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New Research Finds Women Make Nuclear War Less Imminent

New research, including research by the Gender Champions in Nuclear Policy, suggests that women are a vital part of preventing nuclear conflict, as well as resolving potential nuclear weapons issues. Including women in non-proliferation talks is proven to increase the diversity of ideas and lead to more positive outcomes.

The Royal Society found that in simulated scenarios men are more likely to display “overconfidence” that leads to attacks. Involvement of women in these scenarios was found to result in de-escalation of the given conflicts. Findings like these drove the U.S. Women, Peace and Security Act, which was passed in 2017 and requires women be included in all U.S. peace talks.

Despite repeated confirmation on the importance of including women in peace talks, today only about a quarter of international delegates for nonproliferation talks are women. Research states that increasing this number even 5% to 30% would make a significant change in peace talk outcomes. Adding more women to nonproliferation talks changes the group dynamic as well as the diversity of viewpoints, which results in more successful negotiations.

Women are an important part of all peace talks, not just nuclear non-proliferation. The Council on Foreign Relations found that when women participate in peace talks, including women’s organizations, the agreements are 64% less likely to fail.

These findings also highlight the Feminist Majority Foundation’s stance on increasing the involvement of Afghanistan women in the Taliban Peace talks. Women have been kept out of these peace talks despite overwhelming evidence that their involvement would lead to a more successful agreement.

 

Media: GCNP 2019; Foreign Policy 2019; The Royal Society 2019; United States Institute of Peace 2019; CFR 2018

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