By Rachel Noble, The Guardian, United Kingdom – In June, Britain’s then foreign secretary, William Hague, and Hollywood actor, Angelina Jolie, co-hosted the much-publicised Ending Sexual Violence in Conflict summit (ESVI) in London. The UK government boldly committed to ensuring that women are “fully and meaningfully represented at any international peacebuilding event or summit hosted by the UK, by encouraging government delegations to fully include women representatives”.
This post raises recurring questions for me. “Why be afraid about the way women think about policy choices or about how conflicts should be resolved? “Is there something different about women’s decision thinking that is threatening?” “Does it have to do with an ability to see the long-term implications of an unacceptable status quo and the confidence to insist on solutions that comprehensively change it?” Is it about decision thinking that challenges the creativity of policy bodies by holding them to a higher standard than an interest in a quick fix?