How to lead forces for peace, w/Cheryl Pearce |Department of Peacekeeping Operations |Awake at Night

After enlisting at 18, Cheryl Pearce battled rigid gender barriers to rise through the military ranks. Now the UN’s Acting Military Adviser for Peacekeeping Operations, the Australian-born Lieutenant General is the highest ranking woman in uniform within the United Nations. “Peace for me, is seeing communities having food security, having water security, education, knowing, you know, as a mum myself, knowing that my children can grow up to feel like that. They can have a life and a future and fulfill their dreams and goals.” Lieutenant General Pearce knows what it takes to serve in some of the most difficult places on earth, from East Timor to Afghanistan. In this episode, she reflects on the sources of her mental and physical resilience, on making a robust case for peacekeeping in an age of disinformation, and shares why her family wants her to show her chaotic side once in a while. [00:00] Introduction [01:05] Advising global missions and supporting peacekeepers worldwide [03:46] Service, sacrifice, and belief in the UN’s purpose [04:32] Peacekeeping in a more dangerous world [08:51] Redefining peace [09:34] What keeps Cheryl awake at night [10:49] Why invest in peacekeeping? [11:57] The dangers of misinformation and disinformation [13:52] Navigating gender barriers in a male-dominated space [17:35] Perseverance over fear of failure [19:06] A single moment of belief that changed everything [22:08] Leadership, vulnerability, and letting go of perfection [25:55] Motherhood, career, and community [27:58] Deploying while raising a family [30:40] Staying grounded under pressure [34:19] Closing remarks Listen to more Awake at Night episodes https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLwoDFQJEq_0b6hu1e8oxsch9W0D7vkNqt #podcast #UnitedNations #awakeatnight #peacekeeping #women About Awake at Night Hosted by Melissa Fleming, UN Under-Secretary-General for Global Communications, the podcast ‘Awake at Night’ is an in-depth interview series focusing on remarkable United Nations staff members who dedicate their career to helping people in parts of the world where they have the hardest lives – from war zones and displacement camps to areas hit by disasters and the devastation of climate change.


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