LCWINS

The Leadership Council for Women in National Security (LCWINS) works to improve national security by enabling the elevation of more women to the decision-making table. We do this by advocating for diversity and raising awareness of the need for gender parity; identifying well-qualified women who are ready to serve in senior positions; offering seminars on understanding and preparing for the political appointment process; and holding the Administration accountable through public tracking of national security political appointments.

LCWINS was founded by women experts in national security who had experienced the inequities first-hand and saw the opportunity for improvement by creating a coalition to raise public awareness and better prepare and elevate qualified women for leadership roles.

LCWINS is devoted to improving national security by ensuring women– in all our diversity – are equally represented among national security leadership.

Learn more about their inspiration by reading the #PeopleofLCWINS series.

The LCWINS Story

LCWINS officially launched on June 25, 2019. With a presidential election on the horizon, we determined to help the winner elevate as many women as possible to senior national security leadership.

We maintain a database of over 900 women who are well-qualified and ready to serve in senior national security positions. We host a series of webinars to help interested candidates better understand the political appointments process. And we advocate for best practices in hiring to improve diversity in national security leadership. We track the progress of this Administration: follow along with the LCWINS Tracker. 

The LCWINS Approach

LCWINS works on behalf of all women, in all our diversity. To learn more about LCWINS' commitment to inclusion, please check out our  Action Plans.

The Leadership Council of LCWINS is a group of individuals who have committed their time, energy and funding toward the LCWINS mission of improving women's representation at the decision-making table. Our advocacy and our initiatives are focused on all women in the national security field and are free for anyone: our webinars, our database efforts and Help@LCWINS are just a few examples of the resources we have provided thus far.

We believe strongly in treating each other respectfully and will hold ourselves to the highest standards. To that end, please take a look at the LCWINS Respectful Behavior Policy.

LCWINS Strategic Plan

Our vision, mission and priorities are laid out in a five-year strategic plan, available here.

LCWINS Funding and Support

We would not be where we are today without the support of our major funders. With deepest gratitude, we thank LCWINS Champions: BAE Systems, Open Society Foundations, Schmidt Futures, and the Starr Foundation. We also depend greatly upon the individual donations from supporters and members of our community. Anyone interested in contributing to the LCWINS mission can do so here. We continue to thank the Pacific Council on International Policy for their continuing support as our fiscal sponsors.
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