Professional Bodies for Women

Andi Leadership Institute - The Andi Leadership Institute for Young Women seeks to equip the next generation of young, female peacebuilders with the necessary conflict resolution and leadership skills during their formative years, providing them with greater access to peace negotiations and leadership positions in the future. The Institute launched its pilot program in August 2013 through a three-week long seminar with 8 young women, from Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria and the United States, in Washington, D.C. Participants are continuing to be mentored through the implementation of their capstone projects in their home communities. As ALI alumni, they are members of the ALI Peace Fellows network of young woman leaders engaged through continued dialogue, support and resources.  

ASIS International - Women In Security Council - Providing support and assistance to women in the security field, as well as inspire those interested in entering the profession. Signing up a member, the group’s benefits and programs are tailored for women, and encourage and welcome the participation of all members who are dedicated to the support of women in the security industry. Activities include; Ask a Mentor Series - A monthly forum where industry leaders discuss relevant topics such as breaking barriers and effective leadership. The intimate group setting yields open and candid discussions among participants as the hosts share their experiences in the industry. Specialty Programming - Acquire new knowledge and strategies relevant to your personal career goals through our specialty programming. Accomplished professionals share their unique expertise and insights into issues challenging women today, including leadership, career development, and work/life balance. And Premiere Networking -  Build and strengthen your professional network by meeting security professionals—both women and men—at various stages in their career. Get inspired and enhance your own career potential by establishing and fostering mutually-beneficial relationships with a diverse network of practitioners from around the globe.

Australian Women in Security Network - Connecting, Supporting, Collaborating and Inspiring Women in Security across Australia and Abroad. Australian Women in Secuirty Network is an open network of people of different backgrounds, experience, qualifications, age and gender. Our common interest is security.

Centre for Women, Peace and Security – Part of London School of Economics (LSA), The Centre for Women, Peace and Security is a leading academic space for scholars, practitioners, activists, policy-makers and students to develop strategies to promote justice, human rights and participation for women in conflict-affected situations around the world. Through innovative research, teaching, and multi-sectoral engagement, the Centre aims to promote gender equality and enhance women’s economic, social and political participation and security. The creation of the Centre in the Institute of Global Affairs demonstrates the international reach of LSE and its focus on issues of global concern.

Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security – Part of George Town University’s School of Foreign Service - The Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security examines and highlights the roles and experiences of women in peace and security worldwide through cutting edge research, timely global convenings, and strategic partnerships. The Institute is also home to the International Council on Women’s Business Leadership, which is a part of the Women & Economy Project launched in October 2014. The Institute connects academia and practice, pioneers evidence-based and policy-oriented analysis, and inspires the next generation of leaders.

Gender and Peacebuilding Centre – Part of the United States Institute of Peace (USIP), the Gender and Peacebuilding Centre coordinates the gender-related work of USIP. The Center reflects the Institute’s commitment to gender awareness in both its analytical and practitioner work on conflict and peacebuilding. The Center aims to expand on the concept that gender is not synonymous with women, and therefore, examines in the context of violent conflict and peacebuilding efforts through a gender lens that is inclusive of the multi-dimensional roles of men and women in society. 

Global Women’s Leadership Initiative  (GWLI) - Part of Wilson Centre The Global Women’s Leadership Initiative (GWLI) is a unique platform for promoting enduring balance in leadership roles –equipping women with the skills and tools they need to lead, helping to build lasting mentorships between current and emerging leaders, raising the profile of critical issues across all sectors, and advancing inclusive policies and research. By offering training programs that are grounded in research, building networks, encouraging dialogue, and connecting women leaders in all sectors, GWLI strives to inspire and empower a new generation of women leaders.

Girl Security - The mission of Girl Security is to close the gender gap in national security through learning, training, and mentoring support for girls. National security has long been defined by men, despite women’s powerful contributions to securing their nation through the field’s many pathways. We seek to build a world where women are the decision makers responsible for securing our nation and the world.

Inclusive Security.Org - Inclusive Security's bold goal is to change the international security paradigm by supporting women and other affected groups who shape policy to be part of the process towards sustainable peace from conflict.  Inclusive Security also supports policy makers by providing expert advice grounded in research that demonstrates women's contributions to peace building as well as strengthening women leaders through targeted training and mentoring, helping them to build coalitions, and connecting them to policy makers. 

International Consortium of Minority Cyber Professionals (ICMCP) - The International Consortium of Minority Cyber Professionals (ICMCP) was created as non-profit association dedicated to the academic and professional success of minority cybersecurity students and professionals.  Their mission is to achieve the consistent representation of women and minorities in the cybersecurity industry through programs designed to foster recruitment, inclusion and retention – one person at a time.  The ICMCP tackles the ‘great cyber divide’ with scholarship opportunities, diverse workforce development, innovative outreach, and mentoring programs.

NatSecGirlSquad NatSecGirlSquad builds and supports competent diversity in national security and defense through its professional development community and strategic advisory services. Our work focuses on building expertise, confidence in that expertise, and institutionalizing opportunities for success within existing systems. We want to ensure each individual has the information, ability, and support required to define professional and personal success for themselves, alter it as their priorities evolve, and achieve it over and over again.

NGO Working Group on Women, Peace and Security – A project of Tides Center, the group is a coalition of 14 international non-governmental organizations (NGOs) working to advance the Women, Peace and Security agenda at the United Nations and around the world. It believes that sustainable peace can only be achieved if women’s human rights are promoted and respected and that women have meaningful participation across all conflict prevention and resolution efforts, as well as in post conflict rebuilding activities.

UN Women  - Created in 2010, UN Women, the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women, merges and builds on the important work of four previously distinct parts of the UN system, which focused exclusively on gender equality and women’s empowerment:Division for the Advancement of Women (DAW), International Research and Training Institute for the Advancement of Women (INSTRAW), Office of the Special Adviser on Gender Issues and Advancement of Women (OSAGI), United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM).

Women's Foreign Policy Group - Women's Foreign Policy Group (WFPG) is an independent, nonpartisan, nonprofit, educational membership organization that promotes global engagement and the leadership, visibility and participation of women in international affairs. Founded 20 years ago, WFPG has been committed to promoting women’s leadership and voices in international affairs through our in-depth global issues programming and mentoring activities. WFPG also brings together participants from across disciplines and links women domestically and internationally, believing that through highlighting women leaders in foreign policy, it will provide important role models for the next generation and create a vital network of women from different sectors, generations, and backgrounds. 

Women in Cyber Security (WiCyS) - The WiCyS initiative was launched in 2013 with support from a National Science Foundation grantfor a collaborative project between Tennessee Tech, University of Memphis and Jackson State Community College. Since then, with support from various industry, government and academic partners, WiCyS has become a continuing effort to recruit, retain and advance women in cybersecurity. It brings together women in cybersecurity from academia, research and industry for sharing of knowledge/experience, networking and mentoring.

Women in Defence UK Women in Defence UK has a purpose to accelerate gender equity in the defence sector and is passionate about promoting the value of women in defence. Our influential network enables the sharing of best practices and the sparking of innovative thinking. We inspire through our annual Awards, recognising and celebrating exceptional people in defence and through our renowned cross sector Mentoring programme.

Women in International Security (WIIS) - Women in International Security (WIIS) is the premier organisation in the world dedicated to advancing the leadership and professional development of women in the field of international peace and security. WIIS (pronounced “wise”) sponsors leadership training, mentoring, and networking programs as well as substantive events focused on current policy problems. WIIS also supports research projects and policy engagement initiatives on critical international security issues, including the nexus between gender and security.

The Women’s Intelligence Network (WIN) The Women’s Intelligence Network (WIN) connects, supports, and promotes female scholars who work in the field of Intelligence Studies. WIN is hosted in Europe and the UK by the King’s Intelligence Studies Group (KISG) and in North America by the North American Society for Intelligence History (NASIH).

Women in War and International Politics (WIWIP) – Part of the Department of War Studies at Kings College London WIWIP is a network of women students, staff and alumnae from across the Faculty of Social Sciences and Public Policy who seek to support and make more visible the role of women from KCL who are active in the fields of War Studies and International Politics. Whether as students, researchers, or practitioners WIWP also hopes to promote and encourage exploration of the question of gender and its implications in war, conflict, foreign policy, and security practices.

Women of Security (WoSEC) Women of Security (WoSEC) is a community for women, including LGBTQ+ women, non-binary, trans and gender nonconforming, who have an interest in cyber security.

Women Security Society - The Women’s Security Society is an inclusive networking and forum environment, bringing women together from all aspects of security in order to encourage the advancement of women working in today’s security world through the exchange of information and creation of collaborative relationships.

Women of Colour Advancing Peace & Security (WCAPS) – WCAPS aims to advance the leadership and professional development of women of color in the fields of international peace, security, & conflict transformation. WCAPS created a platform devoted to women of color that cultivates a strong voice and network for its members while encouraging dialogue and strategies for engaging in policy discussions on an international scale. Through our dedication to mentorship and partnerships and our passion for changing the global community landscape, we remain committed to achieving our vision of advancing the leadership and professional development of women of color in the fields of international peace, security and conflict transformation.

Articles for Women, by Women 

Agents of Change: Women in the Information Security Profession. By Frost and Sullivan.

This indepth article focuses on how women just make up a small proportion of the information security sector and how incorporating and encouraging women to act as agents of change will transform the industry.

America's Evolution of Women and Their Role in the Intelligence Community by Amy J Martin.

This articles views the role of women in the Intelligence Community and how it has evolved over time as well as captures the use of their skills to further assist, perpetuate, and lead intelligence operations globally. This paper serves as a historical overview of some of the techniques of the early female spies and highlights the successes of the modern woman’s contributions to the intelligence mission. Emerging female operations officers often face obstacles: dealing with bias within the bureaucracy, issues of female equality within certain cultures, and experiencing slower rates of promotion. This has meant a lack of females in competitive leadership positions. Female mentors and former intelligence members explore avenues for surviving and thriving within the CIA. Women must have high standards of performance and professionalism and grasp the politics of advancement in a male-dominated hierarchical agency. Communication in leadership training and awareness is key, as seen in the CIA's 1991 “glass ceiling” study and 2013 Director’s Advisory Group on Women in Leadership (DAG) report on the statistics of the lack of women in senior management. The current trend of women serving in top positions in intelligence organizations should offer encouragement and promote further changes within the American culture.

Interviews: Rowena Fell. By Sandra Smith.

An interview with Rowena Fell, Security Risk & Insider Threat Director at EY, as well as a board member of Women’s Security Society, about her life and work in the security industry and her journey into it.

Kate Warne and Women Security Careers Today by Ginger Happe, Tatiana Scatena Valle and Ellen Lemire

This roundtable article features three prominent women security experts with international positions discussing the role of women in the security industry today  with respect to Kate Warne, who single-handedly changed the landscape hundreds of years ago.Kate Warne is an iconic historical figure in the detective and investigative field. Back in 1856, she walked into the Chicago office of the Pinkerton Detective Agency seeking a job opportunity. It was immediately thought that she was interested in a secretarial or office position. Instead, she was extremely proactive in making her case for the agency to hire their first woman detective. She was convincing enough to make that idea sound not as crazy as the initial shared opinion by the men in charge. Kate’s hiring opened the door for women in the investigative and security field, but although landing the job was impressive, it was only the very first step. She indelibly left her mark on the industry by being able to successfully put her vision into motion and achieve everything she enthusiastically expressed during that Chicago job interview.

Why are women apparently under-represented in the security industry? By Security News

This article explores the commonly held idea that the security industry is a male-dominated sector, with careers perceived as unsuitable, or even unappealing, to women. But why is this the case, and is it an accurate assumption? Post 9/11 the perception of security changed. Increased counter terror measures drove innovation, while analogue systems were being replaced by IP and HD technology, and there are new issues like the global debate surrounding privacy and cyber security. This has led to a change in the approach to security to also include women in security.

 Why Women Can't Rule the World: International Politics According to Francis Fukuyama by J.Ann Tickner

This article critiques Francis Fukuyama's “Women and the Evolution of World Politics”.Questioning feminists' commitment to social constructivism, Fukuyama uses a sociobiological argument to make the claim that a world run by women would be more peaceful than one ruled by men, whose aggressive instincts he compares to those of chimpanzees at Gombe. While he sees a possibility of this “feminized world” being realized in the West, Fukuyama argues for keeping men in charge as protection against the non-Western world where aggressive men will continue to dominate politics. This article claims that, in spite of seemingly sympathetic attitudes toward feminist politics, Fukuyama's argument is deeply conservative and has the effect of not only keeping women out of politics, but also reinforcing recent arguments in IR about civilizational conflicts. His claims divert attention from more pressing feminist agendas, which include a better understanding of the disadvantaged political, economic, and social status of so many of the world's women. Rather than running the world, these disadvantages are closer to the realities of most women's lives. Preferred futures are ones in which both women and men work together to reduce unequal social structures, including hierarchical gender structures, which prevent the achievement of real security and social justice. 

Women in Security...Again? by Sinead Keane, Esenia Bici and Lucy Shapiro.

An article talking about women in security by Pinkerton employees focusing on the major inroads have been made by women in the traditionally male-dominated security industry in recent years. However, Bici, Keane and Shapiro agree that awareness of a security career’s benefits in combination with educational and corporate institutional support has to evolve so that more women choose to enter the field. It also looks at how perceptions and awareness can change in the security industry.

Julie Kenny CBE led the way for other women in the security industry by Security News

This article focuses on Julie Kenny CBE DL and how she broke ground in a male dominated industry, giving women across the security industry something to aspire to. With the numbers of women entering security increasing, and women already in the industry working their way into boardrooms in every sector, this article is a timely window into changing field.

It’s vital that groups like ASIS reach out to women and bridge the gap by Security News

This article introduces the topic that as the security industry continues to change and evolve, it is increasingly important to take advantage of a pool of relatively untapped resource – women. Interviewing Kim Martens-Thompson, Women in Security Liaison for ASIS International’s Dubai chapter, she discusses why it is imperative to encourage more women into the security industry and bridge the gender gap in what is generally perceived to be a male dominated industry.

Women Owned Security Companies

- METIS SOLUTIONS

KEY DETAILS | Website | LinkedIn | Twitter | Glassdoor Score 3.5 / 5.0

RECRUITMENT INFORMATION | Search Current Vacancies 

COMPANY DETAILS | Est. 2010 | Size. Small | HQ. Arlington US | Offices. Arlington US, Washington DC US, Abu Dhabi AE, Kabul AF

WHAT THEY DO | Strategic Analysis & Planning Solutions, Policy Development & Implementation, Humanitarian Assistance / Disaster Relief, Intelligence & Operational Support, Int'l Security & Foreign Commercial Development, Strategic Communications, Acquisition Planning

COMPANY OVERVIEW | METIS is a Woman-Owned Small Business founded by some of the senior-most leaders in strategic solutions and planning in the defense, homeland defense, intelligence and commercial arenas. METIS provides strategy and policy support, intelligence and operations support, program management, and international business development services to U.S. government and commercial clients around the globe. Our Senior Leaders, Subject Matter Experts, and Operational Specialists have direct, on-the-ground expertise in planning and executing the most critical missions our country and business sectors have faced – with current operations ongoing in the Middle East, South Asia, Afghanistan, Latin America, Europe, or Africa. We offer experience in addressing today’s hardest problems.

- VALOROUS

KEY DETAILS | Website | LinkedIn | Twitter | Glassdoor Score [n/a]

RECRUITMENT INFORMATION | Search Current Vacancies Submit General Application 

COMPANY DETAILS | Est. 2012 | Size. Medium | HQ. N/A | Offices. N/A

WHAT THEY DO | Intelligence Support, Training, Recruiting, Human Resources/Administration, Linguistics, Security, Administration

COMPANY OVERVIEW | Valorous is a woman-owned professional services firm that provides world-class support to the Department of Defense, Intelligence Community and civilian federal government. The Valorous team of intelligence, human resources and administrative professionals has decades of experience supporting the critical work of the federal government. Our commitment to our clients is embodied in our motto: We are Valorous—Relentless in the Pursuit of Excellence