Women with a Blue Helmet: The Integration of Women and Gender Issues in UN Peacekeeping Missions

As the mandates of peacekeeping missions have become more and more complex, there has been an increasing recognition that a gendered approach to peacekeeping is essential to adequately respond to the needs of women, men, boys and girls who have been affected differently by armed conflict. The integration of gender into peacekeeping missions has taken two approaches: mainstreaming gender into the mandates, policies and practices of peacekeeping missions and increasing the number of women working in peacekeeping operations. As of 2008, only 2 per cent of military personnel in UN peacekeeping were female. This paper aims to enhance understanding of the challenges that stand in the way of realizing the goals of achieving a gender balance in peacekeeping operations, looking at recruitment of women, the impact of women peacekeepers, and training and capacity-building activities.