How Gendered Perspectives Shape National Security

Program

In its press release for the 2023 Women, Peace and Security (WPS) Strategy and National Action Plan, the White House states that "Promoting women's meaningful participation, leadership and engagement in decision-making at all levels is both a moral and a strategic imperative for U.S. foreign policy and national security. Wherever the rights of women and girls are under threat, so, too, is democracy, peace, and stability." Operationalizing WPS principles is increasingly important to U.S. national security. Both the Department of Defense and the State Department are taking steps to apply gendered perspectives at the strategic, operational, and tactical levels.

Please join RAND's Women, Peace, and Security Initiative on Thursday, April 18, 10:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. for a public event to discuss the critical role that gendered perspectives can play in helping U.S. and allied government policymakers address the most pressing national security challenges of our time. The program will begin with a fireside chat with Vice Admiral (Ret.) Carol Pottenger, who rose through the Navy ranks to become the first woman to command a major combat organization—the Amphibious Force 7th Fleet/Expeditionary Strike Group 7. Vice Admiral Pottenger will discuss how her experience, and those of other women in the military, contribute to military readiness in a unique and meaningful way. A panel discussion featuring Dr. Deborah Avant (University of Denver), Dr. Endy Daehner (RAND), Dr. Mary Lee (RAND), and Dr. Kyleanne Hunter (RAND, moderator) will further explore how gendered perspectives lead to more comprehensive and more effective problem solving—and why these perspectives are indispensable in the face of national security challenges such as global threats to democracy, the intersection of biotechnology and artificial intelligence, and the impact of climate change.