Women’s Post-War Economic Empowerment

This research brief is part of a series, initiated in connection to the 20th anniversary of UNSCR 1325 and promotes the realization of the Women, Peace and Security agenda through evidence-based policy and practice. It is the result of a collaboration between the Folke Bernadotte Academy (FBA), the Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO), and UN Women.

The marginalization of women’s economic activity has been recognized by the UN Secretary General as a major barrier to women’s inclusion in post-war recovery, and by extension to the wider conflict transformation and recovery processes necessary for sustaining peace.

This brief argues that the treatment of formal and informal economic activity as separate and mutually exclusive spheres exacerbates the tendency to address women’s
empowerment through small-scale interventions, and contributes to the marginalization of women’s economic activity.

Author: Caitlin Ryan