Women in Security covers a wide-range of issues as it explores the link between women, security, and development. As a forum to stimulate discussion and instructive debates, the NATO Association of Canada will examine the ways in which women both contribute to and are the focus of Canadian and NATO defence and security initiatives. This program also offers a critical look at the structures and institutions that shape the role of women in security at home and abroad.
The gendered wage gap has been a persistent hindrance to women’s economic independence and is a product of the patriarchal structure of modern society. As early as 1883, the wage gap between men and women was protested by the Western Union Telegraph Company, who went on strike to ensure “equal pay for equal work”, aligning […]
Food insecurity is a global issue, though it most prevalently affects women and their families in developing nations. Agriculture is one of the main methods of employment for these women, though pervasive gender inequality in many of these areas results in a lack of resources and opportunities for women working in agriculture. According to Cristina […]
Recent years have seen a dramatic increase in refugees fleeing their countries to seek a better life, whether as a result of war-related crises or due to unsafe conditions caused by natural disasters in their home countries, many exacerbated by the increasingly visible impacts of climate change. According to the UN, “Women represent almost half […]
It was not until January 1stof 2016 that women were allowed to apply for combat positions in the United States military. According to Veterans Advocate Jennifer Silva, “This shift opened the opportunity for women to fill 220,000 military combat positions.” The original U.S. military draft was male-only, thus openly excluding women from military service since […]
Security-related fields across the international community continue to perpetrate gendered ideals which prohibit women from contributing, specifically in counterterrorism. The existing gender bias associates women in security with roles of peacekeeping, while inherently placing them on the periphery in the counterterrorism sector. In 2014, the United Nations Secretary General announced that members should “consider the […]
This is part two of a two-part series examining the sex industry in Geneva and the psychological and physical impacts of this industry on sex workers. This article specifically focuses on SOS Femmes, an association created in 1940, initially created with the support of the religious establishment, though now funded by the Swiss Government in […]
This is part one of a two-part series examining the sex industry in Geneva, specifically sex workers’ rights and obligations as well as the work of ASPASIE (Association Genevoise pour la défense des travailleurs.es du sexe), which represents them. In an interview with Sarah Haddjeri, a Junior Research Fellow at the NATO Association of Canada, […]
The current atmosphere of international politics remains a strongly gendered environment in which women continue to be marginalized in both the job sector and within social spheres. The ongoing gendered viewpoint which places women in a position of vulnerability has, in part, contributed to women participating in or even conducting terrorist operations. The threat of […]
In July 2019, the United Nations for Justice Support in Haiti issued a resolution analyzing economic and political development, the humanitarian situation, community violence, and judicial corruption within the country. Obstacles to development and growth in Haiti include few political alternatives and a judiciary lacking independence from the executive and legislative branches. The paucity of […]
Women are often associated with peace and reconciliation and men with war and violence. However, these stereotypes tend to overlook the role women play as perpetrators of violence and sexual abuses during wartime, since they are more commonly perceived as vulnerable civilians. Rebecca Solnit, in her work “Men Explain Things to Me”, highlighted that patriarchal […]