Sarah Taylor

For more than twenty years, I have worked at the intersection of women's rights and international peace and security as an advocate, researcher, policy advisor, and practitioner. That work has taken me from UN Headquarters in New York to conflict-affected communities in Myanmar, Central African Republic, Mexico, and beyond. The through-line has been supporting women building peace, and working to change institutions that exclude these women.

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I came to this field through academic research. My doctoral dissertation examined women negotiators in the Track 1 peace processes of El Salvador, Guatemala, and Mexico — a project that convinced me that the gap between what we know about inclusive peace and what actually happens in negotiations is not a knowledge problem. It is a political and institutional one.

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In my years leading the NGO Working Group on Women, Peace and Security, I worked to hold the UN Security Council accountable to its obligations on women's rights. At Human Rights Watch, I brought field research on women in conflict to bear on international advocacy. At the International Peace Institute, I built and led  the organization’s WPS program. At Inclusive Peace, I worked on the organizational and strategic dimensions of inclusive peacemaking. At UN Women, I contributed to global strategy, supported field operations in Ukraine, and worked on policy for Afghanistan.

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I now work as an independent consultant. I bring to that work not just subject matter expertise, but a track record of getting things done inside complex institutions — building coalitions, securing funding, producing research that prompts change, and helping organizations translate good intentions into real policy change.