The former Venezuelan opposition leader, Maria Corina Machado, was named the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize winner for her struggle for democracy against the authoritarian Maduro regime.

The moment should feel like a celebration of another woman being recognized at the highest level for her contribution to a more peaceful society, because only 19 women have received this award versus 92 men since its founding in 1895.

But something felt off.

Her win seemed to reinforce a pattern in how the Nobel Committee recognizes women. I think of other women laureates — Maria Ressa of Philippines, Shirin Ebadi of Iran, Narges Mohammadi of Iran, even Aung San Suu Kyi of Myanmar — women imprisoned, exiled, marginalized, or oppressed for speaking out. Then I think of some of the men who won — Barack Obama of the USA, Abiy Ahmed of Ethiopia, Juan Manuel Santos of Colombia, John Hume of Ireland — all heads of state recognized for brokering peace.

Are women only acceptable when they are powerless, oppressed, or embody morality through suffering, while men are celebrated for exercising power?

Putting aside her later downfall, I remember footage of Aung San Suu Kyi under house arrest before she became head of state, when supporters made a pilgrimage to her home to see her. She appeared and waved to them behind her large red gate. Is this the only image global institutions have of women peacemakers — entrapped, caged, a waving damsel in distress?

Is a woman in power too intimidating, too irrational, or too scary, while only men are celebrated as power brokers at the negotiating table?

Several years ago, I attended the United Nations Alliance of Civilization conference as a youth delegate. I didn’t have a choice in what I was assigned to attend, but of course my first session was titled “Women the Forgotten Peacemakers,” on why women should be included in peacebuilding and how.

The first person desperate to speak was a young man. “Women should be included because they have inherent motherly qualities of nurturing,” he said. One after another, young men offered stereotypical feminine traits as reasons women should be involved in peacebuilding: “Caring, motherly, gentle.”

I couldn’t stand it anymore and took the mic. “Men should reflect on their role in women’s absence at the peacebuilding table. They should reflect on their role in toxic masculinity and patriarchy.”

Everyone was shocked.

Even so, the same young man who dominated the discussion later volunteered to represent the session, speaking on behalf of everyone at the report-out in front of more than 200 youth delegates. I was not surprised. The UN remains a very conventional, gender-binary space, even among youth. At the main UNAOC conference, nearly every room featured male-dominated panels. Women were typically relegated to “softer” topics like arts, food, and women’s issues.

Are there exceptions to the gendered recognition of women peacemakers? The only woman head of state ever awarded the Nobel Peace Prize was Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, President of Liberia. But even she was honoured not predominately for her statesmanship, but as part of a trio of women recognized for feminist activism. So currently, there are no exceptions.

But there are powerful women working in global peacebuilding. There is an entire network of women state leaders, called the Council of Women World Leaders, who have dedicated part of their lives to facilitating peacebuilding, many of them leading significant peace initiatives as heads of state, such as Violeta Chamorro, former President of Nicaragua, Mary McAleese, former President of Ireland, and Roza Otunbayeva, former President of Kyrgyzstan.

Why are women only recognized when they are enduring suffering, while men are recognized for exercising power? Why are women treated simply as moral symbols of peace, while men are celebrated as its architects?

If I were at that UN session again on women as peacebuilders, I would add a new note to my answer: for women to truly be part of peacebuilding, they need to be recognized at the highest levels as active architects of peace, not just as symbols.

Recognition of women and feminism is not about awarding equal numbers, it is about valuing what women do, and what they can do, to build a more peaceful world when they are in positions of power.

Women peacebuilders must not be platformed only when they are behind gates, waving from afar, but also at the negotiation table, shaping the decisions that define peace.