Washington DC, USA – WEDO’s Eleanor Blomstrom spoke at a conference on Women’s Leadership in Conversation and Peace held at the Wilson Center’s Environmental Change and Security Program.

Speaking on ‘Navigating the intersection: between peace and security, and natural resources and gender equality’, Eleanor highlighted the progress made in women’s empowerment through the Paris Climate Agreement and the Sustainable Development Goals. However, she also spoke on the missing links that still exist around systemic issues such as conflict, peace, militarization, women’s leadership and human rights.

Eleanor shared the sense of urgency of changing gender stereotypes and intersecting inequalities that affect both men and women in conflict and climate issues. To address this, she proposed a transformation in energy spaces, consumption of consumer products in addition to incorporating the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals. She reiterated WEDO’s objective to ensure just transitions and challenge power structures where marginalized populations are included in solutions, recognizing that conflict although a contributor to vulnerability, doesn’t mean that women are vulnerable.