In 2025, the world marked the 25th anniversary of the United Nations (UN) resolution on women, peace and security. This resolution urges UN member states to ensure gender parity in peace and security decision‑making.
But this milestone still underscores a persistent gap: despite formal commitments, decision‑making structures in security and peacekeeping remain imbalanced.
This brief presents recent data and trends on women’s and men’s representation in decision-making roles across the defence and security sectors, including the armed forces, and in peacekeeping.
The analysis covers the EU and its Member States and major international organisations active in this field, including the UN, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE).