The notion of intersectionality first emerged in 1989 by legal scholar Kimberlé Crenshaw, who described it as “a prism for seeing the way in which various forms of inequality often operate together and exacerbate each other”. In other words, it acts as a framework for understanding how a person’s multiple identities overlap to create unique modes of discrimination and privilege. Under the concept of Women, Peace and Security agenda (WPS), an intersectional approach would mean recognising how gender interacts with other aspects of identity such as race, sexuality and disability. Such identities are often intensified during conflict or in post-conflict environments. By acknowledging and addressing intersecting identities, the WPS agenda can become more inclusive and effective in promoting peace, security and gender equality for all, rather than focusing on one-size-fits-all responses.

Intersectionality in conflict

To better understand the concept of intertwined identities, consider the example of LGBTIQ+ individuals in conflict areas. Russia has taken a strong stance against LGBTQI+ issues, framing it as a hostile ideology and adopted oppressive legislation against LGBTQI+ people. Hence, such policies also have severe consequences for the occupied territories of Ukraine, to which Russia is trying to extend its laws. In these regions, LGBTQI+ individuals face intensified risks, not only as members of a marginalised group but also as people living under occupation. Their experiences highlight the intersectionality of identity in conflict settings.

However, intersectionality is equally vital when examining the experiences of people affected by conflicts and in particular military personnel. For instance, women veterans with disabilities have overlapping forms of identity that can exacerbate exclusion. Women veterans with disabilities in the US are more likely to be unemployed or out of the labour market compared to both male veterans and women without disabilities. Women veterans already represent a marginalised group, and adding disabilities to the equation further intensifies challenges and creates additional obstacles, sometimes even in accessing veteran support systems. For women from minority backgrounds or other marginalised identities or ethnicities, these challenges can be even greater. Furthermore, their voices are often missing from peacebuilding discussions, even though they bring crucial experience from the security sector and often from their own lives or backgrounds.

Strengthening the WPS agenda

As intersectionality helps us understand how multiple identities impact people in conflict or post-conflict environments, fully integrating intersectionality in the WPS agenda would ensure that the diverse experiences and needs of all women, including those affected by race, class, disability, sexual orientation and other factors, are recognised, addressed and meaningfully included in peace and security efforts. Through the concept of intersectionality, tokenism – the superficial representation of diversity – can be eliminated and lead to meaningful inclusion that focuses on genuine engagement and equality for all individuals.

The National Action Plans (NAPs) are the cornerstone of WPS implementation, but there is often a lack of comprehensive data collection, limiting the understanding of the diverse experiences and needs of women in conflict and post-conflict settings. Hence, the effectiveness of WPS efforts is hindered. Another obstacle that the implementation of the NAPs frequently faces is insufficient financial resources. Lastly, even if the data is more inclusive and financial resources do not create barriers, implementation can be challenging, especially due to weak institutional capacity, and a lack of coordination between government agencies.

Implementing the WPS agenda through the prism of intersectionality requires a broad range of measures. In this context, I will focus specifically on the defence and military sphere at the European level. But first, it is important to understand that the necessity of engaging diverse women’s groups, such as indigenous leaders, disabled activists and LGBTQI+ voices, in drafting and monitoring the implementation of the NAPs, is of utmost importance in ensuring that policies truly reflect the needs and experiences of all women affected by conflict.

Integrating intersectionality in European defence policy

Moreover, focusing on the military side, governments need to train their military personnel in intersectional feminist analysis, not just gender sensitivity. Ensuring that military peacekeepers and advisers receive proper training on the matter is essential, especially considering that deployment often takes place in diverse regions. Making the military fit for the 21st century requires several changes and entails multiple challenges; challenging the dominant, outdated norms and replacing them with a more comprehensive security doctrine would bring added value to the implementation of the WPS agenda.

In the current geopolitical environment, as European states work to rearm and modernise their military and defence industrial capacities, neglecting the WPS agenda would only undermine these efforts. Both NATO and the EU can significantly contribute to integrating the principle of intersectionality into defence and security policy discussions. For instance, introducing specialised courses within the EU Security and Defence College (ESDC) addressing intersectionality and WPS, beyond the current broader framework of gender equality, would represent an important step forward. Furthermore, NATO aims at integrating WPS across its core tasks as is underlined in the Alliance’s 2022 Strategic Concept, but it also needs to incorporate an intersectional gender analysis to better understand the environment in which it operates.

Toward inclusive and resilient security policy in Europe

Lastly, but equally important, it is essential to ensure the inclusion of intersectionality in policymaking processes. The EU’s Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP) offers a relevant framework for such analysis.

The Strategic Compass, a guiding document for the EU’s security and defence posture, underlines the importance of implementing WPS in CSDP. It stresses the benefits of deploying gender advisers to its missions and operations, but it misses the opportunity to include an intersectional approach. A solution can be expanding pre-deployment and in-mission training to include intersectional dimensions of local dynamics and to promote intersectionality also among the host nations’ armed forces. At the political level, the European Parliament, in its annual CSDP reports, consistently calls for stronger measures on gender equality and stronger implementation of WPS agenda in the EU’s CSDP and foreign policy. But, it also needs to go further and advocate for the adoption of intersectional frameworks in the military, either on missions and operations or during training exercises.

Overall, it is essential to make sure that policymakers address existing gaps in the integration of intersectionality within EU security and defence frameworks. The upcoming EU Gender Equality Strategy 2026–2030 presents a timely opportunity to embed a stronger, more explicit focus on intersectionality, moving beyond general commitments to gender equality. Promoting a shift toward systemic transformation, involves rethinking policy design, implementation and evaluation through an intersectional framework, ensuring meaningful integration in shaping inclusive and resilient security policies.

Written by Dimitra Koutouzi, Senior Policy Officer at EUROMIL