The initiative recognizes the need for women-centered leadership to address the interconnected nuclear crises threatening human security through collaboration over coercion
NEW YORK, Sept. 23, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — Ploughshares, a nuclear weapons threat reduction organization and grantmaker – in partnership with Horizon 2045, a nonprofit that advances security for a more humane and resilient future through women’s leadership and The Elders, the group of independent global leaders founded by Nelson Mandela – launched its new groundbreaking initiative, Women Transforming Global Security (WTGS).
WTGS is an international network of stateswomen, nuclear policy experts, nonprofit executives and other women leaders dedicated to reducing security threats at the intersection of nuclear weapons, climate change, emerging technologies, public health and human rights.
The initiative was announced at the International Peace Institute on the eve of the UN General Assembly 2025, featuring high-profile WTGS champions such as former United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, former President of Ireland and UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Mary Robinson, former Prime Minister of New Zealand Helen Clark, former President of the UN General Assembly Maria Fernanda Espinosa Garcés and TEDWomen Editorial Director and Curator and Host Pat Mitchell.
Ploughshares President Dr. Emma Belcher shared, “Women Transforming Global Security is not just about adding women’s voices to old conversations – it’s about changing the conversation itself. Together, we are laying the foundations of a security paradigm fit for the 21st century.”
Women have historically been at the forefront of nuclear non-proliferation movements and the implementation of key nuclear security treaties, and yet continue to be underrepresented in decision-making roles at major disarmament forums. WTGS will pave the way for more diverse perspectives and experiences in national security and nuclear weapons policy decisions.
The network will advance a vision of security focused on human and ecological wellbeing, prevention over reaction, diverse forms of knowledge and expertise and utilizing relationships and trust to build security that will address the root causes of conflict and harm.
“The Elders are delighted to support the launch of Women Transforming Global Security,” said Mary Robinson, former President of Ireland and UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. “As a young woman, I joined tens of thousands of women and men marching against nuclear weapons at the height of the Cold War in the 1970s and ’80s. We need a similar sense of urgency and activism today as geopolitical tensions reach dangerous levels. Women’s perspectives are too often absent from these debates and need to be heard. This network can play a vital role in convening diverse voices, building trust and catalyzing action.”
With more than 12,000 nuclear weapons remaining on the planet, Ploughshares, Horizon 2045, The Elders and their WTGS champions align with the UN’s priority of achieving global nuclear disarmament, commemorated by the “International Day for the Elimination of Nuclear Weapons” every September 26.
“This initiative humanizes security rather than militarizing humanity, acknowledging the ways contemporary threats have converged to make so many of us feel less secure than ever before,” shared Horizon 2045 President Erika Gregory. “Our response must be a more humane framework for global security that recognizes women are uniquely effective at generating the collaborative, practical solutions we need, based on the understanding that care for collective wellbeing is the foundation of authentic security.”
As geopolitical escalations increase and billions of lives are threatened by a small group of powerful individuals engaged in an arms race, WTGS invests in women leaders who will challenge patriarchal security systems and further advance the elimination of nuclear threats through collaboration over coercion.
Media interested in learning about Ploughshares and Women Transforming Global Security should contact Emiliano Garcia at [email protected] or (917) 446-7571. For more information about Ploughshares, please visit ploughshares.org. For more information about Women Transforming Global Security, please visit transformingsecurity.org.
About The Elders
The Elders is a group of independent global leaders founded by Nelson Mandela.
About Ploughshares
Ploughshares, led by Dr. Emma Belcher, is the largest nuclear weapons threat reduction organization and grantmaking foundation singularly committed to eliminating nuclear weapons and addressing intersecting security threats such as climate change, emerging technologies, public health crises and human rights violations. Ploughshares utilizes its grantmaking to support the organizations and people who drive policies and activities that help make the world safer and more secure. Follow Ploughshares on Instagram, LinkedIn, Facebook and X.
About Horizon 2045
Horizon 2045 advances security for a more humane and resilient future through women’s leadership that prioritizes collective intelligence and holistic definitions of security, innovations in governance and international law that recognize the interdependence of living systems and the rights of future generations, and adaptive philanthropy willing to rethink its very purpose and operate beyond conventional boundaries.
Contact: Emiliano Garcia
Phone: (917) 446-7571
Email: [email protected]
SOURCE Ploughshares
