Feminist drive stirs the closed world of policy and research

By Roula Khalaf

I’m used to being one of the few women in a room full of men. Whether I’m attending a seminar or closed door meeting, or speaking at an event, I am typically in a minority. It’s no one’s fault, as I have often told myself. The scholarly world of international politics, security and defence is largely a male domain.
Twice in recent months, though, I’ve found myself in female-only gatherings organised by leading policy institutes. The first was a programme by a think-tank to engage more women in security discussions, the second was a luncheon designed to tap funding from businesswomen. One organiser explained that there’s a recognition that the donor community has been a “homogeneous pool of men who work in similar industries”. Women, it turns out, not only share similar interests to men but have the means and will to promote research.