Increasing Women’s Presence in Peacekeeping Operations: The Rationales and Realities of ‘Gender Balance’

Abstract

Between 1948, when the United Nations (UN) Security Council established its first peacekeeping operation (PKO),1 and the end of the Cold War, few women were deployed as peacekeepers,2 as the operations performed largely military functions and did not have much interaction with the local population in host countries. However, since the end of the Cold War there has been a proliferation of PKOs across the globe and their mandates have rapidly expanded, well beyond purely military goals. Peacekeeping now involves diplomatic, civilian, police and military personnel in a wide range of activities, including conflict prevention, peace enforcement, peacebuilding, peacemaking and humanitarian operations. PKOs have become, in every sense, multidimensional interventions.3 Increasingly ambitious peacebuilding activities have led to many more direct interactions between PKO personnel and the local population.