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Stay connected with the Gender Equality Initiative in International Affairs, the Elliott School's resource for curriculum, scholarly research, and engagement in the policy and practice of promoting and achieving gender equality globally.
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16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence kicks off on November 25. This year's theme is “Orange the World: Generation Equality Stands against Rape!”
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In This Edition | November 18
- 100 Years of Women's Rights Activism
- New Reports Alert
- GEIA Update
- GEIA Events
- List of GEIA Courses - Spring 2020
- Student Spotlight
- Career & Internship Opportunities
- Call For Papers/Proposals
- Other Upcoming Events
- Global Women's Institute
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100 YEARS OF WOMEN'S RIGHTS ACTIVISM
Showcasing pioneering women leaders and male allies
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The year 2020 marks the anniversaries of several pathbreaking policies, laws and events for women's rights. It will mark
In this series we explore the lives of the brave women and their male allies from across the world who have been champions of women's rights. In every issue of the Bulletin we will showcase pioneers of women's rights activism from across the world.
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Gertrude Ibengwé Mongella
Gertrude Mongella is a Tanzanian politician, diplomat, educator and activist. She was Secretary-General at the 1995 United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing which marked a significant turning point for the global agenda for gender equality. The Beijing Declaration and the Platform for Action laid down an agenda for women's empowerment, and was unanimously adopted by 189 countries.
Mongella's family was instrumental in shaping her early life - her father broke with local tradition and sent all his children to school. The importance placed on education perhaps left an impact on Mongella, as she went on to pursue a degree in education from Dar-es-Salaam University, and thereafter became an educator.
She pursued a career in politics, and held several portfolios in the Tanzanian government. She focused a lot of her work on women's rights and environmental issues. In the Third World Conference on Women held in Nairobi in 1985, Mongella played an important role in helping contextualize issues from an African perspective. The outcome document from that Conference, the Nairobi Forward Looking Strategies, became the benchmark for the development of the Beijing Conference. As a result of her persistent efforts in advancing women's rights, Mongella was chosen to be the Secretary-General at the Beijing Conference. Following that, in 1996-97, she was designated as UN Under-Secretary and Special Envoy to the Secretary General of the United Nations on Women's Issues and Development.
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Did you know?
For the defining role that she played in shaping the agenda at the 1995 World Conference, she is fondly referred to as Mama Beijing.
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GEIA will be hosting a student led conference on each of these breakthrough moments in history in March 2020. More information will be provided in future editions of the Bulletin.
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#SHEPERSISTED: WOMEN, POLITICS & POWER IN THE NEW MEDIA WORLD
This Report, developed by Woodrow Wilson Center fellow Lucina Di Meco, explores the role of traditional media and social media outlets, in the promotion of gender-inclusive and participatory democracies. The Report had three main findings:
Firstly, traditional media remains mostly an obstacle for women's political ambitions, as the coverage women in politics receive is still heavily biased against them. Secondly, social media represents a double-edged sword for women leaders. On the one hand, it provides them important avenues for direct communication with the public to deliver an unfiltered narrative; on the other hand, it exposes them to shocking amounts of sexism, harassment and threats.
Thirdly, there are actionable steps for changing the narrative around women and power and promoting more gender-inclusive democracies. The report outlines a few steps, such as, increasing diversity at all levels of decision-making in journalism and technology; using technological innovations to track and eliminate bias and harassmen against women in politics; promoting digital literacy to ensure that citizens becom conscious consumers of information; and investing in women’s political participation and candidate training programs globally.
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STATE OF WORLD'S FATHERS REPORT
This Report is developed by MenCare, a global campaign led by Promundo and Sonke Gender Justice to promote men’s and boys’ involvement as equitable, nonviolent caregivers. The biennial Report aims to change power structures, policies, and social norms around care work and to advance gender equality.
The Report finds that while many men are becoming more engaged as fathers and hands-on caregiving partners, in 23 middle- and high-income countries, the unpaid care gap between men and women has decreased by only seven minutes a day across a 15 year time span. Fewer than half of the world’s countries (48 percent) offer paid paternity leave on the birth of a child, and often this is less than three weeks – or sometimes only a few days.
Along with new data and analysis, the report calls for a bold commitment from governments, civil society, employers, as well as individuals, to unlock the power of care. To reach 50 percent of the unpaid care work, time use data analysis finds that men would need to increase their time spent by a minimum of 50 minutes a day.
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A NEW LIGHT ON POLITICAL DISCOURSE: Gender and Political Transgressions Through ArtOn Monday, November 11, GEIA hosted two award-winning contemporary Irish artists, Alice Maher and Aideen Barry, along with curator and academic, Dr. Tina Kinsella. They spoke to students about their latest exhibition titled Fair is Foul & Foul is Fair. The conversation was moderated by GEIA Director, Dr. Shirley Graham, and focused on the significance of collaboration between artists, intellectuals and academics in everyday political discourse as well as large-scale social movements surrounding women's rights.
Their exhibition will be on display at the Katzen Arts Center, American University Museum, till December 15.
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Sports Diplomacy and Gender
Wednesday, November 20th | 12:00 - 1:15 PM
Room 602 | Elliott School of International Affairs | 1957 E Street, NW
Ms. Joanna Lohman is a sports diplomat and LGBT rights advocate. She played with the U.S. National Women’s Soccer Team from 2000-2007 and for the Washington Spirit (2015-2019) in the National Women’s Soccer League. Joanna leads programs in less developed nations around the world that promote gender equality, conflict resolution, cultural understanding, and economic development in cooperation with the U.S. Department of State.
Ms. Nora Summerville (GW MAIA ‘17), moderator, is a monitoring and evaluation specialist for PeacePlayers International. PeacePlayers is an organization that offers sports programming, peace education, and leadership development to those living in communities in conflict. Nora is also a former player for the San Francisco Nighthawks of the Women’s Premier Soccer League (WPSL) and Football Féminin Chênois GE of Geneva, Switzerland.
Light lunch will be provided!
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Gender Perspectives in Conflict
Thursday, November 21th | 7:30 - 9:00 PM
Room B12 | Elliott School of International Affairs | 1957 E Street, NW
Join Sigma Iota Rho to discuss gender dynamics in conflict. The discussion will feature GEIA Director Shirley Graham, and Amb. Bonnie Jenkins, Founder of WCAPS and Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution. Additional speakers will be announced at a later date. The event will be followed by a small reception.
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GEIA COURSES - SPRING 2020
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Undergraduate Level
- IAFF 3180: Gender, Conflict and Security
- IAFF 3183: Human Trafficking
- IAFF 3189: Women and Leadership in Africa
Graduate Level
- IAFF 6102: Global Gender Policy
- IAFF 6118: Gender, War, and Peace
- IAFF 6138: Care of Children in Humanitarian Emergencies
- IAFF 6138: Violence, Gender and Humanitarian Assistance
- IAFF 6138: Gender and Economic Development
- IAFF 6138: Gender and Development
- IAFF 6502: Advocating for Women’s Rights (1 credit)
- IAFF 6502: Feminist Research Methods in Post Conflict Settings (1 credit)
- IAFF 6503: Gender Advisor: Roles and Skills (1 credit)
- IAFF 6503: Gender Responsive Budgeting (1 credit)
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Cate Klepacki
Cate is in her first semester pursuing a Graduate Certificate in Global Gender Policy at the Elliott School of International Affairs. She is currently enrolled in Global Gender Policy, taught by GEIA Director, Dr. Shirley Graham. Cate is a Humanitarian Assistance Advisor supporting civil-military engagement in natural disaster and complex emergency contexts. A graduate of the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University, her academic focus is on Humanitarian Assistance, Migration and Forced Displacement, and Human Security. Cate previously served in the United States Air Force for nearly 13 years.
“GEIA provides a unique opportunity for continued graduate study focusing on how policy reinforces gender inequalities and offers academically rigorous and practical solutions for future practitioners. Taking an intersectional approach that spans the gender spectrum, GEIA enables students to effectively advance gender equality and women’s rights from an inclusive perspective. I am grateful to be a part of GEIA and GW’s Elliott School.”
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CAREER AND INTERNSHIP OPPORTUNITIES
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- **NEW** Gender Equality Internship - Asia Foundation
- **NEW** Gender and Development Internship - Center for Global Development
- **NEW** Multiple Internships, McCain Institute
- **NEW** Public Policy Intern - Center for Health and Gender Equity
- **NEW** Multiple Openings - Malala Fund
- **NEW** Design, Monitoring and Evaluation Specialist - World Vision
- **NEW** Program Officer: Gender, Women and Democracy - National Democratic Institute
- **NEW** Gender Consultant - TechnoServe
- **NEW** Postdoctoral Associate, Gender In Agriculture - Cornell University
- **NEW** Assistant Professor of Sociology and Gender, Sexuality, and Women's Studies - William and Mary
- Executive Director, The Leadership Council for Women in National Security
- Gender, Social Inclusion Consultant, Nathan Inc
- Gender Smart Investing Specialist, Palladium
- Paid Programs Intern, International Women's Media Foundation
- Paid Digital and Brand Management Intern, Promundo
- Spring Women's Rights Project Undergraduate Intern, ACLU
- Spring Foreign Aid Policy and Advocacy Intern, Save the Children
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CALL FOR PAPERS/PROPOSALS
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Recovering from ISIS: One Yazidi Family’s Journey
Thursday, November 21, 2019 | 3:00 - 5:00 PMUnited States Institute for Peace | 2301 Constitution Avenue NW
Event Details and RSVP
The United States Institute for Peace, in partnership with the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany and the Kurdistan Regional Government Representation in the U.S., are hosting a screening of the documentary “One Yazidi Family vs. ISIS.” The screening will be followed by a discussion of the film and the issues the Yazidi community continues to face, as well as the ways in which the international community can better assist Yazidis and other displaced communities so they can return to their homes with dignity.
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National LGBT Chamber of Commerce - Global LGBTI Business Week
November 19 - 21, 2019 - Multiple Events
Event Details and RSVP
NGLCC Global LGBTI Business Week will converge global leaders, economic development and human rights experts, governments, and the private sector to cultivate a more socially and economically inclusive world. The dynamic, multi-day series of events will focus on sharing new thought leadership and existing best practices for global LGBTI economic empowerment, entrepreneurship, and development. The week culminates in NGLCC's annual National Dinner, which celebrates the achievement of NGLCC's partners and business enterprises.
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WGSS Alumni Speaker Series
Friday, November 22, 2019School of Media and Public Affairs | 805 21st St NW, Room 309
Event Details and RSVP
The WGSS Alumni Speaker Series continues this Fall with Susan Markham, partner at Smash Strategies, Trey Johnston, Associate Director, Cisneros Hispanic Leadership Institute, and Gina Chirillo, Senior Program Officer, Gender at the International Foundation for Electoral Systems.
The WGSS Alumni Speaker Series showcases and celebrate the many accomplishments and diverse paths our alumnae have taken, through a dialogue on challenges and opportunities in working toward change on issues related to women, gender, and sexuality, here in the United States, and around the world.
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Creating Opportunities for Coptic Women in Rural Egypt
Thursday, December 5, 2019 | 5:30 PMThe George Washington University Museum and The Textile Museum | 701 21 Street, NW
Event Details and RSVP
This event will feature a lecture by Nermien Riad, Executive Director, Coptic Orphans. It explores the lives of Egypt’s widows, who are often severely restricted by cultural traditions. In many cases, they cannot leave their homes to work—even if their children are hungry. To improve the status of widowed mothers, Coptic Orphans developed B’edaya, a microfinance initiative tailored to help widowed mothers claim financial independence for themselves and their families, especially in the poorest, most remote villages. B’edaya provides widowed mothers with microloans and entrepreneurship training, all of which enables them to achieve long-term success in even the most challenging market conditions. Work in textiles has been particularly successful, as most Egyptian women in rural villages are taught to sew and weave in their youth. To date, 78 different business have been funded, including small to medium enterprises, and 99% of loans have been repaid in full.
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Would you like your event featured in our Newsletter? Interested in co-sponsoring an event with GEIA? Submit your inquiry and we'll be in touch as soon as we can.
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The Global Women’s Institute (GWI) at the George Washington University launched in the Fall of 2012 as a university-wide measure to advance gender equality through various initiatives such as interdisciplinary research, education, policy and outreach.
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1957 E Street NW, Suite 501
Washington, DC 20052 Phone: +1 (202) 994-8483 | Email: geia@gwu.edu
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