Women’s Participation in Peace Processes

The document argues that women's inclusion in peace processes increases the likelihood of reaching and sustaining agreements, though global participation rates remain low. It identifies three prerequisites for substantive representation: a specific agenda, access to the process, and advocacy by powerful actors. The briefing details various modes of inclusion, noting that independent women-only delegations are more effective than observer status, and outlines systemic barriers including cultural norms, economic constraints, and higher participation criteria imposed by mediators.

• Women's participation is positively correlated with the success and longevity of peace agreements. Specifically, agreements are 64% less likely to fail when women participate, and the probability of an agreement lasting at least two years increases by 20%, while the probability of it lasting 15 years increases by 35%.
• Despite the benefits, global trends in women's participation in major peace processes between 1992 and 2019 show minimal progress, with women making up only 13% of negotiators, 6% of mediators, and 6% of signatories.
• Substantive representation of women in negotiated peace processes requires three simultaneous conditions: a specific (preferably written) agenda, multifaceted and direct access to the process, and advocacy from powerful actors who can frame women's issues as central to larger objectives.
• Different modes of inclusion yield varying levels of influence. Direct representation is most effective when women have independent delegations or coordinate across delegations. In contrast, observer status rarely influences the process, and consultations require formal links to the negotiation table to be effective.
• Women face significant systemic barriers to participation, including cultural norms that view their engagement as "difficult" or "dangerous", economic hurdles like transportation costs, and lack of education. Additionally, mediators have sometimes imposed higher criteria for women's groups than for other civil society organizations, such as requiring they represent the full diversity of women country-wide.

APA

Ahmad, N., & Tank, P. (2020). Women’s Participation in Peace Processes. Peace Research Institute Oslo. https://cdn.cloud.prio.org/files/caa7a270-2f7a-46b7-8ecf-db366ad4def4/Backgrounder 1 Ahmad and Tank 2020 _ Womens Participation in Peace Processes.pdf?inline=true

Chicago

Ahmad, Neven, and Pinar Tank. Women’s Participation in Peace Processes. Peace Research Institute Oslo, 2020. https://cdn.cloud.prio.org/files/caa7a270-2f7a-46b7-8ecf-db366ad4def4/Backgrounder 1 Ahmad and Tank 2020 _ Womens Participation in Peace Processes.pdf?inline=true.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Ahmad |first1=Neven |last2=Tank |first2=Pinar |title=Women’s Participation in Peace Processes |publisher=Peace Research Institute Oslo |date=19 November 2020 |url=https://cdn.cloud.prio.org/files/caa7a270-2f7a-46b7-8ecf-db366ad4def4/Backgrounder 1 Ahmad and Tank 2020 _ Womens Participation in Peace Processes.pdf?inline=true |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{ahmad2020womens, author = {Ahmad, Neven and Tank, Pinar}, title = {{Women’s Participation in Peace Processes}}, institution = {Peace Research Institute Oslo}, year = {2020}, month = nov, url = {https://cdn.cloud.prio.org/files/caa7a270-2f7a-46b7-8ecf-db366ad4def4/Backgrounder 1 Ahmad and Tank 2020 _ Womens Participation in Peace Processes.pdf?inline=true}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }