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Vanessa Newby on Breaking Barriers and Women in Peacekeeping

On 8 March 2021, International Women’s Day, Vanessa Newby was a panelist at the online discussion ‘Breaking Barriers – Women in Peacekeeping’, organized by A4P WPS Champions Ireland, Germany, South Africa and Bangladesh together with UNSCR 1325 architect, Namibia.

During the discussion, Vanessa Newby, assistant professor at the Institute of Security and Global Affairs, spoke about the national barriers affecting participation of women in peace operations, and which ones were the most critical to bring down to enable meaningful participation.

These barriers included ones at the local and community level, such as child care responsibilities and social taboos, but also, as shown in her own research, that within defense institutions the working environment in national militaries is unconducive to women feeling supported throughout their careers. Vanessa Newby said: “This has resulted in a lack of women in senior positions, a wealth of expertise walking out the door, and hence a lack of suitable role models for women coming up the ranks who might be encouraged to participate in peace operations.”

The entire discussion on can be viewed here on UN Web TV

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