Women, peace, and security in an age of uncertainty

Women, peace, and security in an age of uncertainty: Navigating political shifts, conflict, and global instability

2024 and 2025 mark a period of profound global uncertainty, shaped by major elections in the UK, the US, and beyond, alongside escalating armed conflicts in Ukraine, Palestine and other regions. These political shifts and crises are not gender-neutral; they have far-reaching consequences for women’s security, rights, and participation in peacebuilding. As populism, nationalism, and authoritarianism reshape policies, the hard-won gains of the Women, Peace, and Security (WPS) agenda face increasing threats.

At the same time, the global understanding of security is shifting. Governments are prioritising national security, increasing defence spending, and cutting Official Development Assistance (ODA) and humanitarian aid—moves that risk deepening instability rather than addressing its root causes. In this context, what does security mean for women? This seminar will explore how political uncertainty, increasing militarisation, and declining investment in peace impact gender equality and human rights. It will examine the disproportionate effects of conflict on women, their role in peace negotiations, and the challenges to implementing UNSCR 1325 in its 25th anniversary year.

Additionally, the seminar will speak to transnational emerging threats that affect the global security landscape—including disinformation, climate change, and cyber threats—and their impact on women’s security and inclusion. As we navigate this volatile landscape, what concrete actions can policymakers, civil society, and global institutions take to protect and advance women’s peace and security? This seminar will provide a critical analysis of these challenges and outline practical solutions, including the role of networks like GAPS in advocating for gender-transformative security policies. In a world of increasing instability, rethinking security beyond militarisation and centring those most marginalised in peace and security efforts is more urgent than ever.

Accessibility

An access guide to Birkbeck Room B34 can be found on AccessAble.

About the speaker

Eva Tabbasam is the Director at Gender Action for Peace and Security, a network of development, human rights, humanitarian, and peacebuilding INGOs, based in the UK. She is a gender expert with diverse experience in development, humanitarian, refugee and asylum matters, and Women, Peace, and Security (WPS). Her expertise spans the realms of research, advocacy, policy, and programming, and she has worked with a wide range of stakeholders, including multilateral organisations, government agencies, donors, international and national NGOs, civil society groups, and women’s rights organisations, both within the UK and globally.

About this event series

Political turning points, 2024-2025: Causes, consequences, solutions

2024 and 2025 are crucial years for global politics, with a number of highly anticipated elections (in India, the United Kingdom, the United States and elsewhere). These elections are coming at a time ofcoinciding with major armed conflicts (especially in Ukraine and Gaza), as well as rising levels of income inequality (globally and nationally), deflated living standards that still have not recovered to pre-Covid levels, crumbling healthcare systems, and fierce culture wars that are tearing up the fabric of our societies.

The sense of uncertainty and volatility is overwhelming and there is no way to predict what world we will live in two years from now. How can we understand thisthe causes and consequences of this overwhelming uncertainty and volatility? and what are the different components that define its causes and consequences? What is being done to mitigate for its effects and address the different challenges that emerge in it?

This series of Director’s Seminars and Soundbites will approach the question of uncertainty by exploring the complex range of practices and processes that define it today as a condition that is closely interlinked with economic, cultural, and environmental challenges.

Soundbites are a platform for professionals and entrepreneurs who are leading in their field. Speakers are innovators and inspiring actors working in new and traditional sectors, outside of academia. The Soundbite gives the audience an insight into how their organisation contributes to sustainable and inclusive prosperity.

For more events in this series visit the series page ►