Recently, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth bragged about ending the Women, Peace, and Security (WPS) program at the Department of Defense, calling it “woke” and “divisive,” and claiming that the “troops hate it.” His words are not just reckless. They are dangerous, dishonest, and uninformed.

Let’s set the record straight. WPS is not just a diversity program. WPS promotes women’s leadership in our armed and security forces — not for window dressing, but for reasons of operational efficacy and readiness. It calls for the meaningful participation of women in peace negotiations, counterterrorism operations, and post-conflict stabilization based upon empirical proof that these efforts are more effective when women are involved. It is also about prioritizing the protection of the most vulnerable in conflict: women and children.

WPS recognizes what our military, our intelligence community, and countless veterans have known all along: When women are part of peace and security processes, outcomes are better, communities are safer, and American interests are better defended and advanced. 

WPS isn’t just policy, it’s the law. It passed in 2017 with strong bipartisan support from Iowa’s Republican senators, current Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, and was signed by President Donald Trump. Secretary of State Marco Rubio himself said he was proud to co-sponsor this legislation because, “If 50% of the population is left out of peace processes and key leadership roles, you are setting yourself up for failure.”

We’ve seen exactly why that matters. In places like the Middle East, ignoring half the population would put our troops at a clear disadvantage. Women service members are often the only ones who can gather crucial intelligence in communities where local women cannot speak to men, providing insights essential to mission success and troop safety. Engaging women is not only imperative during conflict, it is also valuable to prevent conflict. For example, information on the extent of violence against women is a proven early warning sign of instability and extremism.

Stripping out WPS principles does not make our military stronger. It leaves it unprepared for the realities on the ground. That is why the now-eliminated State Department Office for Global Women’s Issues helped bring women to the negotiating table in Sudan, where they exposed atrocities and helped shape solutions. NATO and our closest allies adopted WPS not because it is trendy, but because it works.

So did we, until now.

Hegseth’s sneering contempt for women, exemplified by his purge of women in leadership positions across the U.S. military, and his mocking of American diplomacy reveal a profound misunderstanding of modern security challenges. Wars are not won by brute force alone. They are won by building coalitions, stabilizing regions before conflict erupts, and winning the trust of the very people whom extremist groups seek to recruit. Pretending otherwise is not “toughness,” it is ignorance dressed up as “swagger.”

It is also cowardly.

Because the truth is, threatening to end WPS is easier than doing the real work of building a more effective, inclusive fighting force. It is easier to attack “wokeness” than to confront the realities of modern warfare, where instability, disinformation, and extremism aren’t “emerging” threats, they are pervasive and enduring threats. And it is shameful.

Americans deserve leaders who are serious about security, not ones chasing “clicks” and cable news applause by dismantling programs they clearly do not understand.

The United States’ commitment to the WPS agenda should be a matter of pride. The United States was the first country to codify WPS into law and one of only two countries to put in place a legislative mechanism to monitor inter-agency implementation by the Departments of Defense, Homeland Security and State, as well as the U.S. Agency for International Development. 

We both have had the honor of working with women and men who are champions of WPS across our government, among our allies and partners, and within civil society, including young leaders who are risking their lives working tirelessly to build a more free and secure world. Debasing WPS as a “woke distraction” is a fundamental betrayal of their leadership and commitment to peace.

If we truly care about the strength of our military, the safety of our troops, and America’s place in the world, we should be championing and extending WPS, not dismantling and deriding it.

Anything less is not leadership. It is surrender.

Abby Finkenauer is a former U.S. congresswoman from Iowa and former U.S. special envoy for global youth. Dr. Geeta Rao Gupta is former ambassador-at-large for global women’s issues. They are both co-founders and principals at The Alliance for Diplomacy and Justice.