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The strategy and action plan stems from the 2018 Compact commitment to increase women's representation in civilian CSDP missions. It defines expected outcomes and sets specific targets in a given time frame and identifies four areas of strategic engagement, accompanied by actions and means to monitor progress towards the set targets. It also includes a comprehensive overview of the state of play. The document is useful for anyone interested in the developments in women's equal participation and gender balance in civilian CSDP missions, but it's particularly useful for Member States working on policy-making and implementation on Women, Peace and Security and gender equality more generally.

This is the second edition of the #SHEcurity Index, created in 2020 to take stock of the participation and representation of women at all levels of decision-making in foreign and security policy, and of diversity in peace and security in general. The 2021 version has been enriched with data from additional sources. Furthermore, it includes a section #SHEcurity+ advocating for considering diverse experiences and marginalised perspectives when shaping (foreign) policy.

This map presents Finland’s participation in civilian and military crisis management. In addition to the informative data it provides, it can also serve as a source of inspiration for anybody wanting to develop visual communications on a state’s involvement in international crisis management.

On 8 October 2021, the third Cluster 5 virtual workshop on women’s participation in civilian CSDP Missions was held focusing on work-life balance in civilian crisis management missions. It explored some of the challenges of reconciling work, private and family life, which has been identified as a barrier affecting particularly women’s opportunities and choices to seek deployment in crisis management missions. Removing barriers and promoting conducive working environment affects positively the recruitment and retention of women experts. Studies have shown that policies and practices designed to encourage work-life balance can play an important role in attracting, motivating and retaining highly skilled and diverse experts.

The fourth edition of the Handbook provides a complete, detailed, and current analysis of the European CSDP. It compiles texts from different experts involved in CSDP and presents its context, goals, stakeholders, and processes.

On 26 March 2021, the second Cluster 5 virtual workshop on women’s participation in civilian CSDP Missions was held in the context of the implementation of civilian CSDP Compact. Following up on one of the thematic topics identified for Cluster 5 in the first workshop in January 2021, the March workshop dealt with methods and tools to enhance the recruitment and deployment of women at all levels to improve gender balance in civilian missions. The main objective of the workshop was to share experiences and good practices especially in recruitment and selection processes both at national and EU institutions and in Missions.

Spain and Finland convened and jointly chaired the first Cluster 5 workshop on women’s participation in civilian CSDP on 15 January 2021. The purpose of the workshop was to set the scene for the cluster and discuss the proposed topics and work plan for the Cluster in 2021-2023. The workshop was attended by seventeen EU Member States representatives and seconding agencies as well as the European External Action Service (EEAS), thus showing a widespread interest in the work of the Cluster.

The Folke Bernadotte Academy (FBA) and the Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency (MSB) were appointed to form the Civilian Coordinator of Training (CCT) on Gender Equality, with the task to analyse the training requirements in the field of gender equality. This concise summary of the Training Requirements Analysis (TRA) helps understanding the aim and methodology of the TRA, contrasts existing training with EU policy ambitions, and presents recommendations to address identified gaps.

The third edition of the global Women Peace and Security Index (WPS Index) draws on recognized data sources to measure women’s inclusion, justice, and security in 170 countries. Trends in the WPS Index show that the global advance of women’s status has slowed and disparities have widened across countries. The three lowest ranking countries (Afghanistan, Syria and Yemen) are all affected by armed conflict. This most recent edition of the WPS Index also looks into the consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic for women’s inclusion and security. The WPS Index is published by the Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security and the Peace Research institute Oslo (PRIO) Centre on Gender, Peace and Security

GAP III is an ambitious plan to promote gender equality and women’s empowerment through all external action of the European Union. The Women, Peace and Security agenda is one of GAP III’s key areas.