ABSTRACT
Elise Boulding (1993), a pioneer in the field of peace research, memorably characterizes women’s contributions to the development of human civilization as the ‘underside of history’. Far from being unimportant actors, however, Boulding contends that women’s experiences, voices and contributions have largely been neglected or simply overlooked by the (predominantly male) institutions and individuals responsible for writing and ascribing importance to history. Unfortunately, this bias has affected many academic disciplines – including the study of peace and conflict – resulting in the relative invisibility of women’s experiences and contributions in early peacebuilding theory and practice.
