BEC STRATING
Chair of the Advisory Board
Bec Strating is the Director of the La Trobe Centre for Global Security and a Professor of International Relations at La Trobe University, Melbourne. She has extensive experience working in the academia-policy-public engagement nexus in the fields of international diplomacy and security. She is currently the Australian Member Committee Co-Chair of the Council on Security Cooperation in the Asia Pacific and serves as an Australian representative in the Expert and Eminent Persons Grouping in the ASEAN Regional Forum. She was Director of La Trobe Asia from 2020 to 2025.
Her research focuses primarily on Asian regional security, maritime disputes, and Australian foreign and defence policy. She is the author of ‘Girt by Sea: reimagining Australia’s Security’ with Professor Joanne Wallis (La Trobe University Press/Black Inc, 2024), which was launched by Foreign Minister Penny Wong in April 2024. She is the co-editor of 'Blue Security in the Indo-Pacific' (Routledge, 2024) and 'The Politics of Global Ocean Regions' (Palgrave, 2025).
Why do you think it is important to have women and gender diverse people in international security spaces?
Research has consistently demonstrated that the inclusion of diverse viewpoints leads to better ideas and better policy.
What is your proudest achievement in direct support of the goal to have more women and gender diverse people in international spaces?
It is great to see WIIS-Australia flourishing under the leadership of Prof. Maria Rost Rublee and I am very happy to have played a supportive role in that.
What is one area of growth you would like to see in this space?
More women in leadership positions across the board!