Standing for gender parity in national security

Women well-qualified to serve in
national security & foreign policy leadership positions

The LCWINS Database helps our community advance gender parity in senior national security and foreign policy leadership. Its information helps our team support the consideration of gender-balanced slates for key administration positions and respond to requests for expertise from the media, conference organizers, and recruiters from the public and private sectors.

Through this bipartisan project, LCWINS helps both major parties prepare to govern effectively by identifying women ready and eager to serve in national security and foreign policy leadership roles. LCWINS leverages this resource to advocate for all women—not specific women—from all political backgrounds.

The LCWINS Database continues to disprove the myth that “there aren’t enough qualified women to lead.” The project originated during the 2020 election cycle when more than 900 highly qualified women in national security and foreign policy expressed interest in serving in the next administration.  This original cohort represented more than 15,000 years of collective work experience, 37% of participants were women of color, and 5% of them identified as LGBTQIAA+.  We shared this extraordinary talent pipeline with the transition teams and the President Biden’s White House Office of Presidential Personnel, enabling both parties to consider gender balanced slates for senior national security and foreign policy leadership roles.

The LCWINS Database is confidential and secure. As a national security-minded organization, we have taken significant precautions to ensure the security of this information.  Access to its content is limited to LCWINS staff and is protected by extensive levels of data encryption. Relevant portions of the database are conveyed to transition teams and the White House through secure means and with the participants’ permission.

The LCWINS Database is an intentionally big and inclusive tent. We invite all women to join the LCWINS Database who consider themselves qualified to serve at the Deputy Assistant Secretary level and above or in equivalent positions bearing other titles.