Introduction

It is a well-acknowledged fact that women are underrepresented in the ranks of high-level peace mediators. One recent study, conducted by the Council on Foreign Relations (2019), found that women accounted for only 2 per cent of all mediators appointed between 1992 and 2017. Further research by Aggestam and Svensson (2018) has also sought to map the presence of women mediators in Track I negotiations. According to their research, which adopted a slightly broader definition of mediator, only 8 per cent of these positions were filled by women.

The persistent underrepresentation of women in Track I mediation has recently prompted a response from a number of states. Seeking to address the apparent invisibility of women in the field of mediation, several new Networks have been created with the aim of increasing the representation of women in high-level mediation and the visibility of women mediators at all levels. The creation of these Networks globally is rooted in United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325(2000) (UNSCR 1325), which made normative commitments to increase women's participation in peace and security. Since UNSCR 1325 was adopted in October 2000, successive resolutions on Women, Peace and Security (WPS) have called for an increase in the number of women in high-level mediation roles (Turner, 2018). This commitment was reinforced in 2017 by the United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who pledged to expand the pool of UN Envoys and senior mediators, with a particular focus on women (UN, 2017). Whereas policy in relation to women in mediation originates primarily in the field of WPS, this particular commitment from the Secretary-General was made in the context of a report on strengthening the UN mediation support capacity and, as such, originates in the field of mediation, rather than WPS, creating a potential bridge between the two professional spheres, which have traditionally remained separate. The international environment therefore appears supportive of the emergence of initiatives such as Networks.

Given the relative infancy of the Networks, and the absence of much scholarly scrutiny of their creation, this chapter does three things. First, it provides an introduction to the Networks, focusing on the legal basis for their creation and locating them within the broader foreign policy context.