Richardson examines women's presence in terrorist groups by asking how we understand the different roles women play in terrorist groups. She begins by suggesting women's roles are directly related to the ideology of a particular group, stating "it doesn't really matter what the surrounding culture is." In support of this claim, Richardson points to Italy in the 1970s, where there were an abundance of both right and left wing terrorist groups. Women were heavily concentrated in the left-wing Marxist-Leninist groups, which had a much more egalitarian ideology than the right-wing groups in which women were almost nonexistent. In addition to their relationship to the gender politics of the group, Richardson mentions that the only other way she has noticed women differing from men in their behavior in terrorist groups is that, during times of governmental repentance legislation, women tend to turn in their comrades at a far lower rate than men. Thus, evidence suggests that women, while underrepresented, are every bit as brutal and perhaps more committed in terrorist groups.

Before addressing the topic of female suicide terrorists, Richardson first reminds her audience that suicide terrorism is not new to the twenty-first or even the twentieth century, and that it is not a particularly religious or Islamic phenomenon. Notable, however, is the fact that, while underrepresented in terrorist groups, women tend to be overrepresented as suicide terrorists in secular groups. Historically Kurdish and Tamil groups used women extensively as suicide terrorists, and in recent years, there has been an emergence of women suicide terrorists in Chechnyan groups. However it was the Palestinians' deployment of women suicide terrorists that captured the attention of the Western world.

According to Richardson, the use of women against Israel appears to be a consequence of the rivalry between religious and secular groups battling to be the predominant voice of the Palestinians. The first women martyrs acted under the rubric of Yassir Arafat's Fatah movement to ensure that the PLO not be left behind in the second intifada. The year 2002 marked the first martyrdom by a woman in the name of the Palestinians. This proved enormously popular in Gaza, and in response, secular groups like Hamas responded by adjusting their view on women as suicide terrorists.

Richardson explains, "Islamic fundamentalists have a view of women as property that would appear to be incompatible with women's role as soldiers, much less martyrs."

Evidence suggests expediency trumps dogma on this issue, and 2004 marked Hamas's first successful woman suicide bomber. Despite this inclusion, equality is not granted women in martyrdom. Much is made in the west of the promise of seventy-two virgins awaiting the martyr in paradise. Richardson quotes a Palestinian terrorist group, "A woman martyr will be the chief of the 72 virgins, the fairest of the fair."

Without the same rewards awaiting them in paradise, women's motives for becoming suicide terrorists differ from their male counterparts. Interviews suggest that, while groups soliciting suicide terrorists are explicit in screening out people with psychological problems or suicidality, all of the initial Palestinian women martyrs were suffering powerful personal crises at the time. Richardson cites as evidence the tragic life histories of the first few Palestinian woman suicide terrorists, concluding the movement's insistence on taking psychologically sound volunteers at the time was not extended to women. However, this has changed, and with the increasing number of martyrs, the profile appears to have been normalized. Since then, female Palestinian suicide bombers have reflected a cross section of society, from the lawyer to the housewife. What female suicide terrorists in the Palestinian territories do share with their male counterparts is a desire for revenge and renown, though Richardson mentions that the women seem to stress nationalism more and religion less than their male counterparts. A phenomenon attributable perhaps to the fact that nationalism is more compatible with gender equality than is religion. Still, even in death, women are not treated equally. Richardson notes that the families of male suicide bombers receive a lifetime monthly stipend from the sponsoring group of twice as much as does a women's family.

Richardson concludes by considering the social revolutionary groups, like the Weather Underground, with which she began her address. Since the 1970s, it has long been accepted wisdom that men are attracted to terrorist organizations by ideology, and women by the men or by a relationship. However, Richardson has found that the "who you know" factor is a crucial determinant for joining among both men and women.

The primary future terrorist threat of the United States, according to Richardson, will be radical Islamic groups emerging within communities across the Middle East and Europe. Communication between these disparate groups is almost entirely dependent upon the Internet. Because the Internet is anonymous, women are able to join groups like Al Qaeda, which until recently never had female members. Richardson predicts that, as a result, we will see more women in these groups, as well as see more terrorist groups employing women to carry out their aims. In conclusion, Richardson asks whether "the presence of more women terrorists reflect a step forward for women's equality or a step back for all of us."