Disarmament and arms control, security, and related fields have been and continue to be traditionally male-dominated fields. Organizations such as the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF) work to challenge these norms and address issues of gender, militarism, peace and security by empowering citizen-led initiatives to enact changes within political frameworks. As part of CIGI’s programming around International Women’s Day, we invite you to join us for an evening with Allison Pytlak, Manager for Reaching Critical Will, the disarmament program of the WILPF. Allison will explore contributions of women to peace building, disarmament, and arms control, Canada’s recent leadership role on this front, and reflect on her experiences in both the UN and multilateral contexts.
About the speaker
Allison Pytlak is the Programme Manager for Reaching Critical Will. She contributes to the organisation’s monitoring and analysis of disarmament processes as well as its research and other publications, as well as liaises with UN, government, and civil society colleagues. Prior to this role, Allison worked in policy and advocacy with the Control Arms coalition focusing on the Arms Trade Treaty. She has also worked with Religions for Peace and Mines Action Canada on a broader range of arms issues, and has significant experience in campaigning and advocacy, research and writing, project management and multilateral treaty negotiations. Allison has a BA in International Relations from the University of Toronto and an MA, also in International Relations, from the City University of New York. She is an expert with the Forum on the Arms Trade and a 2018 UN Women Metro-NY “Champion of Change”.
Co-hosted with the Centre for International Governance Innovation.
