About the Expert
Expert Bio
Jamille Bigio is a senior fellow in the Women and Foreign Policy program at the Council on Foreign Relations. In the Obama administration, Bigio served as director for human rights and gender on the White House National Security Council staff. She also advised the White House Council on Women and Girls on its international priorities and first lady Michelle Obama on adolescent girls’ education and the Let Girls Learn initiative. From 2009 to 2013, Bigio served as senior advisor to U.S. ambassador-at-large for global women's issues, Melanne Verveer, within the office of U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton. In addition, she was detailed to the office of the undersecretary of defense for policy and to the U.S. Mission to the African Union.
Bigio led the interagency launch of the U.S. National Action Plan on Women, Peace, and Security, an effort for which she was recognized with the U.S. Department of State Superior Honor Award and the U.S. Department of Defense Secretary of Defense Honor Award.
Previously, at the United Nations, she worked to strengthen disaster management in Africa and the Middle East. She has worked at the grassroots level for public health nongovernmental organizations, and her research on development, human rights, and displacement was supported by the World Bank and the Brookings Institution.
Bigio has presented to congressional committees and lectures widely on peace and security, including at Harvard University, the UN Foundation, and the American Society of International Law. She has testified before the U.S. Congress and her commentary and opinions have appeared in The Washington Post, CNN, The Hill, Newsweek, and US News & World Report, among other outlets. She is a Term Member of the Council on Foreign Relations and serves on the board of the Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace, and Security. Bigio graduated Phi Beta Kappa from the University of Maryland and received her Master’s degree from the Harvard Kennedy School. She currently writes on gender and security, women’s leadership, and economic development.
Affiliations:
- Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace, and Security, advisory board
- Providing outside informal counsel to the Biden for President Campaign
Featured
Current Projects
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Incorporating lessons from the approaches pursued by other countries, the U.S. government should take a more systematic and well-resourced approach to promoting gender equality in foreign policy.
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Human trafficking can fuel conflict, drive displacement, and undercut the ability of international institutions to promote stability. The United States should work to disrupt and dismantle the criminal networks and terrorist groups that exploit conflict-related human trafficking, while prioritizing the prevention and prosecution of and protection from human trafficking in conflict contexts.
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Terrorism and Counterterrorism
U.S. policymakers overlook the roles that women play in violent extremism—including as perpetrators, mitigators, and victims—and rarely enlist their participation in efforts to combat radicalization. This omission puts the United States at a disadvantage. -
Terrorism and Counterterrorism
U.S. policymakers have long overlooked women’s involvement in terrorism, and rarely enlisted their participation in efforts to combat radicalization. A new bill would require U.S. counterterrorism policy to address the roles that women play as victims, perpetrators, and preventers. -
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Barriers to women's economic participation persist in every region of the world. Nations need to do more to level the legal playing field for women and ensure that women have the right to compete fairly in the economy—which will lead to significant gains.
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Most countries still have laws that make it harder for women to work than men. This inequality shortchanges not only women but also entire economies.
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Closing the gender gap in the workforce could add a staggering $28 trillion to the global GDP.
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Women are routinely underrepresented in peacekeeping operations, even though their participation has been shown to improve mission effectiveness and advance stability. The U.S. government should support a UN premium for police- and troop-contributing countries to increase the training and deployment of female peacekeepers.