Women In International Security (WIIS – pronounced ‘wise’) Austria is an independent, non-partisan, non-for-profit organisation headquartered in Vienna. Completely run by volunteers, its mission is to create an international platform for women and men to work side-by-side towards equitable peace and security by hosting policy debates, creating a network of young professionals in Vienna, giving a voice to female security experts and offering a mentoring programme for young women.

WIIS Austria is dedicated to contributing to the inclusive and multidimensional participation of women in fields related to international security including but not limited to peace, conflict resolution, economic development, humanitarian affairs, and human rights. This is done through collaborative research, policy analysis and recommendations, information exchange, professional development and training, networking and new initiatives.

WIIS Austria particularly focuses on European security, nuclear security and the physical security of women.

The Team

President

Jessica Grün took on WIIS Austria in 2017. She’s Austrian-Canadian and a policy advisor for fundamental rights and security in the Austrian parliament. Jess holds a Master of Advanced International Studies from the Diplomatic Academy of Vienna where she wrote her thesis on feminist foreign policy. During her undergraduate degree in political science she developed a strong interest in security studies and women’s roles in conflict resolution and settlement. Since then she has dedicated much time to the advancement of research on this topic and was keen to take on the role of president to help advance gender equality in international security and build an active network in Vienna.

Vice President

Julia Hütter is a European and International Law specialist with a passion for international security issues and women empowerment. Currently working as a trainee and policy advisor at the Austrian Ministry for European and International Affairs, she holds a Master in Law from the University of Vienna and a Master of Advanced International Studies from the Diplomatic Academy of Vienna. She could gain international experience in internships and an exchange semester. Besides her first language German, she speaks English, Spanish and French and has basic knowledge in Russian.

Organising Committee

Founding Members

Clodagh Quain
Caitlin Hanratty
Elisabeth Gruber
Noah Gibbs
Margot Dubertrand
Maria Urbas