UNSCR 1325 Turns 25: Women’s Leadership Builds Peace & Prosperity

For 25 years, UNSCR 1325 has affirmed that women’s participation is essential to peace, stability, and resilient communities.

In Northern Ireland, that participation isn’t just political, it’s economic. When women access skills, training, and employment, families thrive, communities prosper, and peacebuilding becomes sustainable.

Yet almost 30% of working-age women in Northern Ireland are economically inactive, compared to just over 20% of men. Gendered roles, caring responsibilities, and systemic barriers keep women locked out of the labour market.

Our Building Futures programme, funded by the UK Shared Prosperity Fund, tackles these barriers, supporting over 592 women to date, to gain skills, confidence, and independence. But with UKSPF funding ending in March 2026 and no clarity on what comes next, this vital progress could stall, leaving thousands without the support they need.

Peace needs participation. Participation needs investment. Women’s economic futures need certainty.