Day 5: A Room of My Own

At my first Official Meeting, I realized that my passion lies in work on the local, state, and, even, federal level. It is difficult for the international community to have conversations, because, to no fault of their own, each country comes from a different perspective and circumstance. The only shared guidance are the Sustainable Development Goals set forth by the United Nations. However, the SDG's remain broad and rely on individual countries to interpret and implement the goals.
I attended my next event, Social Inclusion for Women Being Independent, because I liked the title of the event as I think of myself as a highly independent woman (almost to a fault sometimes). Led by Japan, I heard facts similar to other sessions - women are burdened by unpaid care time, gender equality is important to the economy, women have lower labor force participation, and technology can play an important role in engaging women's labor force participation. However, Dr. Yasue Nanoshilou mentioned that, like Virginia Wolf emphasized, women must have money and a room of their own. I began thinking that obtaining money is much easier than obtaining a room of our own, because whether we get a room of our own is often not up to us. One person shared about her experiences of constantly being sexually assaulted at her workplace in Japan, even in the midst of Japan's high economic development as the third largest GDP in the world.


In my next event, The Use of New Technologies for Promotion of Work-Life Balance & Advancement of Family Policies for Social Inclusion of Women and Men, I, once again, realized the power of technology to ensure that each individual can live the multiple roles they have in society. This especially important for women as they have more roles than men as mothers, daughters, workers, and wives. It is unfortunate that men do not have more roles than worker, and I believe that the multiple roles women have hinder their participation and level of participation within the formal economy. Like many panelists emphasized, women's multiple roles in society make work flexibility especially important for their work lives. In Britain, companies with 250+ employees have mandated that they must publish their gender wage gap. I believe that it is also important to require greater transparency about flexibility in the workplace. The session ended with Auxilia Ponga, Secretary Ministerof Gender of Zambia, questioning us on what we are doing within the home to enforce gender norms? She emphasized that such gender norms often determine the lifetime outcomes of women which make them important to question and criticize.

The Shoulders We Stand On

This morning Patience and I had the privilege to accompany Beth and Dr. Riemann to the US Mission for a coffee discussion on the United States’ Priorities for CSW 63. This was an opportunity to listen to government officials to speak about the government’s approach to global women’s economic empowerment. I was and still, am skeptical of this current administration’s commitment to any kind of development for any marginalized group. I am also intrigued as to how this administration is making a commitment to the economic development of women internationally, but nationally we have women suffering from the racial and gender wage gap, limited access to adequate reproductive care, and we’re still dealing with the “pink tax.” Yeah, I’m giving this W-GDP major side eye.

The day finally arrived for the most anticipated event this week, “Take the Hot Seat”: A High-Level Intergenerational Dialogue. This session consisted of a panel of women leaders at the UN or in their respective countries and a dynamic Moderator Olaoluwa Abagun. They invited young women from the audience to ask questions about youth, policy, and the future. Ms. Phumzile Mlambo Ngcuka, UN Under-Secretary-General and Executive Director of UN Women, stated that she will make sure young people are in attendance at Beijing+25 to have their voices heard. Beijing+25 will give youth the opportunity to speak for themselves and the future they want. Thank you for believing in young people!!! Ms. Jayathma Wickramanayake, UN Secretary General’s Envoy on Youth, spoke about the inclusivity of women in China and Youth 2030, which will integrate young people in the agenda of youth empowerment. She ended her speech with this statement: “if there is no space at the table, then we have to make our table bigger.” This has now become my motto for the rest of my life! This was by far the most engaging and impactful event of this week, I feel inspired and motivated to work harder for gender equity.

The next session I attended was, Family Care: What Are the Costs to Women and What is the Role of the State? Hosted by the Czech Republic and France. I hadn’t planned to attend this session, it just happened to be close to the previous one, looked interesting, and my feet were hurting so I was able to grab a quick seat. However, this session was a pleasant surprise. To my way of thinking, I thought most if not all European countries had better health care systems and better systems in place for the welfare of women and children. I was wrong big time. The Czech Republic has one of the highest gender wage gaps, and women have to choose between having a family and a career (this seems to be universal). In New Zealand, women are penalized for having children under the “motherhood penalty,” which means the longer they stay out for maternity leave, then the harder it is to find employment. If a woman that recently gave birth returns to work, then she will experience a 4% decrease in earnings. As women, we need all of our coins!!! While sitting in this session, I was shocked that women are being penalized for having children, but wouldn’t the world literally stop if we didn’t have children. We have more work to do people!!!

The final session I attended was Women and Girls of African Descent, hosted by The Honorable Jackie Weatherspoon. First, I must say that this was the first session I saw at NGO CSW 63 that was specifically for Black women and girls (clutches my imaginary pearls). Although the UN has created a space for other people’s voices, Black women and girls still have to fight to be seen and heard. We have to create our own spaces, speak for ourselves and our sisters, and always stand on the shoulders of those who have come and fought before us.

The Fight Continues!!!

XOXO,

Aravia P. 

Day 4: Women and Girls of African Decent

ASHAY! ASHAY! AHSAY! 

The meaning of 'Ashay' is Swahili for "Be with us".

Today I have been saturated by the love of Women and Girls of African decent. My Bennett Sisters and I were invited by the Honorable Jackie Weatherspoon to be apart of a discussion that directly focused on us. It was a safe place, and the only event I could relate to on a level of connecting spiritually with all that were in the room. This was also the first event I had been to that was only for women and girls of color and/African decent since my arrival to the UN on Saturday. This event was held in the United Nations Church Building Chapel and the Chaplin of this space is  the First African-American Woman Chaplin. 

During the event we shared encouraging words that we instill in ourselves daily or that we will never forget. The quote I shared was "When the going gets tough, the tough gets going". This means that when life throws all of it's fast balls we hit them all. When I as a African American woman find myself in a discouraging situation, my posture is still to stand tall. Regardless of the external circumstances, I will stand remain consistently the same. I had the pleasure of sharing my story with all who were in the room alongside my Bennett Sister, Patience. We were asked to speak about what it means to be a woman of African decent at our age. I am 19 years old, and the first thing that came to mind was my education. As a current sophomore in college attending an all women's institution that has been a consistent battle to keep its door open, I challenge the policies on Social Protection systems as it pertains to education in raising awareness on what education means for not just women and girls of African decent but all women and girls! 

"When you educate a man, you educate a individual, but when you educate a girl, you educate a nation" 

Lastly, I had the chance to meet with Jachelle Walker, Special Assistant to the Senator in Harlem, New York. She is also the granddaughter of Civil Rights activist, Wyatt T. Walker! We exchanged business cards and I look forward to networking more with her in the future. 

Best, Zybrea M. Knight

P.S - My shirt says 'Michelle Obama Taught Me' 

Bennett Belle Takes NYC: Day 4

Hi everyone! Today, the WomenNC team attended “Take the Hot Seat” A High Level Intergenerational Dialogue. This session involved many women leaders such as the Vice President of the Republic of Colombia, Lucia Ramirez, the head of the National Institute of Women (Colombia), Nadine Gasman, the president of the senate of Bolivia, Adriana Salvatierra, the CSW Chair Phumzile Miambo-Ngcuka and others. In attendace was also the United Nations Secretary General, Jayathma Wickramanayake who stated, “If there is not enough room at the table then we should make our tables bigger.” I found this quote to be extremely powerful and I am certain that I was exactly where I needed to be at that moment. 

At the “Hot Seat” Event I also met a new friend named Lloyd. Lloyd is a member of the Youth Coalition organization and has an amazing story! He was born and raised in the Philippines, but chose to attend graduate school in the UK. This is because Lloyd has an interest in social change, but in the Philippines people who speak out against injustices are frowned upon and viewed as “trouble makers”. Lloyd is studying Global Policy in the UK and holds and undergraduate degree in nursing. He is passionate about women’s health and made the commitment to fight for this issue despite it being considered trivial in the Philippines. Lloyd’s courage to travel to a country outside of his hometown to become educated on women’s health proves that he is a natural born advocate! It was a pleasure meeting him today! 

 (L to R: Patience, Africa, Lloyd)

We are the Youth and We are the Future

Today was a relatively busy day. I enjoyed a morning in. However, my first session was entitled: Women, Peace, and Security National Action Plans(NAPs) in the Arab Region: Lebanon and Jordan. It was moderated by the first woman Minister of the Arts in the world. I really appreciated learning the logistics behind developing National Action Committees. Both countries have spoken on forming 1325 steering committees of the highest degree to alleviate possible governmental dissent. The committees comprised to complete the following steps in order to achieve their goal:

1. Adoption of national priorities
2. Development of activities (through sectorial meetings)
3.Budgeting the cost of the NAP
4. Endorsement of the NAP (through governmental funds and international donors)

Jordan serves as an excellent example of regional support prevailing with the help of national and international stakeholders. Lebanon is working to follow in their footsteps. Both nations' ultimate goal is to create a culture that understanding gender specific needs.

My afternoon session was one that I have been looking forward to for a while. It involved advanced notice, tickets and individual RSVPs. I was proud to watch my fellow WomenNC scholars volunteer to help with the session registration!

Take the Hot Seat:An Inter-generational Dialogue was a panel discussion with world leaders and the young advocates attending CSW. I thoroughly enjoyed it; my only complaint was that it wasn't longer. The panel included: the Executive of U.N. Women, the Chair of CSW, the Vice President of Colombia, the President of the National Institute of Women in Mexico, and the youngest person to serve as the Senate President in Bolivia, and the Youth Envoy to the U.N. Some of the top things I gleaned from this session were: That we as women are not part of the future, but rather part of the present because we're here now in the present. I took from that that we can make our impact now. We don't want to pull men back, we simply want to be able to go forward on equal footing.

I also thought it was extremely interesting that one of the panelist emphasize the importance of leisure time for  women as we often carry the burdens of society. I was struck by how inclusive the session was with several translators and sign interpreters. We discussed a youth strategy meant to be targeted before 2030 and ways to engage doubly marginalized groups, such as disabled women.

I also saw an abridged screening of WOMAN tonight in the EcoSoc chamber at the U.N. General Assembly Building. I don't have enough words to describe how moving, powerful, clever, grounded and inspiring it was. From the film, which I can't wait to go see in its entirety, I have taken that violence thrives in silence; the resistance of the patriarchy is the greatest threat to the fight to stop violence against women; and that a man's reputation should never be viewed above a woman's dignity.

Quote of the Day: I often hear inclusion is expensive. Accommodating those that are different is expensive. Let it be expensive because it is an investment in our future.If there's not room at the table for everyone, we need to build a larger table. -Jayathma Wickramanyake, Youth Envoy to the U.N.

Day 4: More Technology Sessions & #YouthCSW

My interest in both technology and finance, and especially the intersection of the two, was well satiated by my first session: Fin-Tech as a Driver of Gender Inclusion. Dr. Dabesaki from the Ford Foundation began by detailing that finance and technology are restricted spaces, and investments have mostly gone to male startups. There must be lower barriers of entry into the financial services sector, and, ironically, technology could be a solution to that. In many communities across Nigeria, Mines.io is allowing individuals to get small loans through technology. Asian Sowho, founder of Mines.io, pushed us to think through the idea that if we continue having the conversations, although important, about data privacy in emerging markets as the ones we have been having in mature markets, then we will lose out on a large opportunity for good. Unlike developed markets, emerging markets do not have a safety net to fall back on without technologically-driven solutions. Also during the panel, creator of Angela, Christina Sass shared about how we don't need more studies about the value of diversity in the workforce, we need actual solutions. In her work, Christina has seen that women technologists compete and outcompete their male counterparts. Overall, I felt that this panel well-aligned with my very specific interests at the intersection between technology and finance and making those spaces more equitable for women and people of color.

Next, in the Hot Seat: an Intergenerational Dialogue, I realized that the presidents, vice-presidents, and prime ministers of countries all talked about technology in some way whether it was about digital education, economic opportunities for women, and the internet gender gap. I believe that the future of technology requires talking about the future of women and vice versa. Overall, I felt incredibly privileged to be in the room with such influential, bold women in power - their personal stories and character inspire me to think more intentionally about being a future leader that works to lift and mentor other women professionals. However, I wish there was more discourse about the Minimal Standards. Specifically, I would have been interested in hearing amendments to the Minimal Standards regarding "equipping young people with skills to use modern technology," for I believe that it is not only the lack of skills but also the lack of internal belief and external validation that hold women back from utilizing technology in their lives.

Finally, the Private Sector Wisdom for Gender Equality made me realize that the U.S. private and public sectors must be doing more to support women professionally. Inbal Long, WebPals Group COO, shared about how 2/3 of her management team is made up of women. Even more incredibly, to incentivize women to return to the labor force after pregnancy, she shared how it was not uncommon for women to be promoted during pregnancy. When she stated this, the whole room applauded this work, because this is truly transformational. I have read little research on promotions during pregnancy, but I am interested to continue watching other companies in the private sector take this lead. Additionally, one representative from the OCED mentioned that modern equality is perhaps feeling equally empowered by our ignorance by both men and women. Reflecting, men often just walk into rooms, interviews, presentations with little consideration of how little they know or how uncertain they are. I feel that I have spent years trying to adopt this mindset, but I can still do better, because the uncertainty is what I must thrive on rather than be afraid of. 

Best Event So Far

The most enjoyable event of CSW for me thus far was "People on the Move," which was hosted by the Christian World Service. As a non-christian, I was a little skeptical about the perspective of the event, but I had some familiarity with the work Christian World Service does as a resettlement organization in Raleigh NC, and was excited by the listed speakers which included representatives from UNICEF- USA, The Hunger Project, a Feminist Filmmaker, in addition to CSW project managers. So after a long day I dragged myself to the basement of the Armenian Center to participate in this event, and it was so worth it.

The event grabbed my attention immediately by showing a film trailer from Isabella Alexander, called "The Burning," which conveyed the dangerous undocumented crossing process from Northern Africa into Europe. Having worked refugee boat landings on a different border of the European Union, the Greek island of Lesvos, I connected a lot with the imagery in the film of overcrowded haphazard dinghies.

Once the panel began, we discussed what these major organizations do to place humanity back in not only the border crossing process but in the places where most migrants inevitably become trapped for year.At one point we discussed the decision organizations makes to pull out of countries. It was interesting to hear the Hunger Project representative discus meeting sustainability goals with partner organizations prior to "leaving" a country. As someone who was in Greece when Save the Children pulled out of Greece and witnessed the chaos and uncertainty in that wake, I asked about the decision to leave in and of itself and all the panelists came into discuss the decision weighing process of humanitarian aid and crisis response. I felt really included in the conversation on this topic in being both critical and engaged, and I learned a lot from that experience.

After the event, I approached Isabel, told her my experience, exchanged business cards with her, and proposed the idea of bringing "The Burning" film to UNC for a screening and discussion sometime early next school year. It feels great to make a connection at a CSW event that has a tangible step moving forward.