A staff member said increasing the number of women serving in United Nations peacekeeping improves mission effectiveness by creating a more welcoming work environment, strengthening community trust and improving conduct and discipline.

The speaker said female peacekeepers serve as role models for women in mission areas and cited women serving in diverse roles, including officers and helicopter pilots. “We have a more effective peacekeeping when we have more women peacekeeping,” the staff member said. “It's particularly important also to have more women peacekeeping when it comes to building trust with the communities.”

The staff member said United Nations peacekeeping has made progress on female participation but that gaps remain at senior ranks. “We would want to have more senior female officers for senior positions such as force commander, deputy force commanders,” the staff member said, adding that “it's a very gradual process.”

Beyond recruitment and promotion, the speaker said improving camps and facilities and addressing the psychological and cultural dimensions of missions matter for making deployments welcoming to both women and men. “We have to look at how we make the peacekeeping environment welcoming for women and for men ... that has to do with the practical issues such as the ... facilities,” the staff member said.

The speaker also tied higher female participation to better conduct and discipline in missions, saying, “I believe that we have a better record on conduct and discipline when we have more women in peacekeeping.”

On responsibility for change, the staff member said the effort is shared with the troop- and police-contributing countries and is ongoing. “We are working on this, but I think it's also a shared responsibility that we have with the troop and police contributing countries,” the staff member said.

The remarks emphasized discussion points and intentions rather than formal decisions or specific numeric targets; numbers of women currently serving at senior levels were not specified.