Today, the Department of National Defence (DND) and the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) released the Elsie Initiative Barrier Assessment report identifying barriers and opportunities for improving women’s participation in United Nations (UN) peace operations.

“We are committed to increasing opportunities for Canadian women who contribute to UN peace support operations. Through the Elsie Initiative, Canada is identifying and addressing barriers to uniformed women’s meaningful participation in UN peace operations, and working to deliver transformational change. I welcome the findings and recommendations from the Elsie Initiative Barrier Assessment released this week. As Canada strives to be a world leader in advancing gender equality in the military, it is crucial that we work to identify areas of strength, and areas which we can improve upon, to ensure that diverse women in uniform to succeed here at home and abroad.”

The Honourable Anita Anand, Minister of National Defence

“Canada’s Elsie Initiative for Women in Peace Operations works across the world in support of women peacekeepers, but it also holds vital lessons for us at home. As we join the growing number of countries who have undergone this assessment, Canada is committed to continue improving efforts to increase the meaningful participation of women in UN peace operations.”

The Honourable, Mélanie Joly, Minister of Foreign Affairs

“This report identifies areas where we can take further steps to increase the meaningful participation of diverse women in UN peace operations, and assists us in making gender equality a reality in the DND/CAF. This assessment is an opportunity to help us understand, and ultimately remove the key barriers that are preventing women from participating in UN peace operations.”

Lieutenant-General Jennie Carignan, Chief, Professional Conduct and Culture 

• Canada, together with Norway, co-funded the Geneva Centre for Security Sector Governance (DCAF) to develop and pilot a barrier assessment methodology to better understand the challenges and opportunities facing women in security institutions around the world to deploy to UN peace operations. 

• DCAF collaborated with Cornell University to develop the Elsie Barrier Assessment MOWIP methodology. All countries that undergo the barrier assessment use the same methodology, with interview questions localized to their contexts. This allows for a standardization across institutions around the world to understand the challenges and opportunities facing women to deploy. 

• The MOWIP comprehensively assesses 10 issue areas related to the meaningful participation of women in UN peace operations. These 10 areas include: Eligible Pool; Deployment Criteria; Deployment Selection; Household Constraints; Peace Operations Infrastructure; Peace Operations Experiences; Career Value; Top-down Leadership; Gender Roles; and Social Exclusion. 

• Canada’s MOWIP report also highlighted the CAF’s progress on meeting UN targets on female representation. According to data from 2022, 20.2% of the CAF’s Regular Force officers are women meeting current UN targets. Women in the CAF also deploy at a similar rate as men to UN Peace support operations - 2.3% of women serving, 2.7% of men serving.

• The report also highlights that the CAF has recruitment tools to increase female representation, that Strong, Secure, Engaged (SSE), Canada’s defence policy, aims to reach 25.1% of female representation by 2026, and that it put in place a number of policies designed to help meet these targets, including CAF gender discrimination laws and a sexual assault policy, maternity and parental benefits, military benefits, and leave assistance for deployed CAF members.

• Phoenix Strategic Perspectives Inc. (Phoenix SPI) was commissioned by the DND to conduct public opinion research in support of the Elsie Initiative for Women in Peace Operations at a value of $242,227.40 (including applicable sales tax).

• The MOWIP report has been submitted to Library and Archives Canada as part of the public opinion research process. 

Associated links

• Elsie Initiative Barrier Assessment
• Elsie Initiative For Women in Peace Operations
• Elsie Initiative For Women in Peace Operations - Background
• Home | DCAF – Geneva Centre for Security Sector Governance
• MOWIP Methodology

Daniel Minden
Press Secretary
Office of the Minister of National Defence
Phone: 613-996-3100
Email: Daniel.minden@forces.gc.ca

Media Relations
Department of National Defence
Phone: 613-904-3333
Email: mlo-blm@forces.gc.ca