As Women’s History Month comes to a close, we would like to highlight the importance of celebrating women every day by sharing insights from women who work to inspire other women across the globe to become great leaders and entrepreneurs.

Get to know Ms Ines Nse-Bakale, Coordinator of the last Inspiring Women Leaders's course and Junior Professional Officer at the GCSP

Why did you choose to enter this field?/What got you into this field?

I was inspired by my professor when I was studying law and political science. He was the director of the master's degree on international security and defence, and as an African who cares about peace and security in the world and in Africa, it felt natural for me to go into this field to help make Africa's voice heard.

What drove you to join the GCSP?

I truly believe in the power of education as a key to achieve goals. The GCSP brings together professionals, experts, and leaders to advance peace, security and international cooperation.

How does the GCSP help empowering women?

The Centre contributes to the empowerment of women on many levels. Not only is there is a good gender balance, but our deputy director is a woman and many women hold senior positions. In addition, there are specific courses designed by women for women that bring together women from around the world to address specific areas, such as leadership with the Inspiring Women Leaders course that I am currently coordinating. Another example of empowering women is with this social media campaign, which helps highlight the many amazing women of the GCSP.

Why do you think it is important to celebrate International Women’s Day?

It is an opportunity for us to make a review of our rights. Unfortunately, we still have a long way to go, but we deserve to celebrate our victories while keeping in mind the areas that can be improved.

As a woman, what are the most important challenges you have overcome to fulfil your role? How did you overcome them?

As a woman, people expect you to act in a certain way that does not necessarily correspond to your vision or values. In that case, it is very important to know who you are and to have confidence in yourself to overcome the opinion of others and stay true to yourself.

What is your proudest achievement while working at the GCSP?

I just started working here, but I am currently coordinating a course on women's leadership. The participants come from different parts of the world and different backgrounds. It's great to have the opportunity to combine women's strengths and weaknesses to become better leaders in our respective fields. I can see the difference between the day the course started and today, with how the views and approaches of women to different work situations have changed. I am proud to be part of the course team and to contribute in some way to the empowerment of women around the world.

What is the best piece of advice you were ever given?

I like this quote from Michael Jackson song, Man In The Mirror, which says “if you want to make the world a better place, take a look at yourself and then make a change”.

What is the most important message you want to send out to young women thinking about their careers?

Your dream is never too big, believe in yourself and work hard. One step at a time.

How can we encourage more women to pursue entrepreneurship or senior leadership roles in the field of peace and security?

If you want to pursue any career in this field you have to take the first step, educate yourself if you can, get involved in the community, don’t be scared to fail and don’t let anybody convince you that you’re not capable, regardless of your age.