The 2024 LCWINS Tracker

We invite you to explore the 2024 LCWINS Tracker data, which is current as of September 19, 2024. For more information on the methodology behind this work, please visit the LCWINS Tracker home page. To view the numbers behind the percentages in a chart or graph, click “Get the Data” on the bottom of each. If you are viewing this page on a mobile device, please tap the charts or graphs to view the percentages not shown.

The full list of 500 positions includes 31 vacant/status unknown roles and 57 roles filled by Acting staff because the 2024 LCWINS Tracker is a snapshot of one moment in a four-year administration, and it does not include appointees whose tenure ended before September 19, 2024 or data from prior administrations. The data included was obtained from department, agency, and office websites, Congress.gov, LinkedIn, and a proprietary, third-party database.

Questions about the LCWINS Tracker may be directed to staff@lcwins.org. For media inquiries, please email press@lcwins.org.

In 2024, national security and foreign policy leadership continued its broad gender balance with opportunities for improvement at department and hierarchical levels.

As of September, women’s representation across the 500 most senior and impactful roles in national security and foreign policy holds strong at 46%. With 5% of positions vacant and men filling 49% of these seats, the gender gap at the broadest level is just 3%, very similar to the previous year. The consistent balance illustrates the effectiveness of the Biden administration’s commitment to gender parity.

That general parity wanes with closer analysis of specific areas and levels. The charts below reveal a 16% gender gap among the 140 positions tracked at the Pentagon and women trail men in seven of the nine levels of leadership examined.

Women represent nearly half of senior national security leadership positions.

Women serve in 227 of the 500 leadership positions tracked by LCWINS. At just 3% behind men, women are well-represented at the broadest level which reflects the Biden administration’s commitment to gender-balanced nominations. The gender-balance notably wanes in the field of Defense & Security, and women are under-represented by level, especially at the Under Secretary and Chief of Staff levels.

The majority of Senate-confirmed and pending confirmation positions are held by women at 52%.

Of the 203 tracked positions that require Senate confirmation, 168 are filled or pending confirmation by 88 women and 80 men. While that puts women 5% ahead of men overall, women are lagging in the Defense & Security and Finance & Banking fields and in Under Secretary and Service Chief positions.

Women represent in 40.7% of senior Defense and Security leadership roles.

The LCWINS Tracker includes 140 senior leadership positions in Military departments, Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD). While women comprise just 33% of senior Military and Joint Chiefs leadership, they fare better at OSD where there is a 10% gender gap. As for the levels, women are consistently underrepresented apart from the Deputy level.

Excluding in-country ambassadors, women comprise 53% of top Diplomacy positions.

Women serve in 87 of the 165 senior leadership positions tracked across the State Department, UN, USAID, USIP, and the Peace Corps (excluding ambassadors serving at overseas embassies). There are nearly 8% more women than men in senior roles at State and 22% more at USAID, USIP, and Peace Corps combined. At the United Nations, women hold 8 of the 10 tracked positions.

A similar gender balance is reflected among the 167 in-country U.S. Ambassadors, Chargé(e)s d’Affaires, and Chiefs of Mission. Women are outnumbered by at least 6% across all three categories. Of the 191 total Ambassadors confirmed or pending confirmation, women are outnumbered by men in16 posts for an 8% gender gap.

Women represent 46% of senior Intelligence Community positions, compared to 42% held by men.

While the entire Intelligence Community is critical to U.S. national security, the LCWINS Tracker includes 26 senior leadership positions, three of which are currently vacant or the person serving in them is unknown. Of the remaining 23, women hold 12 positions and men 10 for a 46% to 42% split, indicating general gender balance.

Women represent 43% of National Security Council (NSC) Staff.

Of the 42 tracked positions at the NSC, 18 (43%) are held by women compared to 21 (50%) men. These numbers only represent “Staff” and exclude the 12 Members included elsewhere in the LCWINS Tracker as roles within relevant departments, agencies, or offices. While not pictured here, itis important to note that the NSC Members include six (46%) women leaders and seven (54%) men, including the National Security Advisor.

Women represent 42% of senior Finance and Banking positions.

The LCWINS Tracker includes 73 senior leadership roles at the Departments of Commerce, Treasury, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, and various international development institutions that are not traditionally considered part of the national security ecosystem, but nevertheless influence America’s global leadership and standing. This cohort has previously achieved gender parity, but recent vacancies have pulled women away from this mark. Men outnumber women in senior Commerce and Treasury roles, but that is reversed at USTR and the development banks.

Women currently hold 28% of other relevant department and office senior national security leadership.

The LCWINS Tracker also includes 56 positions with impact on national security and foreign policy within departments and offices not known for influence in this space: the Departments of Homeland Security, Justice, and Energy as well as the Offices of Management and Budget (OMB), National Cyber Director (ONCD), and Science and Technology Policy (OSTP). Women overall serve in only 28% of these roles. Fair representation at Energy and OMB is countered with low numbers of women at DOJ, DHS, and in cyber and technology offices. Overall, women are either un-or underrepresented at the Chief of Staff level and higher.