This closed-door roundtable was organised by Rebecca Holmes (Research Fellow, Social Protection) and Pilar Domingo (Research Fellow, Politics and Governance). ​

There is growing momentum within the international community to better support gender work in post-conflict and transition settings. This is reflected by the cumulative body of international norms and commitments relation to women, peace and security, and policy documents to promote gender equality and women’s empowerment in processes of peace and state-building.

Supporting women in post-conflict and transitional settings is a fundamentally political objective. Peacebuilding and statebuilding are multidimensional and complex processes that can offer op-portunities to renegotiate and transform the terms and quality of state–society relations, includ-ing ensuring more inclusive, participatory, responsive and accountable engagement. They are processes in which the political settlement (the underlying rules of social, political and economic engagement) is in flux and potentially subject to redefinition and renegotiation. Such contexts can offer specific opportunities to establish and/or strengthen arrangements and state institutions to incorporate stakeholders who have not traditionally had any voice, including women. However, gender hierarchies are resilient and difficult to shift in practice. They are also deeply political, and reform efforts often face entrenched resistance. 

This workshop brings together policy makers, programmers and researchers to discuss the find-ings from recent ODI work and, drawing on the expertise of participants, to discuss the chal-lenges faced and the opportunities for forging a way forward for gender-responsive policy  and programming in post-conflict and transitional settings.