2024 WPS Symposium: Elective Panel 1A - Strengthening Maritime Security

ELECTIVE PANEL 1A: STRENGTHENING MARITIME SECURITY
Taking the Helm, Women in the U.S. Navy Captain Christa Almonte, U.S. Navy, U.S. Central Command
Understanding the application of strategic planning, adapting problem-solving skills to get at the operational challenges of America’s navy, bridging the civil-military divide, and earning the privilege of command and inspiring confidence...These are gender-ignorant processes. Leadership at the helm of the U.S. Navy belongs to the self-assured, the skilled, the impassioned.
As women face headwinds and tides in reaching that helm, they must be confident, and they must seek mentors - including and maybe especially among male counterparts - but also find their greatest motivation to be successful: internal fortitude.
To be a leader, a woman sailor must trust in their ability to strengthen navy operations, to use unique problem-solving and communications skills to get at the challenges faced by the navy. These are dynamic times, and the navy today needs its greatest leaders - at every rank - to step forward.
So find your inspiration, inwardly and from the men and women around you, remove the obstacles, face whatever forms the headwinds or tides may take, and achieve that greatest goal: being an inspiration to others, and becoming the leader the Navy needs at the helm.
Gender Integration in Maritime Security Operations in the Peruvian Navy
Rear Admiral Luis Del Carpio, Peruvian Navy, Peruvian Naval War College
The Peruvian Navy began the process to admit women as sailors 38 years ago, since that the Naval Academy and the Petty Officers School receives annually women to be part of the Navy. After graduation the women joint the Pacific Command and the Amazon Force, working together with men in different units and bases to secure and protect the different areas of responsibility. The Peruvian Navy currently focuses their efforts to create more gender integration.
Enhancing Feminine Power at Sea: Filipino Female Coast Guard Officers Patrolling Territorial Waters
Dr. Amparo Pamela Fabe, Philippines Coast Guard Officers Training Center
The UN Security Council Resolutions 1325 and 1820 both advance the Women, Peace, and Security agenda on a global level. These Security Council Resolutions are implemented through the Philippine National Action Plan on Women, Peace, and Security (NAPWPS). The Philippine National Action Plan is composed of primary outcomes: 1.) Protection and Prevention- To ensure the protection of women’s human rights and prevention of violation of these rights in armed conflict and post-conflict situations; 2.) Empowerment and Participation - To empower women and ensure their active and meaningful participation in areas of peacekeeping, peacemaking, peacebuilding, conflict prevention, conflict resolution, and post-conflict reconstruction. Two support factors serve as pillars to fulfill these primary outcomes: a.) Promotion and Mainstreaming- To promote and mainstream gender perspective in all aspects of conflict prevention, conflict resolution and peacebuilding; and, b.) Monitoring and Evaluation - To institutionalize a system to monitor, evaluate and report on the implementation of the National Action Plan to enhance accountability for successful implementation and the attainment of goals. The National Action Plan contains 11 action points and 37 indicators. This paper highlights the increased representation of women at all decision-making levels in the Philippine Coast Guard and the establishment of mechanisms for the prevention, management, and resolution of conflicts. The Philippine Coast Guard leadership applies these National Action Plan provisions by ensuring that female officers experience equal opportunities in the recruitment process, in the fair and consistent access to national, foreign and regional training and in the enjoyment of career advancement possibilities.
The U.S. Naval War College (NWC) hosted the 10th iteration of its Women, Peace, and Security (WPS) Symposium onboard Naval Station Newport, May 2-3.
The symposium, themed “Advancing Gendered Security in a Complex World: Hard Power, Smart Power, Soft Power,” aimed to foster a shared understanding of the complex and dynamic global security environment through examination of women’s influence and experience as stakeholders and catalysts of change alongside men.