International Women's Day

Women as Peacebuilders

Invest in Women. Invest in Peace.

Conflicts are more numerous and longer-lasting than ever before. Yet the voices most essential to peace remain excluded. 

Studies consistently show that peace agreements are more durable, more likely to be implemented, and less likely to fail when women participate meaningfully in negotiation and peacebuilding processes. Twenty-five years after the UN formally recognized women’s leadership as critical to peace and security, most major conflicts are still negotiated behind closed doors, without women at the table.

Despite their exclusion from formal negotiations, women play vital roles in local peacebuilding every day.

Through our programs, women gain the skills, confidence and collective power to:

• Mediate disputes and prevent violence from escalating

• Strengthen trust and cohesion within their communities

• Create pathways to stability and safety for their families

Peace lasts when it is embedded in every aspect of a woman’s life.

This International Women’s Day (8th March) and Women's History Month, we are calling for change. We are amplifying the voices of women living in conflict-affected regions who are already building peace every day, and celebrating the trailblazers who have paved the way for women leaders.

Will you join us?

What Peace Means to Women 

We asked women living in conflict-affected countries what peace means to them.

• Freedom from violence, danger and fear

• Access to education and employment

• Being able to collect water or firewood without the threat of sexual violence

• Freedom from restrictive laws and harmful social norms

• Safe participation in family and community life

This vision of peace comes directly from over 6,500 women around the world, women whose voices are too often excluded from formal peace processes.

We need to be part of the solution. We know what we need better than anyone else.

- From Asking To Action Consultation Participant, Ukraine

Why Women's Leadership Matters 

Evidence shows that peace agreements with women signatories are implemented more effectively and last longer. Yet most peace deals continue to be negotiated behind closed doors — without women at the table.

When women are excluded, peace processes fail. Violence continues. And the everyday lives of women and girls remain unsafe.

Including women is not only a matter of justice, but it is also essential for lasting peace.

Our Approach 

Our Stronger Women, Stronger Nations program supports women to secure peace in their own lives and families, through safety, opportunity and agency.

Our Change Agents program enables women to go further, building more peaceful communities, influencing local decision-making and shaping the future around them.

A more peaceful world starts with women.

This International Women’s Day and Women’s History Month, stand with women who are building peace where it matters most, in their homes, families and communities.

Get Inspired by the Powerful Women in our Programs

About Women's History Month and International Women's Day

✨ Women's History Month, first celebrated in the United States in 1987, recognizes women trailblazers throughout time who have helped shape history, moving the needle on women’s rights and paving the way for changemakers today.

✨ International Women's Day on March 8th honors women’s social, economic, cultural, and political contributions worldwide – while asking us to reflect on the progress we still need to achieve gender equality.

From Asking to Action

A global consultation ensuring the voices of women affected by conflict are heard

We spoke to over 6,500 women in countries affected by conflict who are leading change in their communities. The consultation highlighted the importance of investing in hope.

Despite the immense challenges that women affected by conflict are facing, they still have hope for the future. Across the 14 countries where we consulted women, 81% are hopeful and expectant that their circumstances will improve in the next 5 years.

Read More