Representative Pramila Jayapal of Washington told an audience Monday that more women ought to join talks aimed at ending conflicts because they generally outperform men as bargainers.

She spoke at Foreign Policy magazine’s Her Power Forum in New York during United Nations General Assembly week. Jayapal noted that women and their families bear most of the costs of fighting yet rarely shape the deals that stop it.

She pointed to unnamed research claiming that peace pacts last beyond two years 20 percent more often when women sit at the table. Jayapal also urged the Pentagon to bring more women into its ranks, saying they remain badly underrepresented there even as stronger bargainers are needed.