Does Gender Equality Lead to Peace? Fact Sheet Building on the Global Study on 1325

Gender equality is the number one predictor of peace – more so than a state’s wealth, level of democracy, or religious identity. Gender equality is also an obligation: because women are human beings, states are obligated to overturn obstacles to women’s human rights, maximise investment in women’s equal human rights, and ensure gender equality moves forward rather than backward. Creating a world of gender equality and gender justice means building collective power rather than dominating power. It means creating a world where people and planet can flourish – regardless of age, race, gender, class, ethnicity, ability, or sexual orientation and gender identity. It means overthrowing relations of exploitation and violence from the personal to the political to the international levels. It is therefore no wonder that violence against women and social, political, and economic inequality between women and men increase risks of state instability, internal disputes, and international conflict.