Ploughshares Launches 'Women Transforming Global Security'

• Ploughshares, through Horizon 2045 and The Elders, initiated Women Transforming Global Security (WTGS)
• WTGS is an international network of women leaders, policy specialists, and nonprofit executives
• It emphasizes the need for women's leadership and innovation in global security

Ploughshares, a non-profit aimed at mitigating nuclear weapons threats, in collaboration with Horizon 2045 and The Elders, has introduced a new endeavor, Women Transforming Global Security (WTGS).

WTGS is an international community of women leaders, comprising stateswomen, policy specialists, nonprofit leaders, and professionals from fields such as climate, technology, health, human rights, and nuclear security. The network is designed to counter threats that compromise global security and resilience.

The program began at the International Peace Institute, on the night of the UN General Assembly 2025, attended by notable figures such as former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, former President of Ireland and UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Mary Robinson, former Prime Minister of New Zealand Helen Clark, and former President of the UN General Assembly Maria Fernanda Espinosa Garcés, with TEDWomen Editorial Director Pat Mitchell.

Ploughshares President Dr. Emma Belcher explained to us WTGS is focused on changing the discussion around security, making sense of a 21st century problem and making room for other opinions and skillsets.

Women have had a historic contribution to strengthening global security and influencing international agreements but continue to be underrepresented in decision-making circles. WTGS seeks to open doors to women to shape policy in areas that are interlinked.

The network focuses on a human and ecological security vision of human and environmental well-being, anticipation over response, and the integration of multiple ways of knowing and experience. It aims to establish trust and relationships to tackle the causes of conflict and injury.

Representing The Elders, Mary Robinson called attention to what women's inclusion in security conversations is able to accomplish, bringing together multiple voices to address high levels of geopolitics concerns.

President of Horizon 2045, Erika Gregory, noted that this effort seeks to have an inclusive, people-centered approach to security, harnessing women's leadership to identify pragmatic solutions that foster the common good.

As global challengers rise, WTGS will strengthen women leaders in responding to security threats at the intersection of nuclear weapons, climate change, emerging technologies, public health, and human rights, putting cooperation first and coercion second.