Women in War

Women are the unsung heroes of crisis, yet they are grossly overlooked when it comes to dialogue and decision-making. After surveying more than 13,000 women in 15 countries since 2020, CARE found that 91% led or actively participated in community response. They provide meals and shelter, advocate for change, and work to make communities safer by offering health services and diversifying incomes for their families.

That’s in a context where the number of women impacted by war is rising rapidly. In 2022, 600 million women lived within 50km of an armed conflict. That’s 15% of all women in the world. It’s also more than double the level from the 1990s. And it’s a context where women are locked out of many leadership forums. Of 18 peace agreements signed in 2022, only 1 was signed by a local women’s organization.

Despite their outstanding contributions, women remain largely unrecognized and undervalued. Only 0.04% of media mentions about conflicts since 2013 discuss women leaders, and 95% of coverage excludes women. This lack of representation perpetuates their trauma and challenges. To address these issues, we must prioritize recognizing and valuing women's leadership. Women often step up as first responders and community builders, but they face significant safety risks that could impact them and future generations. We need to create an environment where women can thrive as leaders, receive support, and feel safe speaking up.

How are women leading?

• Women are first responders. When conflict breaks out, women take action. They immediately start organizing responses in their community, without waiting for outside actors. 91% of women CARE spoke to are leading or participating in community groups that respond to crisis. “Women at the community level are volunteering, providing services, being nurses, being teachers, moms at home, teachers at home.” —Woman, Ukraine
• Women provide shelter, food, and safety. 79% of women are finding ways to make communities safer and 71% are sharing health information with others. “I was able to overcome my silence and I was the first to mobilize the women. Our voices were heard by the authorities, who agreed to patrol every night to prevent men from entering our houses. This was my greatest achievement; I was not afraid or slowed down by anyone. I spoke in public and in front of everyone in order to defend our rights.” —Woman, Niger
• Women become breadwinners and lead their families. In 2023, 46% of the women CARE spoke to in conflict countries diversified their income, 43% took care of their families, and 40% used their savings to cushion shocks. “… Women are fulfilling the role men used to perform in the past.” —Woman, Somalia
• Women support their communities. Women build powerful networks of solidarity to support each other in conflict, and they deploy those networks to support whole communities. 40% of women are using savings to help others. “In the face of threat and scarcity, I found strength in solidarity. With no money but a determination to help, I built a network of women who believe in sharing what we have. From baby kits to essentials, we redistribute aid not just among ourselves, but to other woman-headed households that we know couldn’t access aid when distributed.” —Woman, Gaza
• Women provide health and care services. Women are serving as the front lines of health and care response, whether that is formal or informal, paid or unpaid. Women are key to ensuring that health systems have some resilience in conflict. Since CARE started surveying women in conflict zones, 71% of women have been active in healthcare, especially in sharing health information with others.

What does CARE do to support them?

• Invest in equality. CARE recognizes that women are overwhelmingly the first responders in any crisis or emergency, but also that women’s voices are least heard. CARE’s Women Lead in Emergencies is a proven and scalable programming model to enable grassroots women’s groups to address barriers to their participation so that they can take the lead in design and delivery of humanitarian assistance. Since 2018, CARE and partners have worked with the WLiE model in 22 countries. In 2020, this included CARE and partners working directly with 804 women’s groups in Colombia, Mali, Niger, the Philippines and Uganda.
• Prioritize safety. Our ‘Do no harm’ approach delivers programming across all sectors that: facilitates safe access to goods/services; is responsive to gender-based violence risks; and doesn’t increase the likelihood of gender-based violence.
• Strengthen livelihoods in crises. CARE’s Village Savings and Loan Association (VSLA) model offers a promising alternative. It empowers communities by creating local savings groups where people can save and borrow money from each other. This not only helps them survive emergencies but also builds long-term resilience.
• Place local women responders at the center. The Humanitarian Partnership Platform (HPP) at CARE Philippines doesn’t just treat gender as a checkbox but as a key differentiator. The HPP champions gender sensitivity through CARE-designed Rapid Gender Assessments, leading to responses that are gender-aware and sometimes even transform the way communities view and address gender imbalances . Through the HPP, CARE Philippines has been able to channel 76% of its humanitarian expenditure directly to its partners by simply pre-authorizing partners to access funds for rapid assessments and distributions.
• Focus on women’s voices. CARE’s Her Voice Report 2024 represents the voices of 9,517 respondents (7,208 women) from 12 countries and shows that women report climate change, food insecurity, and conflict as the top three crises that negatively impact livelihoods, their ability to feed their family, and safety. For 10 years, CARE has been doing Rapid Gender Analysis that showcases women’s needs in crisis and helps plan better responses.
• Change the narrative. Conflict zones are often portrayed as scenes of despair. While the challenges are undeniably real, this narrative misses a crucial element: the power and resilience of women leaders. By amplifying the voices of women leading progressive action in conflict zones, we can rewrite the narrative and build a future where their courage, resilience, and leadership are recognized and celebrated.

Want to learn more? 
Read the report, or check out the solutions brief.