Mobilizing Women, Peace and Security to Reduce Military Spending

The October 2021 UN Secretary General’s Report on women, peace and security (WPS) set reversing the upward trajectory on military spending as a WPS “goal for the decade”. This webinar will explore what this means for WPS policy and activism: how can military spending be reduced, by whom, and to what?

A diverse panel of experts will explore the cutting edge in research on the gendered dimensions of military spending and successful, practical strategies to reduce it. The panel will consider the following questions:

• What does research tell us about the relationships between gender inequality, women’s participation and military spending?
• What examples are there of success at the national level in reducing or constraining military spending, and what role has women’s activism played?
• How have parliaments played a role in reducing military spending - and how have women’s voices been heard and gender perspectives  integrated in this process?
• How can we strategically use women’s presence to transform militarism and the global arms industry?

Speakers

• Dr Hedy Fry, Special Representative on Gender Issues of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, Canada
• Dr Ruth Carlitz, author of UN Women research “Comparing Military and Human Security Spending”
• Estefania Vela Barba, Executive Director, Intersecta, Mexico
• Nora Allgaier, United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs
• Dr Abigail Ruane, author of the “Spotlight on Sustainable Development’’ chapter, “SDG 16 – Governing for gender equality and peace? Or perpetual violence and conflict?”
• Dr Pablo Castillo Diaz, UN Women

The event will be held in English, and interpretation will be provided into Spanish, Russian, French and International Sign Language.

Registration

To register, please go here.