Database for women peace meditators
Network created in response to persistent under-representation of women in peace and security.
The Quaker group Northern Friends Peace Board (NFPB) has highlighted a new platform aimed at putting women in the forefront of peacemaking.
The online database of women mediators launched last month is designed to enable more women to play crucial roles in peace and mediation processes around the world.
It is designed to be a publicly-available resource that can be used by organisations such as the United Nations, or national governments involved in peace processes, to help them search for candidates based on their specific areas of expertise, location and languages.
The new database profiles members of Women Mediators across the Commonwealth, a network that connects women with a broad range of mediation knowledge from across the commonwealth.
The network was created in response to the persistent under-representation of women in peace and security. Quaker Council for European Affairs (QCEA) recently highlighted the issue with its report on gender and inclusivity in peace and security, created in partnership with Newcastle University. It also produced a ‘best practice guide’ with three YouTube clips citing figures that only two per cent of meditators, eight per cent of peace negotiators, and five per cent of peace deal signatories are women.
Laura Aumeer, director of the Europe-Asia department at Conciliation Resources, which coordinates the network, said: ‘As the breadth of knowledge and experience in the WMC proves, the lack of representation of women in peace processes is not because there is a shortage of skilled and qualified women practitioners, but rather a lack of opportunities for inclusion. The aim of this database is to help break down some of the barriers that prevent women from being selected for these roles.’ The database can be accessed online at the Women Mediators website.
