Gender and NATO: From Military Operations to Defence in the Baltics

A decade of NATO’s engagement with the international gender norm of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 on women, peace and security (UNSCR 1325) has led to: the creation of the post of NATO’s Secretary General’s Special Representative for Women, Peace and Security; the adoption of an action plan on UNSCR 1325; and the establishment of a network of Gender Advisors, Civil Society Advisory Panel and other institutional, policy and operational measures. While NATO’s “gender perspective” has been largely shaped by its military operations, recent development has required a shift in NATO’s understanding of a gender perspective in the context of territorial defence.

This public event provides an opportunity to discuss NATO’s involvement with UNSCR 1325 based on first-hand experiences of the Canadian leadership at NATO and the alliance’s IMS Gender Advisor Office. What are the achievements and challenges in integrating gender perspective in NATO? How is Canada approaching the lack of women in peace operations? How is a gender perspective integrated into the Canadian-led battle group in Latvia? How does NATO respond to the emerging academic critique in this area? And why is there so little feminist academic critique of NATO?