnerabilities that are posed by technological evolution. Traditional conceptions of security are being challenged, cyber capabilities are opening up new avenues for conflict and war, and social media platforms can be manipulated to be a threat. Traditionally, gender has been completely bypassed, taken out of the algorithms, or given tokenistic recognition in these areas.The Latin America Women, Peace and Security Scorecard is a tool to integrate the principles of gender equality and the WPS agenda within the security forces of the countries of Central and South America and in the Caribbean. It is a learning and educational tool that will assist countries in monitoring and evaluating how well they are integrating the principles of gender equality and the WPS agenda into their security policies and organizations. Lastly, the WPS Scorecard is a partnership tool intended to allow countries to work better together.
This summer, the WFPG and WIIS will co-host monthly virtual career development events. Throughout these events, participants will build upon important career development skills and connect with professionals in international affairs. So find a quiet corner, grab your laptop and join us for our upcoming programs.
The WIIS Blue Book is a roster for female experts in the field of national and international security that are available for service on Governing Boards of Think Tanks and other Non-Profit Organizations.
The Gender Scorecard initiative measures and assesses how gender is mainstreamed in institutions and programs. Currently WIIS has published:
- WIIS Gender Scorecard: Think Tanks and Journals Spotlight on the Nuclear Security Community: It shows that despite some progress, the national and international security field remains a male-dominated field. Women remain underrepresented at the governing board and expert levels. The 2020 Scorecard also spotlights the nuclear security community and provides baseline data on the gender balances in think tanks, including think tanks focusing on arms control and nuclear security issues. Lastly, the Scorecard provides information on the gender distribution in major international security and arms control and nuclear security journals. The Gender Scorecard, is part of a continuing effort by WIIS to measure the gender disparities in US foreign policy and security communities.
- WIIS Gender Scorecard: Washington, DC Think Tanks 2018: The WIIS Gender Scorecard presents data with regard to the gender balance of 22 major thinks tanks that work on foreign policy and national and international security issues in the DC area. The scorecard reviews think tanks along four main axes: 1) percentage of women leading think tanks; 2) percentage of women experts; 3) percentage of women in governing bodies; 4) and number of think tanks with significant commitment to gender and/or women’s programming
- 1325 Scorecard ProjectThe 1325 Scorecard project was supported by a grant from the NATO Science for Peace Program (SPS) and is carried out by Women In International Security (WIIS) and the Belgrade Centre for Security Policy (BCSP). The Scorecard is a methodology that permits an assessment of how NATO member states (including partners) are integrating the principles of UNSCR 1325 into their military operations, and it has three main objectives.
The Gender, Peace and Security (GPS) Initiative is designed to bridge existing divides between the traditional security community and the WPS community. The Initiative seeks to reframe and broaden the WPS agenda to include a Gender, Peace, and Security agenda in order to advance knowledge and build and support a community of international security experts that are more diverse and knowledgeable about the gender dimensions of complex international security challenges.
The Women in International Security team invite you to join in on our rich conversations. We are here to listen, learn and hopefully laugh. Meet women who are experts in international security, journalists, academics, policymakers, and WIIS Members.
Women In International Security (WIIS) launched a book club! This book club will be a platform for WIIS members to discuss and share books they are passionate about and pertinent to the field.
Past Programs
The Next Generation GPS Symposium will convene an international cohort of 20-24 graduate students and young professionals for an intensive 5-day program examining international security challenges from a GPS perspective.
The four-day WPS+GPS Next Generation Symposium took place November 13-16, 2017 in Washington, D.C. Over the course of the four days, participants examined international security challenges from a gender perspective and discussed recent trends in research. They also participated in professional development and skills workshops as they met with members of the U.S. government, international organizations, NGOs, and think tanks.
Learn more about these monthly gatherings to meet other WIIS members in the DC Metro area! We hope to see you there!
The Gender, Peace and Security Policy Roundtable Series explores the gender dimensions of key regional security challenges. The roundtable discussions provide a forum for bringing together a diverse group of experts and policymakers to advance gender considerations in security policy deliberations. See the policy briefs
The Missing Peace Initiative is a project of The United States Institute of Peace (USIP), the Human Rights Center at the University of California, Berkeley, the Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO), and Women In International Security. It brings together expert scholars, policymakers, practitioners, and military and civil society actors to examine the issue of sexual violence in conflict and post-conflict settings, identify gaps in knowledge and reporting and explore how to increase the effectiveness of current responses to such violence.
The Combat Integration Initiative examines and monitors the integration of women in the military, including the integration of women in combat positions in the U.S. military.
The Women, Peace, and Security Leadership Program enables WIIS’ Women in International Security team of highly educated professionals, many of whom have extensive military backgrounds who assist countries’, to help with the development and implementation of their Women, Peace and Security National Action Plans. WIIS evaluates and assesses existing plans and programs and provides training for government agencies, including security institutions, on how to successfully execute their plans.
Countering Terrorism and Violent Extremism Roundtables provide a forum for bringing together an international group of experts and policymakers from the counter-terrorism and Women, Peace, and Security (WPS) communities. Key takeaways and recommendations of expert roundtables are captured and disseminated in the form of policy briefs. See policy briefs
Men, Peace and Security Symposium took place on October 28-30, 2013. The symposium aimed to better understand how the ascribed norms of men and masculine identities contribute to, and may even help mitigate violent conflict and post-conflict. It builds upon and complements the work of the Women, Peace, and Security agenda, especially as seen through the UN Security Council Resolution 1325. It applies the lens of gender to the broader issues surrounding peace and security.