The Elsie Initiative is an innovative, multilateral pilot project launched by Canada that is developing and testing a combination of approaches to help overcome barriers and increase the meaningful participation of uniformed women in UN peace operations, with a focus on police and military roles. A significant component of the Elsie Initiative is a research agenda to understand barriers to women's participation and the impacts of women's participation in peacekeeping. I am or have been involved in two Elsie Initiative projects as a researcher.
Measuring Opportunities for Women in Peacekeeping Barrier Assessment Methodology
My post-doctoral research at Cornell University, under the supervision of Dr. Sabrina Karim, focused on the barriers to women's and men's participation in peacekeeping. This research program, called the Measuring Opportunities for Women in Peacekeeping Barrier Assessment Methodology (MOWIP) identifies ten common barriers to women's participation in peacekeeping operations. As part of my post-doctoral research, I assisted with the development and implementation of a set of tools to measure the magnitude of these barriers in different countries. This methodology was developed in partnership with the Geneva Centre for Security Sector Governance (DCAF) with support from the Canadian and Norwegian governments.
These tools include a survey of police and military personnel to explore perceptions of barriers for men and women, a fact finding questionnaire to identify institutional barriers, and elite interviews to determine the prioritization of women's participation in peacekeeping. The Barrier Assessment Methodology will be used as a requirement for all countries applying for funds from the Elsie Initiative Trust Fund.
I assisted with implementing this methodology in eight countries: Bangladesh, Ghana, Jordan, Mongolia, Norway, Senegal, Uruguay, and Zambia.
In addition to identifying and measuring the barriers to women's participation in peacekeeping, Sabrina Karim and I are also conducting two experiments to explore how gender norms within security institutions and the United Nations influence peacekeeping deployments and behavior. First, we are exploring how perceptions of risk and danger within UN peacekeeping missions alter preferences for whether male or female peacekeepers should be deployed. Second, we are experimentally examining whether norms of militarized masculinity influence peacekeepers' responses to security threats and domestic violence. This work and other work on gender in security and peacekeeping are continuing as part of the Gender and the Security Sector Lab under the direction of Sabrina Karim
Peacekeeper Relational Attitudes Survey
As a consultant for the International Peace Institute (IPI), I am designing and implementing a survey that seeks to learn more about the gendered differences in peacekeepers’ relationships and interactions with the local population and each other. The survey will allow a systematic comparison of male and female peacekeepers’ own perspectives on these relationships and experiences during deployment. Peace operations are complex social hierarchies in which peacekeepers navigate relationships with the local community, government actors, peacekeepers from their own country and other countries. The survey will provide empirical evidence of how gender roles and stereotypes impact these relationships, which in turn affect peacekeepers’ health, careers, and effectiveness. The survey will explore several research questions, including peacekeeping-host community relationships, peacekeeper perceived community impact, and peacekeeper-peacekeeper relationships.
Measuring Opportunities for Women in Peacekeeping Barrier Assessment Methodology
My post-doctoral research at Cornell University, under the supervision of Dr. Sabrina Karim, focused on the barriers to women's and men's participation in peacekeeping. This research program, called the Measuring Opportunities for Women in Peacekeeping Barrier Assessment Methodology (MOWIP) identifies ten common barriers to women's participation in peacekeeping operations. As part of my post-doctoral research, I assisted with the development and implementation of a set of tools to measure the magnitude of these barriers in different countries. This methodology was developed in partnership with the Geneva Centre for Security Sector Governance (DCAF) with support from the Canadian and Norwegian governments.
These tools include a survey of police and military personnel to explore perceptions of barriers for men and women, a fact finding questionnaire to identify institutional barriers, and elite interviews to determine the prioritization of women's participation in peacekeeping. The Barrier Assessment Methodology will be used as a requirement for all countries applying for funds from the Elsie Initiative Trust Fund.
I assisted with implementing this methodology in eight countries: Bangladesh, Ghana, Jordan, Mongolia, Norway, Senegal, Uruguay, and Zambia.
In addition to identifying and measuring the barriers to women's participation in peacekeeping, Sabrina Karim and I are also conducting two experiments to explore how gender norms within security institutions and the United Nations influence peacekeeping deployments and behavior. First, we are exploring how perceptions of risk and danger within UN peacekeeping missions alter preferences for whether male or female peacekeepers should be deployed. Second, we are experimentally examining whether norms of militarized masculinity influence peacekeepers' responses to security threats and domestic violence. This work and other work on gender in security and peacekeeping are continuing as part of the Gender and the Security Sector Lab under the direction of Sabrina Karim
Peacekeeper Relational Attitudes Survey
As a consultant for the International Peace Institute (IPI), I am designing and implementing a survey that seeks to learn more about the gendered differences in peacekeepers’ relationships and interactions with the local population and each other. The survey will allow a systematic comparison of male and female peacekeepers’ own perspectives on these relationships and experiences during deployment. Peace operations are complex social hierarchies in which peacekeepers navigate relationships with the local community, government actors, peacekeepers from their own country and other countries. The survey will provide empirical evidence of how gender roles and stereotypes impact these relationships, which in turn affect peacekeepers’ health, careers, and effectiveness. The survey will explore several research questions, including peacekeeping-host community relationships, peacekeeper perceived community impact, and peacekeeper-peacekeeper relationships.