The Image and the Perception: Gender-Responsive Strategic Communications in EU Civilian CSDP Missions

This article discusses gender-responsive strategic communications, the intersection of the EU's gender equality and strategic communications (StratComms) commitments in civilian CSDP. Given the limited overlap of these topics in civilian CSDP thus far, it examines existing best practices and challenges on this topic and provides recommendations for building mission capabilities therein.

The existing best practices in gender-responsive StratComms involve consistent engagement between gender advisers and Press and Public Information Officers (PPIOs) to build mutual trust through clear instructions and open communication, bridge knowledge gaps with training and gender-neutral language guides, and formulate advance planning for large-scale activities. Challenges include the lack of formal guidance for gender-responsive StratComms, context dependence where gender topics may be seen as inflammatory, deprioritisation of other topics in favor of gender parity alone, and addressing foreign information manipulation and interference (FIMI) threats. The author's insights highlight the importance of deliberate and well-planned gender-responsive StratComms to achieve the EU's institutional goals around gender equality.

The article then outlines six recommendations for building capabilities in gender-responsive StratComms. A simple first step would be a formal guidance from CPCC on the topic to set consistent standards across missions. To develop mission structures, accountability mechanisms should be formed within civilian CSDP to ensure implementation of gender-responsive StratComms. Direct gender mainstreaming is also necessary, and both the promotion of women's participation and gender parity within missions as well as the inclusion of men in gender work are crucial to supporting gender equality. And finally, to address gender issues within communications in the mission field, missions should both build contextual awareness and national expertise and learn to anticipate future gendered misinformation threats.

Reference: Baldwin, G. (2024). The image and the perception: Gender-responsive strategic communications in EU civilian CSDP missions. Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).

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