Since the passage, ten years ago, of U.N. Security Council Resolution 1325 there has been widespread debate about the actual impact of its push for inclusion of female perspectives in peace negotiations and post-conflict reconstruction. However, the general consensus is that, indeed, adding women to the equation more often than not aids in the creation of a sustainable peace. This recognition of the importance of female perspectives on important decision making processes has led many countries to create National Action Plans (NAPs) for the implementation of UNSCR 1325 in both their domestic and foreign policy in the form of gender-mainstreaming measures. Countries such as the U.K., Sweden, Canada and Finland have purposefully set strategies to increase gender inclusivity in their peace and security ministries, leading to successful results. However, such a plan has not yet been crafted for the United States. It is not a surprise, then, that within the U.S. Departments of Defense (DOD), Homeland Security (DHS), and State (DOS) where much of the agenda-setting for national security occurs; there is little evidence of efforts towards gender parity among administrators and ratios of females in the Senior Executive Service have remained nearly stagnant in the years following UNSCR 1325.
Recently, an inter-agency working group has been tasked with designing a NAP for the implementation of 1325 in the U.S. A major piece of this initiative must be domestic requirements to recruit, retain and promote women in peace and security careers.
