RAND recently released a research report titled "Women, Peace, and Security in Action," which includes gender perspectives in U.S. Department of Defense operations, activities, and investments.

In light of the five-year anniversary of the Women, Peace, and Security Act of 2017, the RAND Corporation sought to understand and portray strategic, operational, and tactical applications of Women, Peace, and Security (WPS) principles in U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) operations and activities. A series of vignettes highlights specific efforts to implement DoD's WPS Strategic Framework and Implementation Plan in the military services and during operations with allies and partners. Although successful efforts to implement WPS principles are directly tied to specific policies and initiatives, this project demonstrates a growing gender-diverse and inclusive culture within DoD that supports grassroots efforts to apply gender perspectives to DoD activities and operations. However, though there are demonstrated successes operationalizing and implementing WPS across DoD, room for improvement exists to ensure the continued implementation of WPS principles to support U.S. military activities and operations that require diverse perspectives and flexibility to confront adversaries in a competitive environment.

Read the report, including research questions, key findings, and recommendations.

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The views presented in this article are those of the speaker or author and do not necessarily represent the views of DoD or its components.