It is both in Australia’s interest and within its scope of expertise to actively support the Elsie initiative. Australia has a long history of participating in peace operations, is championing gender equality in its own security services, and provides comprehensive training – including on gender – to regional partners. It is therefore in a unique position to leverage this experience to become a leader in supporting both gender parity in and contributions to UN peace operations.

At the UN Peacekeeping Defense Ministerial Conference, Canada announced the launch of the Elsie Initiative on Women in Peace Operations. Through tailored technical support, the initiative aims to help troop-contributing countries recruit and retain female soldiers. It is one of the first initiatives to directly address the lack of female personnel at the deploying country level.

The United States is in a strong position to partner in the work of the Elsie Initiative. By so doing, it can entrench the concept of gender parity in its current UN peacekeeping training programs and deployments and better lead knowledge-sharing efforts with partner militaries. The Elsie Initiative also gives the United States an opportunity to reinforce partnerships that enhance global security while bolstering its leadership in gender parity and UN reform.