Evaluating the Impact of Linguistic Diversity on Women in Security Programmes

Despite unprecedented advances in communications technologies, too many people continue to be excluded on account of language inequities and continuing Eurocentrism in policy and praxis. Feminist security scholarship has remained disconnected from language policy and translation research, leaving the intersection between gender, security, and multilingualism unaddressed. Examining this blind spot in security studies has important practical implications for women's rights and safety across the world.

Approaching the question of language indifference with a gender lens is particularly crucial, since gender literacy gaps and educational inequalities leave women disproportionately disadvantaged. The lack of recognition, in security scholarship and practice, of communicative complexities such as code-switching, plurilingualism and language status may disguise the intersecting causes of women's exclusion through 'othering' on account of language use in addition to sexism.

This research aims to reveal the need for linguistic considerations in security programmes, such as National Action Plans (NAPs), both at the consultation stage and in the dissemination of policy. This work will result in a beneficial knowledge exchange regarding language-rich working and aim to produce recommendations or a toolkit, outlining strategies for effective communication of women's security needs in linguistically diverse societies. Bottom-up policy making and collaboration with indigenous civil society are now widely considered crucial among security scholars, yet the continued dominance of institutional monolingualism and language indifference in the field is likely to limit engagement and exclude many women.

Research Questions:
Is women's participation and representation in security programmes affected by high linguistic diversity?

i. To what extent do monolingual practices and linguistic biases inhibit the inclusion of certain women's voices at the consultation stage?
ii. Does the lack of translation into minoritised languages contribute to a lack of awareness of women's rights and reduce the utility of policy documents for grassroots organisations?