Women's Leadership

Women bring different perspectives of cultures and conflict and when those voices are at the negotiating table a lasting peace is more likely, writes Maha Akeel.

It is important to include women at the negotiation table of conflict resolution and peacebuilding early in the process and not be persuaded to delay that for any reason. Ensuring that women’s rights, needs, and expectations are reflected in any texts adopted during the talks lays the groundwork for their political participation and social empowerment later. Third-party mediators can and should play a role in including women in such negotiations whether as negotiation delegates or mediators. A mediator is a neutral third party and a negotiator takes sides or negotiate on behalf of a side.

Including women in peace processes

Research indicates that women’s participation in peace processes, whether at the formal or informal level, leads to a more durable peace. Women not only bring different experiences of war from men but also different perspectives. Most often, through their informal networks and grassroots activism, women can bridge ethnic, cultural, and religious divides, such as in Liberia, Nigeria, and Somalia.

Despite these documented benefits, women face barriers to their effective participation in peace negotiation processes. One of the most persistent and difficult to overcome is the structural problems of patriarchy. Patriarchal structures define the roles women are allowed or assigned to play in peacebuilding and their level of involvement. Even if their numbers are increasing steadily in the political sphere, women remain constrained by patriarchal structures of male leadership.

Mediators play an important role in supporting women’s inclusion in peace processes and in leading by example through having women in mediation. However, from 1990 to 2018, mediation was involved in only 34 per cent of the total 876 conflict-years, and of those mediations only 10 per cent included at least one woman as co-mediator. Despite evidence that women’s full participation makes peacebuilding much more effective, the number of women in decision-making roles is actually falling.

In 2023, women represented only 9.6 per cent of negotiators, 13.7 per cent of mediators and 26.6 per cent of signatories in peace processes. According to a report by the United Nations Secretary General, women were virtually absent from talks on ending the conflicts in Ethiopia, Sudan, Myanmar and Libya. In Muslim societies, culture and tradition are most often used to justify the exclusion of women from peace processes even though the women are active. In fact, women were consulted and included in resolving conflicts and negotiating peace since the time of Prophet Mohamed.

Full article published by the London School of Economics on 23 May 2025.

Image credits: LSE

Artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming our world—but when it reflects existing biases, it can reinforce discrimination against women and girls. From hiring decisions to healthcare diagnoses, AI systems can amplify gender inequalities when trained on biased data. So how can we ensure AI is ethical and inclusive? Zinnya del Villar, a leading expert in responsible AI, shares insights on the challenges and solutions in a recent conversation with UN Women.

What is  AI gender bias and why does it matter?

“AI systems, learning from data filled with stereotypes, often reflect and reinforce gender biases,” says Zinnya del Villar. “These biases can limit opportunities and diversity, especially in areas like decision-making, hiring, loan approvals, and legal judgments.”

At its core, AI is about data. It is a set of technologies that enable computers to do complex tasks faster than humans. AI systems, such as machine learning models, learn to perform these tasks from the data they are trained on. When these models rely on biased algorithms, they can reinforce existing inequalities and fuel gender discrimination in AI. 

Imagine, training a machine to make hiring decisions by showing it examples from the past. If most of those examples carry conscious or unconscious bias – for example, showing men as scientists and women as nurses – the AI may interpret that men and women are better suited for certain roles and make biased decisions when filtering applications.

This is called AI gender bias— when the AI treats people differently on the basis of their gender, because that’s what it learned from the biased data it was trained on.

Full article published by UN Women on 5 February 2025.

As we commemorate World Telecommunications and Information Society Day this year, with its theme of gender equality in digital transformation, we focus on the transformative power of technology in the lives of women across Egypt. Central to this progress in Egypt is the Qodwa-Tech initiative, launched by the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT) and supported by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

Since its inception in 2019, Qodwa-Tech has been empowering women across all governorates, training over 32,000 women so far. Its core mission is to bridge the gender digital divide by equipping women with essential digital skills—from social media marketing and e-commerce to advanced areas like artificial intelligence—and fostering leadership capabilities.

Today, we shine a spotlight on inspiring women beneficiaries of the Qodwa-Tech initiative—women whose lives are being transformed by the power of technology. Their stories exemplify resilience, innovation, and leadership—proof that digital inclusion is a vital tool for achieving gender equality and sustainable development.

Full article published by UNDP on 17 May 2025.

Naila Kabeer is a Professor Emerita in Gender and International Development at the Department of International Development, London School of Economics and Political Science. She is also a Faculty Associate at LSE’s International Inequalities Institute and serves on the governing Naila’s extensive work and research focuses on gender equity, social justice, labour markets, and poverty alleviation. Naila Kabeer joined a two-day Expert Group Meeting organized by UN Women to address one of the most persistent barriers to gender equality in political and public life: discriminatory social norms. The event held on 4-5 February 2025 brought together feminist scholars, policymakers, activists, and practitioners to chart a path forward for transforming social norms and ensuring women’s full and effective political participation. This experts’ meeting was organized under the WYDE | Women’s Leadership, funded by the European Union, which is a collaborative global effort aimed at advancing women’s full and effective political participation and decision-making at all levels, especially those most often left furthest behind.

what advice would you give to young women aspiring to lead in their communities and countries?

Have courage. The world is not always kind to young women who step forward! Find support, build alliances, you don’t have to face the system alone. Be present in every space where decisions are made and make people aware that gender equality matters everywhere. Having allies and a strong constituency behind you will give you the strength to keep going. And finally, never let anyone put you down!

Full interview available here.