U.S. Indo-Pacific Command Women, Peace and Security (WPS) Director and Command Gender Advisor Sharon Feist addressed the Hawaii National Guard Joint Commander’s Conference at the Guard’s Regional Training Institute in Waimanalo, Hawaii, Sept. 13.
Feist discussed the benefits of integrating a gender perspective into peace and security operations and emphasized the critical role gender plays in promoting peace and security.
Explaining how women and girls are disproportionately impacted by conflict and violence, Feist stressed the importance of taking the needs of an entire population into consideration in peace and security operations. This gender perspective, she said, increases operation effectiveness and can have positive outcomes for recruitment and retention of a diverse workforce.
She shared insights on the WPS Regional Approach and how the Hawaii National Guard can utilize a gender perspective with foreign partners. “WPS engagement must fit the partner and there is no one sizes fits all. Our office says we meet our partners where they are at with WPS and we walk the path with them,” she said.
Gender integration adds incredible value to military operations and creates an operational advantage, she said. Women are increasingly serving in combat roles, Feist noted, and that can help military operations be more effective and sustainable through employing a gender perspective into mission sets.
Diverse teams, she said, can be better able to understand and respond to the needs of the communities they serve. Incorporating a gender perspective is especially critical as the world grapples with increasingly complex security challenges, she remarked.
