"Institutionalization of WPS principles enhances our operational effectiveness..."

Women, Peace and Security

U.S. Northern Command's (USNORTHCOM) Women, Peace and Security (WPS) Program is part of an international effort to promote the meaningful contributions of women in the defense and security sectors at home and around the world. USNORTHCOM seeks to institutionalize WPS across USNORTHCOM missions and functions to improve operational effectiveness, promote opportunities for the meaningful participation of women in decision-making across the command, and ensure safety, security and human rights for all.

OUR APPROACH (PDF)

Our Program
Our Framework
WPS History
WPS Today
WPS Resources

Our Program

USNORTHCOM’s WPS approach is anchored in two decades of practice, in U.S. national law, U.S. strategy, and DoD and USNORTHCOM commander’s implementation guidance. WPS is founded upon abundant evidence showing that women’s safety and security is directly linked to a country’s stability, and that persistent barriers to women’s advancement in defense undermines organizational effectiveness and national security. WPS provides unique opportunities, both throughout USNORTHCOM and with our partners, to reinforce women’s empowerment, meaningful participation in decision-making, protection from violence, and access to resources. It is both a values-based approach, and also a practical one. When USNORTHCOM and our partners advance the principles of WPS, we not only strengthen our security and defense institutions and interoperability, evidence shows it also leads to more stable and resilient societies.

Our Strategic Framework

Implementation of the WPS program is a USNORTHCOM priority. WPS at USNORTHCOM is guided by the following WPS mission, vision and end states which are implemented internally within the command and externally with partner nation militaries.

Mission – USNORTHCOM integrates WPS principles into its strategies, plans and operations to better defend the homeland, strengthen partnerships, and provide flexible response to civil authorities.

Vision – Institutionalization of WPS principles enhances the operational effectiveness of USNORTHCOM and our partner militaries.

End States

Exemplify a diverse, resilient, flexible organization
Ensure the safety, security, and human rights of women/girls, especially during conflict and crisis

History of WPS

In 2000, the United Nations (UN) Security Council adopted UN Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security, the first resolution to address the disproportionate and unique effects of armed conflict on women and girls.

In 2011, the United States published the first U.S. National Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security, in accordance with Executive Order 13595.

In 2017, the president signed into law the Women, Peace and Security Act (Public Law 115-68), making this the first legislation of its kind in the world to acknowledge the multifaceted roles of women throughout the conflict spectrum and call on the U.S. government to promote the meaningful participation and protection of women globally.

In June 2019, the U.S. government released the U.S. Strategy on Women, Peace and Security, making the U.S. the first country in the world with both a comprehensive law and whole-of-government strategy on WPS. The strategy compelled the Department of Defense (DoD), Department of State, and Department of Homeland Security to develop WPS implementation plans.

The requisite DoD Women, peace, and Security Strategic Framework and Implementation Plan was signed June 2020.

A graphic illustrating the history of WPS implementation.

WPS Today

Although Women, Peace, and Security is two decades old, as a government and a military, our understanding of the scope and value to our organizations and operational effectiveness of gender integration into everything we do, continues to expand and evolve.

Data, analysis and new tools for understanding the value of addressing (and the detrimental impact of ignoring) gender dynamics are being developed and tested across our defense and security efforts. For example, practical lessons on the value of applying gender analysis and perspective in operations were gained in stabilization operations, such as in the form of female or mixed-gender engagement teams in Afghanistan and Iraq, and in peacekeeping operations such as in Haiti. UN data shows that increasing female representation within a peacekeeping formation to 30 percent or higher had a civilizing effect on peacekeeping forces and helped mitigate instances of sexual and gender-based violence perpetrated by peacekeeping troops.

Today, in the era of emerging, diverse, and often concurrent security threats – such as cyberattacks, violent extremism, terrorism, climate change, natural disasters, global pandemics, and strategic competition – it is necessary to harness the strengths and perspectives of our entire population to successfully address these challenges and mitigate their effects.

No military commander would ever choose to make a decision with only 50 percent of the information. WPS is about the force multiplying effect of women and the ability to employ the full scope of our human capital to address the complex challenges of today, and those of tomorrow

WPS Resources

Non-Governmental Organizations
North Atlantic Treaty Organization -
UN Women -
United Nations Peacemaker -
UN Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs -
United States Institute of Peace -
International Peace Institute -
Women's International League for Peace and Freedom -
Working Group on Women, Peace and Security -
The WomanStats Project -

WPS News

May 5, 2023

WHINSEC conducts WPS symposium

WHINSEC conducts its sixth-annual Women, Peace, and Security symposium.

May 5, 2023

USNORTHCOM hosts WPS Barrier Analysis Focus Group

In its continuing effort to expand and evolve the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) program, U.S. Northern Command (USNORTHCOM) hosted a series of WPS barrier analysis focus groups for command members from Feb. 28 to Mar. 3, 2023, at the North American Aerospace Command and USNORTHCOM headquarters on Peterson Space Force Base, Colorado.

Sept. 30, 2021

Female engagement team continues to evaluate female evacuees needs at Fort Bliss’ Doña Ana Complex

Afghan evacuee women at Fort Bliss’ Doña Ana Complex in New Mexico meet weekly with female leaders to address their concerns and ease their transition into American life.

Partner News

May 10, 2023

Department of the Air Force - Women, Peace and Security

Disclaimer: Partner news external links contained herein are made available for the purpose of peer review and discussion. The thoughts and opinions expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of NORAD and USNORTHCOM, the Department of Defense, or the U.S. Government.

WPS Photos

... loading ...

WPS Video

Video by John Budnik

USACE & North Slope Borough partner on Barrow Coastal Erosion Project

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Alaska District

Aug. 29, 2023 | 1:00

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers – Alaska District conducted a ceremonial signing event Aug. 29 recognizing the official agreement between stakeholders for the planned construction of the Barrow Coastal Erosion Project near Utqiagvik. Sen. Dan Sullivan and North Slope Borough representatives attended the event and provided remarks at the district headquarters building located on Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson.

Officially known as a “Project Partnership Agreement,” the official document was signed on August 18 by Col. Jeffrey Palazzini, commander of the Alaska District, and Harry Brower Jr., mayor of the North Slope Borough. The agreement describes the project and responsibilities of the federal government and the non-federal sponsor, which is the North Slope Borough, in the cost sharing and execution of work. When this milestone is achieved in the federal process, both entities can now work together to begin implementing the project. The ceremonial signing recognized the tremendous partnership that emerged amongst the stakeholders.

“We have been working in the Congress to get these kinds of big civil infrastructure projects happening in our state,” Sullivan said. “This is going to be the biggest ever in terms of coastal erosion. We changed the formula so that the federal government pays for 90 percent of the funding.”

Utqiagvik, formerly known as Barrow, is the political and economic hub of the North Slope Borough, providing important services to surrounding villages in Northeast Alaska. The community experiences frequent and severe coastal storms, resulting in flooding and erosion that threaten public health and safety, the economy of the community, critical infrastructure valued at more than $1 billion, access to subsistence areas as well as cultural and historical resources. The project will reduce the risk of storm damage to about five miles of coastline by construction of a rock revetment at the bluff area, building a protective berm and raising Stevenson Street.

“Today’s signing ceremony is the [result] of a great endeavor for our participation and input that we generated within our communities,” Brower said. “It has been many years in the works and previous [North Slope Borough] administrations were addressing the very same concerns.”

Currently, the borough engages in the construction of temporary berms by bulldozing beach sand supplemented with materials from upland areas. These ongoing activities and associated costs will be replaced by the permanent seawall.

“This project represents USACE’s ability to construct in remote and austere environments as well as our commitment to rural and native communities on the frontlines of climate change,” Palazzini said. “We will advertise, award a project and then get construction started with continued enthusiastic partnership.”

USACE anticipates awarding a construction contract in the spring with work beginning shortly thereafter. The project is scheduled for completion by 2031.