Women in Multilateral Peace Operations in 2020: What’s the State of Play?

Twenty years after UN Security Council Resolution 1325 on women, peace and security (WPS), some progress has been made on its implementation, but much still needs to be done. One of the objectives of the WPS agenda is equal representation of women in peace and security, including in multilateral peace operations. Resolution 1325 has been translated into gender parity strategies and political commitments.

This overview presents 2020 data on aggregate personnel trends, and annual snapshots of data on women’s representation in leadership, operations and member state contributions. It looks at United Nations peace operations (UN peacekeeping operations and field-based UN special political missions), European Union Common Security and Defence Policy (EU CSDP) missions and operations, and Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) field operations.

The overview’s objective is to support the efforts of multilateral organizations and their member states to increase the representation of women in their peace operations. The intention is to contribute to more dialogue on, and more transparency and more insight into trends and developments. Ultimately, this may contribute to identifying measures and conditions that facilitate gender parity.