I began my day at the Salvation Army Auditorium, where human rights defenders from India, the Caribbean, and Columbia shared their stories at a panel hosted by MADRE. MADRE is a feminist, anti-colonialist human rights organization that sustains grassroots movements across the globe and supports their efforts to build community and stand up for their rights.  The executive director, Yifat Susskind opened with a few remarks about the global climate, which is experiencing a surge in totalitarian and fascist rule. In the words of one of Susskind’s friends from Iraq in reference to the travel ban, “George Bush set my house on fire. Trump locked me inside.” However, the panel also emphasized that while the planet is experiencing an uptick in totalitarian, fascist violence, it is merely a continuation of the white supremacist patriarchal exploitation that underlies most of our power structures. Each panelist reiterated the importance of not only refusing to normalize the current state, but also to not concede that the level of human rights violations occurring a decade ago was acceptable. Instead, they say, leftists should normalize their vision for the future.

Then I participated in a panel on empowering women economically and politically, which was hosted by Girls Learn International. At this panel I shared the stage with amazing young women who have already taken the lead in their communities. Talking to these girls and hearing their stories was incredibly inspiring and I was compelled to do what I can to be the same light to others. Mentorship is crucial to sustaining movements, and I will commit to encouraging and supporting young women in any way that I can as I move forward.  

After the panel, I attended most of the lunchtime training session hosted by the NGO CSW. This informative session brought members from countless NGOs together to learn about how to influence the UN deliberations at the conference. Some NGOs are at the UN in hopes of changing the language of the official conclusions of the UN Commission on the Status of Women to further their agendas in their own countries. This is interesting in light of the realization that the proposed conclusions neglect to mention LBTQ rights. From what I learned at the session, it is possible to influence representatives by trying to schedule meetings with them, approaching them at side events, and more.

Next I attended a panel hosted by Cities for CEDAW to hear about the experiences of cities that have taken action to affirm the human rights of women. I learned that LA is on the verge of releasing its first official gender equity report and that the Mayor issued an executive order directing each city department to take measures to address women’s rights. The biggest challenge LA encountered was collaborating with the fire department to recruit more women to the department. The other main case study was that of New York, which has yet to pass CEDAW, though it has already passed more than 10 policies in pursuit of gender equity. Among the laws passed in the city are paid sick leave, paid family leave, and paid safe days off (days taken off to cope with domestic violence). It also raised the minimum wage to $15 as part of their Level the Paying Field initiative to close the 11 percent gap among New Yorkers. I am hopeful now that CEDAW provides an excellent framework for legislators that can lead to progressive, feminist agendas at the local level.

Such an honor!

            Today was the big day! We ended up having a sizable audience of almost 40 people, which was amazing considering the event’s distance from the main UN building and its slot in the schedule. Eleanor LeCain, author of “Mayors Guide: Accelerating Gender Equality,” the fellows, Abby Bouchon Daniels, a former fellow, and WomenNC’s president Beth Dehghan spoke on our panel. Eleanor LeCain started the session with 10 steps local communities can take to establish gender equality including providing affordable childcare, tackling the wage gap, and addressing and preventing gender-based violence. These points provided an excellent framework for the specialized reports from the fellows on the gender wage gap, youth violence prevention education, reproductive healthcare for incarcerated women, and encouraging women and girls to pursue STEM fields. It was such an honor to speak on the panel and to have an audience of people from other movements to establish the principles of CEDAW in their own communities. The United States is a disgrace for not ratifying CEDAW more than 30 years ago when they first had the chance. We are one of 6 countries that has not adopted this gender equality framework for our national approach of working towards gender equality. As a nation, it seems that gender inequality is either denied or ignored, similar to how most other forms of oppression are denied and ignored. I have heard a number of people critique the United States this week for the Islamophobic travel ban and for our history in creating wars for the sake of the pursuit of profit. I have been reflecting on the fact that this conference takes place in the United States and is conducted mostly in English. The power dynamics and history of colonialism and oppression absolutely contributes to this reality and it is something I am still processing. I attended Tuesday’s events were cancelled due to the weather, but we had a productive day rehearsing our presentations, writing our blogs, and catching up on sleep and work. We now have two days left before we head home and I cannot wait to learn more.

Presentation Day

This morning, I attended my first UN CSW side event, “Violence Against Women and the Achievement of Economic Empowerment.” In this event high-level officials from Fiji, Belgium, Namibia reported on the state of violence against women in their respective countries, the economic impact of that violence, and the initiatives that each are taking to combat it. The Minister of Gender Equality and Child Welfare of Namibia expressed the view that gender based violence presents a barrier to achieving the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) because of the economic dependency that it imposes on women. She also acknowledged that changing the law is not enough to eliminate abuse and that cultural norms are not keeping pace with Namibia’s legislation. The Minister seemed hopeful, however, pointing to educational efforts to empower women to identify abuse and the imposition of stricter sentencing for perpetrators of domestic violence. The Representative from Belgium emphasized the importance of data collection and public education to fight gender based violence. The Representative from Fiji raised the most fascinating point that data, while important, cannot be taken at face value. Since the government started collecting data on the rates of legal actions taken against abusers, the proportion of those actions taken by men has steadily increased. The Representative explained that rather than indicating that men make up a large proportion of victims, these stats indicate that men are more empowered to take advantage of legal remedies. She also shared a figure that estimated that 7 percent of Fiji’s GDP is spent on gender based violence.

After this event, I attended a side event on sexist hate speech, hosted by Belgium, which is regarded as a model nation in this area. The panelists discussed the use of hate speech to intimidate and silence women in positions of power, specifically politicians, businesswomen, and journalists. They all stressed the role of the anonymity of the internet in enabling the growth in hate speech and acknowledged how the media contributes to the sexualization, objectification, and marginalization of women. The panelists acknowledged that fighting hate speech requires a combination of public education and prevention programs and legal remedies and penalties. Belgium and France are the only countries that prohibit hate speech. However, Madam Moreno also shared with the audience the impact that the Declaration on Political Harassment and Violence Against Women has had. While they acknowledged that the right to free speech, the panel held that this should be balanced with the acknowledgement that hate speech limits the agency and power of women in the public sphere.

That afternoon came the moment of truth, when I presented my research before a crowd of supporters from the NGO CSW along with the other fellows. I feel that each of us performed at our best so far! I also really enjoyed Eleanor LeCain’s presentation about the actions that mayors can take to further gender equity in their cities. I’d like to read her book after I get back from the trip.

It has been a crazy past 24 hours. We have endured the Stella Blizzard. Last night the WomenNC group threw an informal reception for all the CSW attendants who were staying in the same hotel. Almost 20 people showed up to our event. Half of the people that attended our event were young high school students from England. It was inspirational. Knowing that young women and men are going through extensive measures to learn more about women. I know that every one of them has a bright future.

The most inspirational person that I met was a selfless woman from Libya. This wonderful woman seemed a true champion for women. She founded a non-profit organization called the hope charity (in Arabic). This foundation was created to educate and train women with the mission of helping them get an employment certificate. The foundation itself has helped 17,000 women with gaining marketable skills for employment. Women have learned how to sew, cook, and use the computer through the education provided by the hope charity. She mentioned to us that starting the charity was apart of her nisab. This is a religious obligation which requires Muslim individuals to donate 2.5% of their wealth. It seemed like this woman was contributing her whole heart to this organization. She seemed immensely passionate about helping women become marketable. She told me that her daughters were not involved with the charity as much as her. I was really inspired by this woman because I would like to help half of the women that she has in her lifetime. As a futurist, she got me thinking of all the ways I could help disadvantaged women make a better future for themselves. Someday I hope to grow older and help women just like her. She seems like the kind of women some of us wish to be. 

Transfeminism, Economic Costs of Violence, Human Trafficking, Intimate Partner Violence Prevention, and Legal Gender Recognition: Monday, March 13

I went to five panels today. The events at the Commission on the Status of Women are categorized as side events and parallel events. Side events are held in the UN building or somewhere close by and generally hosted by government officials and large organizational leaders. Parallel events are held in buildings a few minutes driving-distance from the UN building and usually hosted by NGOs. Except for the first panel on SOGIE (sexual orientation, gender identity, and expression) feminist movements, all of today’s events were side events. Here are some of my takeaways:

“Beyond Rhetoric: Building More SOGIE-Inclusive Feminist Movements” hosted by the American Jewish World Service (AJWS).

This panel kicked off with a story told by a woman from the American Jewish World about an experience at CSW a few years ago in which world leaders at a regional caucus did not want to include lesbian, bisexual, and transgender women in the fight for women’s human rights. The blatant exclusion of women with these identities in the international sphere of human rights work inspired her to prioritize and center the experiences of LGBTQI persons in CSW. Speakers included a woman from Kenya whose organization provides funds to women’s rights work during crisis times, a woman from China from Common Language, and a woman from Fiji who self-identified as a trans feminist and a defender of women’s human rights. Miki Wali, the activist from Fiji, was my favorite speaker. She made so many amazing points about accountability within movements, the intersections of human rights, climate change, and oceans, the role of allies, the compromising of priorities of gender identities at the global level, and bodily autonomy.

“Estimating the Economic Cost of Violence Against Women in the Arab Region” hosted by Jordan, the Jordan National Commission for Women, UN Women, United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia.

Government officials in Egypt conducted a national survey on domestic violence against women and then estimated the associated costs of this violence on women and society. From a representative sample of over 21,000 households surveyed, researchers estimated that there are 5.6 million women in Egypt who experience domestic violence from their male spouse. The cost of this violence adds up to about 6.15 million Egyptian pounds for only one year. While millions reported various types of abuse in the survey, only thousands reported to law enforcement. Because this illustrates how underreported this crime is, it’s likely that the rates and associated costs are higher. I appreciated the complexity of analyzing violence through an economic lense from the representative from Jordan who pointed out that this strategy is utilitarian. Ultimately, people should want to stop violence because the suffering of people is wrong. Yet, this economic perspective potentially helps convince decision makers of the importance of addressing this issue because of the costs. While this should not be necessary, it is important to illustrate the economic burden of violence on a society; it has lasting impacts on those affected and everything they do in their lives including school and work.

“Human Trafficking: Ending the Myth of Greener Pastures” A Case of Zimbabwe, Ethiopia, Uganda, and Africa” hosted by Zimbabwe

Highlight: difference between human trafficking and the externalization of labor

It was an honor to be in a room with high government officials from Zimbabwe, Ethiopia, and Uganda. Human trafficking is a topic that I know very little about. Two survivors of human trafficking attended the session to show, as the moderator phrased it, that this issue is not fiction. It is a real problem that harms real people and still happens all over the world, including in the United States. For those back home, this is still a huge issue in North Carolina. At the panel, the minister of labor from Uganda spoke about human trafficking and the externalization of labor. While I am still researching all the information I took home from this panel, the ultimate point was that human trafficking must be stopped but certain forms of migrant labor must be regulated not criminalized in order to protect these workers. The representative from Zimbabwe discussed a comprehensive approach to supporting survivors of human trafficking and preventing human trafficking including education, economic empowerment, shelters, healthcare, psychosocial support, and integration into society.

“National and Community Based Prevention Programs Addressing Intimate Partner Violence” hosted by the World Bank Group, the Global Women’s Institute of George Washington University, the World Health Organization, and Government of Canada

The representative from the Global Women’s Institute of George Washington gave us a brief presentation on a longitudinal study on intimate partner violence in Nicaragua called “Candies in Hell.” The name comes from a story about a woman experiencing domestic violence whose abusive partner would give her candy whenever she returned home. Her mother asked her why she would want candies in hell and thus the study was named. The researchers first administered the survey in 1995 and then they asked the same questions to women in the same community in 2015. The results were quite positive. Violence increased, attitudes justifying violence decreased, and use of services increased. While any number of people suffering from domestic violence is too high, this case study shows the benefits of a community-based approach to prevention and response to gender-based violence. The overall theme of this panel was that prevention works and is important; it’s just a matter of how to prevent, especially depending on the local context. Also interesting were the risk factors for intimate partner abuse including experiences with child abuse, gender norms, and alcohol use. The world of prevention is something I am extremely passionate about as this was the topic of my research study and one of my main extracurriculars at NC State. It was disheartening to process how severe violence against women is internationally but it was inspiring to hear from so many incredible government leaders, scholars, and activists that violence can and should be prevented.

“Legal Reforms to Protect the Human Rights of Trans, Intersex, and Gender Variant People” hosted by Malta and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights

I really wanted to attend this session because it was the only session I saw on the list of events explicitly about intersex people and one of the only events that centered trans identities rather than simply including them. And the panel did not disappoint. My favorite speaker was Micah Grzywnowicz who began their presentation by unpacking gender and gender identities. They emphasized the need to expand the perspective of gender beyond men and women because not everyone fits into those categories. Some of the progressive legal strategies that other panelists mentioned included incorporating another option besides male and female on legal identification cards. Micah Grzywnowicz then asked the brilliant question of why we need a gender marker on a legal identification card that already has a name, a picture, an ID number, and potentially other identifiers such as thumbprints. I could tell that listening to this activist would have been a WGS class in itself if we had more time. I appreciating hearing their voice at a conference that often operates within the binary.  

In between sessions, I distributed a flyer that advertises the details for our WomenNC panel on Wednesday. I start the conversation about the flyer by saying, “hi I’m on this panel presenting researching and dating and sexual violence prevention education” and generally people have been interested. We want to encourage as many people as we can to come attend our event because it’s during a popular time for other events. Other reflections include the lack of vegetarian-friendly options at the food venues inside the UN building. And even if there were, the lines are super long. Which makes sense because leaving and re-entering the UN building takes a long time because of the security lines. I started writing this blog inside of the building and was surrounded by at least 30 people speaking at least five different languages that I do not recognize. It’s a constant reminder of the privilege it is to be in this space and to have access to these perspectives. Everything was cancelled for Tuesday because of Storm Stella but I cannot wait for Wednesday.

LBTQ (In)visibility: Putting Queer Issues on the Agenda at CSW61

At a panel hosted by the Fundación Arcoiris (Rainbow Foundation), a LGBT non profit based in Mexico, a woman with short silver hair and blue reading glasses stood up to express her outrage that the economic challenges that LBTQ women face in the workplace are not addressed in the proposed conclusions of the 61st CSW. Upon hearing this, I blinked several times and quickly pulled up the document on my phone. I had read it before, and hadn’t noticed that LBTQ women had not been acknowledged in the document, which covers issues ranging from human trafficking, representation in STEM fields, to immigration. There is also no mention of the rights of LBT women in CEDAW. This oversight is infuriating in light of the wave of anti-LGBT laws being passed by national governments across the globe, particularly in Eastern European and African countries. The federal United States government still provides no legal protection for LGBT Americans in employment and education. In North Carolina, I could be fired for being queer. This has real economic consequences for LBTQ women that are not being addressed by the UN CSW.

Yesterday I attended two parallel events relating to the challenges facing LBT women around the globe. While I have a good understanding of what LGBT organizing looks like in the US, I was completely unfamiliar with what LBT activists were doing in other countries. 

At the first panel, hosted by the American Jewish World Service, an activist from China described her efforts to organize queer women, primarily in the form of campus organizations and consciousness-raising groups, since direct actions like marches are not an option in China. In addition to grassroots organizing, activists in China are litigating a case in protest of the dismissal of a trans man from his job with some encouraging results. There is also an effort to ensure that new domestic violence laws are implemented in a way that includes LBQ couples. A “transfeminist” activist from Fiji discussed the relationship between colonialism and anti-LGBT laws.

The next panel I attended addressed the barriers to LBT women in the workplace. The representative from Fundación Arcoiris shared the results of their survey of lesbian women in 7 Mexican states and discussed their effort to get funding to do a larger survey. The survey revealed that many lesbians in Mexico do not feel safe in their place of work. Another activist from China reported that the gender wage gap has been growing in recent years, in part as a result of the growth of the private sector, the prevalence of service jobs, and an increase in demand for care work as a result of the increasing average age in China. A queer Lebanese organizer expressed frustration with the tendency of gay men to co-opt the contributions of queer women to the movement and the domination of men in LGBT spaces.

There were two CSW side events relating to LBTQ women. One addressed the barriers to LBT women in the workplace and the other examined the legal issues facing transgender, intersex, and gender nonconforming individuals. Unfortunately, I had to rehearse for a panel I will be speaking at hosted by GLI during the first side event. I was torn between the second one and the launch of the equal pay platform event in the general assembly hall. Ultimately, I chose to attend the equal pay event because I wanted to gain a more global sense of the gender pay gap and did not want to pass up the opportunity to see the general assembly floor. As part of the event, Abby Wambach, the US soccer player who set the world record for the most international goals scored, explained why she decided to challenge the unequal compensation of men’s and women’s sports teams. She explained that she felt compelled to take action on behalf of her step daughter in hopes that by the time she enters the work force, she will be guaranteed equal pay. One thing that struck me in light of the revelations earlier in the day is that Abby Wambach did not mention how her queer identity impacted her experiences, though she is somewhat of a lesbian icon.

The UN CSW’s goal is to raise the standards by which countries will be judged. While the CSW remains silent on LBTQ issues, countries face no pressure from international leaders to guarantee the rights of queer women.

*For more pictures from the conference, follow me on Twitter! (@willingham_zoe)*

 

Day 2: The Official First Day

Today was marvelous. I have not felt this marveled since summer. Today I began my day alongside Beth. We attended a parallel event titled “Future Shift: Young Women and the Changing World of Work”. The event was hosted by YWCA Canada. YWCA is a non-profit organization that was originally focused on eliminating racism. Overtime it has expanded to focus on women’s issues. Just FYI. Interestingly enough, this event was led by young “millennial” women.

                                        

(Future Shift: Young Women and the Changing World of Work)

I quoted the term millennial because that’s what they called themselves. That’s what the media calls us. But this is the first time in my life that they have embraced our millennial generation. I am so glad I attended this event. It helped me feel proud to be a millennial woman. At this point you’re probably wondering why. Well they explained a few issues that our generation of working women have gone through in the past years and are going through right now. Issues like online “trolling”, underpaid/ unpaid work, lack of affordable child care. (Sidenote: North Carolina ranks 11^th in most expensive childcare of all the states). The young female speakers shared their work history in relation to technology, lack of legislative support, and the perception of society, and occupational segregation.

 Occupational segregation in terms of vertical and horizontal were discussed in 3 out of the 4 events I attended today. Occupational segregation refers to the tendency for men and women to seek employment in different jobs (horizontal segregation). Vertical segregation refers to the way specific occupations tend to have a lower societal status and less rewarded positions than others. Nordic leaders explained this concept to me for the first time. I had no idea that these ideas were defined and heavily researched.

One of the speakers explicitly told the crowd that she was a millennial and yes people consider us millennial individuals“lazy” but our generation consists of hard working women that work long hours unpaid in this current economic structure. The audience clapped after she stated this. I had never really though much about unpaid work that women do of all kinds such as domestic work. I had also never realized how under-appreciated most care-giving jobs are given the undervalued pay. This was discussed at the side event at the UN Headquarters titled “Gender equality the Nordic way: What can we learn from it?” Some prime ministers of children in the Nordic countries mentioned that the care-giving jobs are still far less underpaid than the jobs in the male dominate field.

                                (Gender equality the Nordic way: What can we learn from it?)

Even though Nordic countries have balanced employment of women, the pay gap is still there. One minister mentioned that despite all the efforts, care-giving jobs (that women tend to take on more than men) are often viewed as less than compared to the jobs that men take on. The options of care-giving jobs are so limited compared to non care-giving jobs as the prime minister mentioned. She gave the example of the nursing profession. While nursing is seen as a feminine care-giving job, there aren’t as many nursing type of jobs as engineering jobs which tend to be male dominant. There’s all kinds of engineering fields for men to enter like industrial, civic, and so forth but women are less limited to the type of nursing they can engage in. I had never thought of this. Male-dominant fields are expansive in terms of job opportunities. Which goes back to emphasizing how BADLY we need more young girls in the STEM field. I think of the speakers from the first event compared the pay of the stem field and the social field also. She noted that RIGHT NOW we need more people involved in the social context than advancing the next technological thing. (She made reference to politics when she said this). However because women’s participation in the social field wasn’t valued as much, they are under-appreciated. I feel like those two sessions really expanded my view of the life hardworking women go through. I have so much more respect for women now more than ever. I go to an all women’s college and I already knew what it felt like to be a woman and step into the shoes of a woman. However, to step into the career path of a woman emotionally is different. I now believe that women don’t complain enough about all the work that they have to do. Even some ambassadors at the UN Ministerial Round Table discussed the unpaid work that women do. The ambassador of Spain compared the amount of domestic work women did to the bare minimal hour that men do in his country…which I don’t have much data for in our country but from experience, my female friends most often complain about how often men leave dishes around and don’t do laundry. The little things often end up meaning all too much for women- they cost women too much. I am going to miss the UN CSW tomorrow now that the blizzard canceled all of tomorrow’s events.

                                      

                                                      (UN Ministerial Roundtable)