October 9, 2018:  Women have historically been underrepresented across the United Nations system, but notably in peacekeeping, one of the most highly visible activities of the world body. And while the UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations publishes monthly data on troop- and police-contributing countries, by missions and by gender, the numbers are not easily comprehensible.

There are some limited interactive graphs on the UN peacekeeping website regarding the UN’s 14 peacekeeping missions as well as overall national contributions, but the gender breakdowns are buried in a monthly “summary” that is more than 100 pages long.

A basic analysis of the May 2018 report reveals, unsurprisingly, that female participation in peacekeeping remains low. But progress has been made in civilian roles in peace operations.Twenty-two percent of peacekeeping personnel classified as civilians are women.

Read the full story: Women’s Roles as UN Peacekeepers: A Status Report (www.passblue.com)

‍