Selvi, like so many girls living within India’s patriarchal culture, is forced to marry at a young age, only to find herself in a violent and abusive marriage. One day in deep despair, she chooses to escape, going to a highway with the intention of throwing herself under the wheels of a bus. Instead she gets on the bus, choosing to live… and goes on to become South India’s first female taxi driver. We first meet 18-year-old Selvi at a girls’ shelter in 2004 – timid, soft-spoken, a fresh … [Read more...]
Virtual Dialogue: Gender Equality Panel – 24 Oct to 11 Nov, 2016
This Virtual Dialogue will take place online from 24 October to 11 November, 2016 within the UN Women Training Centre Gender Equality Community of Practice (CoP), aimeing to reflect on how trainers are currently trained, developed or "made"; what qualifications they should have; what criteria and credentials they should meet; what kinds of professional ethics and standards they should aspire to uphold; how this should be decided and by whom; and what the opportunities and limitations of such … [Read more...]
6th Global Forum on Gender Statistics – Helsinki, Finland, 24-26 October 2016
The Global Gender Statistics Programme is mandated by the United Nations Statistical Commission, implemented by the United Nations Statistics Division (UNSD) and coordinated by the Inter-Agency and Expert Group on Gender Statistics IAEG-GS. The Programme encompasses: improving coherence among existing initiatives on gender statistics through international coordination developing and promoting methodological guidelines in existing domains as well as in emerging areas of gender … [Read more...]
The Virtual Dialogue, OCT 21
Theory of Change and Feminist Pedagogies in Training for Gender Equality This Virtual Dialogue aims to articulate theories of change for training for gender equality; and how feminist pedagogical principles can be applied to training to evoke such change. The unique event will draw together an exceptionally broad audience, including the 1,600 members of the Training Centre's Community of Practice (CoP), experts, practitioners, researchers, academics and development organisations in a … [Read more...]
Why Do Less Women Than Men Do MBA Courses?
A graduate degree, such as an online masters in business administration, can definitely boost your career opportunities. But, more men than women are heading to college to study for an MBA. Even though the number of women going to college to study business before heading to the boardroom is on the rise, the majority of MBA courses are predominantly made up of men. We’ve taken a look into why this is happening and why more ladies aren’t signing up for MBA and online MBA courses. Reasons for … [Read more...]
7 Reasons Why Being a Strong Woman Is Great for Your Relationship
It can be quite common in a relationship for women to lose themselves a little in a relationship as the man tends to dominate and become the alpha. There is no need for anyone to be the alpha in a relationship though. It is important that both people in the relationship have equal power. With both man and woman being equal in a relationship, no one will feel under pressure more than the other and no one will feel like they’re getting left behind. It is important that couples enjoy their time … [Read more...]
The Power of Gender Parity for Business and The Economy
Women matter to companies—they are their employees, their suppliers, their customers, and members of the broader community. A more gender-equal economic and business environment—and society—can benefit companies in a myriad of ways. Businesses mustn’t leave policy makers with the brunt of the responsibility on gender issues; they have a very significant role to play and it is in their interest to do so. Two new McKinsey reports underscore the economic and business case for gender parity and … [Read more...]
Humanism or Eudaimonia, that is the question
Humanism is a philosophical and ethical stance that emphasizes the value and agency of human beings, individually and collectively, and generally prefers critical thinking and evidence (rationalism, empiricism) over established doctrine or faith (fideism). The meaning of the term humanism has fluctuated, according to the successive intellectual movements which have identified with it. Generally, however, humanism refers to a perspective that affirms some notion of a "human nature" (sometimes … [Read more...]
WAF, “Do women still need feminism?”
Do Women still need feminism? A controversial social media movement called Women Against Feminism features women explaining — mostly in “selfies” with handwritten signs — why they do not. Feminist responses have ranged from bafflement to vitriol or mockery to arguments that these women don’t know what feminism is. But while this new movement has its silly aspects, it raises some much-needed questions about feminism’s present and future state — and, in the weeks since it first attracted … [Read more...]
Women Stop War, Conference in Hague, April 27/29
100 years after over 1300 of WILPF’s founding women first came together in The Hague in protest of World War I, we still live in a world where women’s voices and experiences are excluded, bringing continued violence and war. We know now what we knew then, that only when we analyse conflict from a gender perspective, integrating disarmament, human rights, the environment, social justice, and the women, peace and security agenda holistically will we be able to eradicate the root causes of … [Read more...]