Women, Peace, and Leadership

Our Program

The Women, Peace, and Leadership Program at AC4 is committed to understanding the roles that women play in building, negotiating, and leading peace efforts.
This includes exploring the opportunities that exist for women to assert leadership and drive change in these areas, and barriers that prevent them from doing so.
Our approach is aimed to be holistic, ensuring that various dimensions of peace and leadership are considered, with particular emphasis on women’s participation, skills, and empowerment.
 

Until 2022, one of AC4’s signature initiatives was the Women, Peace, and Security program, linked to UN Security Council Resolution 1325 on WPS. Over the past years, our focus has shifted from an emphasis on “Security" towards a broader conceptualization of the role of women in peace efforts and negotiations. 

Therefore, we are excited to announce the program's relaunch in 2025 with an expanded title, scope, and mission, and to emphasize the important concept of women’s “Leadership” on all matters related to peace – and beyond.
The global community, including states and international organizations, has repeatedly pledged to increase women's participation in peace efforts, and considerable progress has been made in many areas; yet, the inclusion of women remains an ongoing challenge especially on higher level negotiations and women’s leadership positions. 
 

AC4’s Women, Peace, and Leadership Program examines the multiple dimensions of this topic, aimed at empowering women and fostering networks of mutual support to explore pathways for women’s full and meaningful engagement in leadership, negotiations, and peace efforts.