FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Queen鈥檚 Receives $50,000 to Host Community of Practice for Women, Peace and Security Research
Outreach projects will support global resilience of research on gender and security
KINGSTON, ON 鈥 14 August 2025 / The Centre for International and Defence Policy (CIDP) at Queen鈥檚 University announced that Dr. St茅fanie von Hlatky has received a $50,000 grant from the Social Science and Humanities Research Council of Canada鈥檚 Connections program. The grant project will establish the Women Peace and Security Community of Practice, with administration based at the Queen鈥檚 CIDP. This international community of practice will host a workshop this Fall in Brussels, Belgium, and develop an online data repository to hold gender-disaggregated datasets, training materials, and policy documents that are being erased due to funding cuts and political backlash worldwide.
鈥淭his project brings together world-leading researchers and practitioners committed to integrating gender considerations into global governance and responses to insecurity,鈥 Dr. von Hlatky said. 鈥淒espite the recognition that gender equality is vital for peace, funding cuts and political resistance to gender equality has created new challenges for research on gender and security.鈥
Fellow team members on this project include Dr. Yolande Bouka and Dr. St茅phanie Martel, professors in the Department of Political Studies and Fellows at the CIDP. Dr. Bouka is the current Director of the Research Network on Women, Peace, and Security, and Dr. Martel is a former Director of the Network for Strategic Analysis.
鈥淭he launch of a new community of practice for Women, Peace, and Security research is an exciting development for the Centre,鈥 said Dr. Michael Murphy, CIDP Director. 鈥淭his project builds on the strength of existing projects at the intersection of gender and security taking place at the CIDP, including the Gender Lab, the Research Network for Women, Peace, and Security, and world-class research projects led by our fellows.鈥
鈥淲e congratulate Dr. von Hlatky and her collaborators on securing funding for the community of practice, said Dr. Sharon Regan, Associate Dean (Research) at the Faculty of Arts and Science. 鈥淨ueen鈥檚 University has a strong reputation for high-impact research, and this project represents global leadership in the area of gender equality.鈥
The Centre for International and Defence Policy, established in 1975 as the Queen's Centre for International Relations under the directorship of Nils 脴rvik, and renamed in 2011, has a mandate to conduct research in matters of national and international security and other aspects of international relations. It supports teaching in the field of security and defence and, through its publications and activities of its members, contributes to public debate on Canadian foreign and defence policy, and on issues of international peace and security.
The Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) is the federal research funding agency that promotes and supports research and research training in the humanities and social sciences. Through several grants (Partnership, Connection, Insight Development鈥), SSHRC strategically supports world-leading initiatives that reflect a commitment to ensuring a better future for Canada and the world.
St茅fanie von Hlatky is the Canada Research Chair in Gender, Security and the Armed Forces, Pierre Elliot Trudeau Foundation Fellow and Full Professor in the Department of Political Studies. She received her Ph.D. in Political Science from Universit茅 de Montr茅al in 2010, where she was also Executive Director for the Centre for International Peace and Security Studies.