This handbook offers a timely and unique authoritative contribution to global debates on gender equality and women’s empowerment, in alignment with UN Sustainable Development Goal 5. It presents interdisciplinary research on gender, international relations, and civil society across nine Portuguese-speaking countries, with a particular focus on implementing UN Security Council Resolution 1325. Combining conceptual frameworks with case studies, the volume addresses politics, economics, history, peace and security, language, sports, entrepreneurship, and education through an international relations lens. Endorsed by the Association of Portuguese Speaking Universities (AULP), this work stands as a prestigious and globally relevant resource for scholars, policymakers, and practitioners committed to advancing gender-responsive governance.

Francisco José B. S. Leandro is Associate Professor with Habilitation at the Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Macau. His recent works include The Development Journeys of Cabo Verde, São Tomé and Príncipe, and Timor-Leste (2023) and Is China a Global Power? The Three Great Walls of the Middle Kingdom (2025, Palgrave Macmillan).

Roopinder Oberoi is Fellow at the Delhi School of Public Policy and Governance and Professor of Political Science at the University of Delhi, India. She has authored and edited several books on globalization, CSR, and HE, published extensively in peer-reviewed journals, and serves as Editor of the Social Responsibility Journal (UK).

Yichao Li earned her Ph.D. from the Institute for Research on Portuguese-speaking Countries, City University of Macau. She is Assistant Research Fellow at the Institute of African Studies, Zhejiang Normal University. Her recent works include The Palgrave Handbook on China-Europe-Africa Relations (2025) and Africa–EU relations published by the Canadian Journal of African Studies (2025).

Francisco Proença Garcia is a Full Professor and Associate Dean at the Institute for Political Studies, Portuguese Catholic University, Portugal. He also serves as a Visiting Professor at the University of Saint Joseph (Macau, China), the Catholic University of Mozambique (Beira, Mozambique), and as Catholic University of Portugal Chairperson of the Council for Higher Military Education (Portugal).