More women in security decision-making = stronger responses to Europe’s new risks

As NATO leaders gather in Ankara next week, EIGE’s new security brief shows that women remain under-represented where security priorities are set, from NATO’s Council and Military Committee to Europe’s armed forces and defence ministries.

A new EIGE security brief released ahead of the NATO Summit shows that women remain largely absent from the highest levels of security decision-making — especially where political authority, military command and defence spending are decided.

Still missing from the rooms where NATO security is decided

The imbalance is visible inside NATO itself. 

Women remain a minority around the North Atlantic Council table and the permanent representatives of the Military Committee are still entirely male; and the Alliance has never appointed a woman Secretary General. The civilian side is not much more balanced: women held only one in five NATO civilian leadership posts in 2024.

Permanent representatives to NATO’s North Atlantic Council are women

Women currently make up NATO’s Military permanent representatives

Women have served as NATO Secretary General in the Alliance's history

Women in NATO civilian leadership posts in 2024

Taken together, the figures point to a persistent imbalance across NATO’s political, military and civilian structures. While progress has been made in parts of the wider security landscape, the Alliance’s own decision-making spaces remain overwhelmingly male. 

“Security decisions are stronger when they reflect the experiences, expertise and realities of the people they are intended to protect. Evidence consistently shows that women's participation in conflict prevention, peace processes and security decision-making contributes to more sustainable outcomes. Yet women remain significantly under-represented in the spaces where priorities are set and resources are allocated.