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On 15 October 2026, the IMS Office of the Gender Advisor (GENAD) hosted a Deep Dive exploring how to mainstream gender perspectives across the full spectrum of operations in the information environment.
The session benefitted from a panel of experts, featuring Captain (N) Giovanni Galoforo, Public Affairs and Strategic Communications Advisor, NATO IMS, Mr Owen Wong, PhD student in Political Science and Government, University of Pennsylvania, Ms Breda Bunič, Senior Analyst, European Centre of Excellence for Countering Hybrid Threats and Dr La Tosha Walker, Behavioural Scientist – Applied Cognitive Effects, NATO ACT.
Setting the scene, Mr Wong opened the discussion by highlighting the increased instrumentalisation of gender disinformation by adversaries to undermine public support for NATO, ultimately arguing that gender-blind communications make the Alliance more vulnerable. Taking Russia as an example, he outlined how gender as a communication tool may serve as a dual strategy whereby a country decreases the legitimacy of another whilst increasing its own. As a method for countering these narratives, he underlined the work of the Canadian Rapid Response Mechanism Team and the establishment of the Task Force Latvia, a permanent liaison between Canada and Latvia to counter threats in the information environment.
Then, Ms Bunič continued by emphasising the current cognitive battleground in the information environment, whereby the influence of identity, emotions and the role played by gender-related narratives act as vehicles of hybrid influence. She contended that the military should move beyond countering these narratives and instead anticipate them, especially through early warning mechanisms, to boost readiness, resilience, and mission effectiveness. This could also entail rethinking military thresholds and inspecting hybrid narratives not in terms of their direct and immediate effects, but rather on the conditions they set up for the future. She also touched on the vulnerability of information infrastructure, given that it is essential for connectivity and information flows.
Next, Captain (N) Galoforo stressed that a gender-blind approach is not neutral: it creates vulnerabilities that adversaries may weaponise. He also identified three core avenues to analyse the credibility of gender perspectives within strategic communications, namely who we listen to, what is said and who says it.
Dr Walker closed the session by exploring how gendered expectations influence interpretation, judgement, and decision-making. She highlighted how these expectations and assumptions shape assessments of evidence and perceptions of information, potentially eroding support or deepening divisions, illustrating the operational implications of these cognitive effects. She concluded by stressing the cognitive advantage that integrating gender perspectives pre-emptively represents, namely identifying distorted judgements and anticipating potential manipulation, which in turn supports more informed communication, decisions, and actions.
In a nutshell, the current cognitive battle taking place within the information environment requires us to move beyond explicit communication on gender-related policies and examine, pre-emptively and through gender perspectives, the effects of all lethal and non-lethal actions, whether positive or negative, on the information environment and, in turn, on military operations. As Captain (N) Galoforo stated, “Adversaries already use gender against us because they know what we have achieved, which demands us to continue further”.