Using the largest database on the status of women in the world today, research have found that there is a strong and highly significant link between state security and women’s security. In fact, the very best predictor of a state’s peacefulness is not its level of wealth, its level of democracy, or its ethno-religious identity; it’s how well its women are treated. What’s more, democracies with higher levels of violence against women are as insecure and unstable as nondemocracies. The larger the gender gap between the treatment of men and women in a society, the more likely a country is to be involved in conflict, to be the first to resort to force in such conflicts, and to resort to higher levels of violence. On issues of national health, economic growth, corruption, and social welfare, the best predictors are also those that reflect the situation of women.