Laura J. Shepherd

Professor Laura J. Shepherd is a leading scholar in International Relations and Gender Studies at the University of Sydney's School of Social and Political Sciences. She holds the rank of Professor and leads the Gender Security research program at the Centre for International Security Studies. Her work focuses on the United Nations Security Council’s Women, Peace and Security (WPS) agenda, examining intersections of gender, violence, and security governance. Shepherd has held prestigious roles including Australian Research Council Future Fellow (2018-2022) and President of the International Studies Association (2023-2024). She is also a Visiting Senior Fellow at the LSE Centre for Women, Peace and Security.

Her research integrates feminist, postcolonial, and decolonial theories to analyze global governance structures, particularly UN peacebuilding and CVE policies. Notable contributions include books like *Gender, UN Peacebuilding and the Politics of Space* (2017) and *Narrating the Women, Peace and Security Agenda* (2021). Shepherd has secured major grants, including the UKRI GCRF Gender, Justice, and Security Hub (2019-2024).

Awarded for both teaching and research, she has mentored numerous PhD students focusing on topics like gender and extremism, decolonial pedagogy, and hybrid courts. Her recent work critiques white feminism’s role in security governance and advocates for care ethics in academia. Shepherd actively engages in public discourse through media commentary and policy advocacy, emphasizing the importance of gender justice in global security frameworks.