What do women look like in the nuclear weapons field?

Abstract: Women increasingly feature in nuclear diplomacy both as participants and subject matter. Research institutes report a steady increase in women's representation in large multilateral disarmament forums. Diplomats emphasize the importance of women in statements and working papers. The recent conversation on women in nuclear diplomacy forms part of a wider discourse on women in the nuclear weapons field. This talk presents findings from an analysis of women's portrayals in this discourse. It identifies three narratives as prominent themes: women are missing, women are change-makers and women are victims. The narratives can generate support for initiatives for gender equality. However, they also create an ideal image of women as peaceful that bears negative connotations for perceptions of women's political agency. The finding highlights the importance of a new research agenda on women in the nuclear weapons field which could complexify the image of women as peaceful.

Bio: Dr Jana Wattenberg is a UKRI postdoctoral fellow (Horizon Europe Guarantee Scheme for Marie Sklodowska Curie Global Fellowship) at Aberystwyth University (UK). She is also a visiting scholar at American University (Washington DC), a Lecturer in Security at Aberystwyth University and a Senior Fellow with Women in International Security (WIIS).