THE WORLD STILL WAGES PEACE LIKE IT'S A MAN'S JOB

25 years after UN Resolution 1325, women remain sidelined in defence, diplomacy, and decision-making

- BY GINA BOU SERHAL | Special to Gulf News

October 2025 marked the 25th anniversary of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 — a milestone which paved the way for the Women, Peace, and Security Agenda.

UNSCR 1325 recognises that sustainable peace can only be attainable when women have equal participation in all avenues of peace and security — including post-conflict recovery.

Since the adoption of the Women, Peace, and Security Agenda in 2000, women's participation in global peace and security institutions has grown substantially. Across the UN and multilateral institutions, women now hold more than double, and in some cases triple, the number of leadership roles compared to 25 years ago — yet gender parity remains elusive.

Around the world, 21 per cent of ambassadors and permanent representatives are women — that's less than a quarter. Women make up less than 30 per cent of all national parliamentarians, with only a few countries including Rwanda, Cuba, and Nicaragua, which have crossed the 50 per cent mark.

Military inclusion still lags behind

And when you break it down by the types of political roles women are in, the gap gets even clearer. In areas considered 'soft security,' such as social affairs, gender equality, and family services, women hold around 45 per cent of ministerial positions. But in 'hard security' fields, like defence and policing, only 13 per cent of defence ministers globally are women.