Reykjavik 2025: Where Women Hold the Key to Peace and Progress

The Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security and its 2025 Women Changemakers Cohort have just returned from the 8th annual Reykjavik Global Forum for an inspiring three days of networking, reconnecting with members of our network, and advancing the visibility of our work and publications. As one of our partners, Lucina Di Meco from She Persisted, noted after the Forum, what stood out most was the remarkable integrity of both the event’s focus and its location. Icelanders do not just talk about equality and women’s leadership; they actively work on it every day. The country ranks 2nd out of 181 countries on the 2025 Women, Peace & Security Index. The World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Index recognizes Iceland as the world leader for gender equality, having closed over 90 percent of its gap in recent years, and Vision of Humanity’s Global Peace Index ranks the country the safest and most peaceful nation on earth. Key national leaders, including the President, Speaker of the House, Prime Minister, and Foreign Minister, are women. As Minister of Defense and Foreign Policy Katrín Gunnarsdóttir noted in her opening remarks at the Forum, “equality in Iceland has always been a cross-ideological project,” something other countries should aspire to achieve. 

A central theme of the Forum was the indispensable role of women leaders in shaping resilient democracies and resilient societies. GIWPS’s Executive Director, Melanne Verveer, moderated a compelling panel featuring former Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaitė, former Finnish Prime Minister Mari Kiviniemi, and Dr. Isata Mahoi, Sierra Leone’s Minister of Gender and Children’s Affairs. They explored how democratic institutions are being challenged and how women on the frontlines are resisting authoritarian pressure, disinformation, and gendered attacks. Grybauskaitė warned that adversaries deliberately weaponize misogyny to destabilize societies and weaken societal resiliency from within. She urged women leaders to “never vacate their spaces of power” and emphasized that women must be prepared to be the key defenders of democratic principles worldwide. Kiviniemi highlighted the last two decades of trending global autocratization and the radicalization of young men, emphasizing that defending democracy is a shared responsibility requiring engagement from media, business, and civil society. Dr. Mahoi discussed cyberbullying and mobilizing male allies in Sierra Leone to ensure women’s political participation and safety, and also highlighted the importance of international and regional coalition-building to advance women’s leadership and gender equality. 

Another key theme that emerged from the Forum was the importance of engaging men and boys as allies, rather than calling them out–a message that is also highlighted in GIWPS’s recently published Bellagio Compact on women’s leadership. President of Iceland Halla Tómasdóttir moderated a session with Gary Barker, founder of Equimundo, on masculinity, boys, and loneliness. The conversation emphasized that including men in equality efforts is essential for building sustainable change. Richard Reeves, President of the American Institute for Boys and Men, also stressed the need for empathy and connection to redefine masculinity, while Collins Busuru, CEO of Conservation Kenya, underscored the causal relationship between boys’ education, early marriage and poverty, showing how excluding boys and men from equality conversations has far-reaching societal consequences.

The third major theme, and one that drew significant attention from the Forum participants, was the role of women’s leadership in delivering international security. The Forum’s official side event, the Women, Peace & Security (WPS) symposium, held at the University of Iceland and moderated by Ambassador Verveer, emphasized the importance of implementing the Women, Peace and Security Agenda globally while highlighting how few women actually participate in peace processes. The high-level panel included Ukraine’s Deputy Foreign Minister Mariana Betsa, who shared that WPS is a lived reality in her country, with women actively contributing to defense and recovery every day. A representative from Palestinian Academia emphasized that women there are still struggling for basic access to water, food, and medicine, making WPS largely aspirational for now. The symposium also spotlighted the contributions of frontline Ukrainian women leaders, such as Mariia Kozyr, a military medic supporting families of fallen soldiers. Kozyr has established support networks for widows, pregnant women, and families with no psychological or social services, a compelling example of how women are driving resilience and recovery in conflict zones.

Another set of critical discussions focused on emerging technology, AI, and economic and financial inclusion. Several speakers highlighted how rapidly the rules of power are shifting and emphasized the urgent need for new governance frameworks to protect equality. Two members of the Women Changemakers Cohort joined panels on emerging tech and social media: Trisha Shetty of SheSays India discussed social media, technology, and targeted attacks alongside Kristian Wilfore of She Persisted, while Marinika Tepić, member of the Serbian Parliament, addressed AI and deepfakes, some of which have been weaponized against her. Across these conversations, a clear consensus emerged: there is an urgent need to strengthen tech governance, establish global standards, create robust safeguards against disinformation, and explore digital “fingerprints” to track content creators. 

On the topic of economic and financial inclusion, speakers emphasized the benefits of women’s empowerment in these sectors; closing gender gaps could increase global GDP by 20%, yet cultural resistance remains strong even in advanced democracies, according to the latest Reykjavik Index. Several private sector representatives talked about how women no longer face an intake problem but an uptake challenge—stalled advancement, limited access to critical feedback, and only 2% of venture capital reaching female founders. Leaders also stressed the importance of care work as the “invisible engine” of economies, calling for structural recognition and systemic reforms to achieve sustainable equality. Other sessions explored healthcare, sports, and social norms, demonstrating how rights are under pressure globally—from reproductive health rollbacks to the manipulation of how adolescents experience the world via social media algorithms. Across panels, the message was clear: real power requires systemic change, ownership, visibility, and inclusion, and not just incremental or tokenistic participation.

Beyond discussing important topics, the Forum was also a great place to bring together our leaders’ networks and strengthen relationships. As part of GIWPS’s Women Changemakers Mentorship Initiative, we hosted an informal luncheon with former President Dalia Grybauskaitė, a member of the Global Women Leaders network. She offered invaluable leadership lessons, emphasizing visibility, strategic networking, and persistence for emerging women leaders—particularly in politically contested environments. Grybauskaitė reminded participants that women leaders must navigate complex landscapes where autocratic actors and shifting alliances dominate, demonstrating resilience and strategic foresight.

The Reykjavik Global Forum 2025 and the case study of Iceland reminded us all that change and progress is possible with women at the helm. Across panels, sessions, and fireside chats, participants were reminded to sponsor, not just mentor, women; open doors; never vacate spaces of power; and use crises as opportunities to rebuild stronger systems. As one of the Women Changemakers, Mayor of Üsküdar, Sinem Dedetaş, reflected, “from Reykjavík to the world, it’s clear that investing in women’s inclusion and equity is not only justice but the key to building sustainable, peaceful societies—because when women lead with courage and compassion, real and lasting change becomes possible.”

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