Women's Initiative

To create a world where all people and the planet are safe and free from nuclear threats, it’s imperative we harness the insight and experience the entire security field has to offer by working toward greater inclusivity and representation.

Historically, the security sector has devalued the perspectives of women and other marginalized communities' populations. We need more women in the field. And when women do make it into the room, we must keep their contributions and insights—which may challenge the status quo of a system that overvalues force and threats over diplomacy and cooperation—from being discounted or ignored all together. By inviting and positioning women firmly at the peace and security table, Ploughshares Fund aims to invest in, amplify, and expand the range of perspectives addressing our world’s greatest nuclear challenges—and, as a result, expand the variety of solutions and ideas available to us.

GIVE TO THE WOMEN'S INITIATIVE

Latest News and Analysis on the Ploughshares Fund Women's Initiative

  • The Gender Champions

    The Gender Champions

    “Nuclear policy affects us all,” Ambassador Laura Holgate told Ploughshares Fund’s Michelle Dover. “All of these things are global in their effect. And so to suggest that half the population is not present for the conversation makes that conversation illegitimate just from the start.” Holgate...

    November 18, 2019 - By Zack Brown
  • Grantee Spotlight: Women Cross DMZ

    Grantee Spotlight: Women Cross DMZ

    I'm incredibly inspired by the increasing calls for peace around the world by lawmakers, activists, and everyday people whose lives have been impacted by this long, unresolved Korean War. In July, there was a historic vote in US Congress as part of the National Defense Authorization Act,...

    October 1, 2019 - By Ploughshares Fund
  • New grants to support inclusive nuclear and national security policy

    New grants to support inclusive nuclear and national security policy

    We are proud to announce the award of six grants following our recent Women’s Initiative request for proposals, held this spring. These grants were made possible by gifts dedicated to the Ploughshares Fund Women’s Initiative. Through the Women’s Initiative, we aim to invest in, amplify...

    July 11, 2019 - By Ploughshares Fund
  • Seven Questions for Beatrice Fihn

    Seven Questions for Beatrice Fihn

    Beatrice Fihn is the Executive Director of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN), the 2017 Nobel Peace Prize-winning campaign coalition that works to prohibit and eliminate nuclear weapons. She accepted the Nobel Peace Prize and delivered the Nobel Lecture in Oslo on...

    May 7, 2019 - By Ploughshares Fund
  • Seven Questions for Marissa Conway

    Seven Questions for Marissa Conway

    Marissa Conway is the Co-Founder and UK Director of Centre for Feminist Foreign Policy. She previously worked with Freedom House, a safe house for survivors of human trafficking and Living Water, a clean water charity. She is also a freelance writer and publishes pieces on feminist foreign...

    May 3, 2019 - By Ploughshares Fund
  • Seven Questions for Christine Ahn

    Seven Questions for Christine Ahn

    Christine Ahn is founder and International Coordinator of Ploughshares Fund grantee and partner, Women Cross DMZ, a global movement of women mobilizing to end the Korean War, reunite families, and ensure women’s leadership in peace building. She is the co-founder of the Korea Policy Institute...

    April 22, 2019 - By Ploughshares Fund
  • Seven Questions for Cecili Thompson Williams

    Seven Questions for Cecili Thompson Williams

    Cecili Thompson Williams is the Director of Ploughshares Fund grantee and partner, Beyond the Bomb, where she leads a team of campaigners and activists mobilizing against the threat of nuclear war and weapons. She has nearly two decades of experience leading mission-driven campaigns with...

    April 22, 2019 - By Ploughshares Fund
  • Nuclear Weapons and the Green New Deal

    Nuclear Weapons and the Green New Deal

    At its core, ours is an existential fight. Our work to prevent nuclear war is driven by an understanding that humanity has the capacity to destroy itself and we can’t leave prevention to chance.The Doomsday Clock is currently set at two minutes to midnight — the closest to a nuclear apocalypse...

    April 3, 2019 - By Ploughshares Fund
  • Time to Ban the Bomb

    Time to Ban the Bomb

    Of late, the world has been reminded that the threat posed by nuclear weapons is severe and worsening. The United States has signaled that it will withdraw from one of the most important Cold War arms control agreements — the 1987 Intermediate- Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF Treaty) — which...

    April 3, 2019 - By Ploughshares Fund
  • Gender Champions

    Gender Champions

    The Women’s March, Jan. 21, 2017, the largest single-day protest in US history, drew millions of people to the streets to advocate for women’s rights, reproductive rights and other important social issues and has inspired a heightened level of activism for gender equality that continues to...

    April 3, 2019 - By Ploughshares Fund