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.