Blogs & Opinions

Masculinity Is the Unspoken Undercurrent in Trumpism and the Fracking Debate

Nov 16, 2020 | Zack Rearick

Deindustrialization emasculates. It hits at men’s pride and devalues a kind of blue-collar physicality that has traditionally been revered (glorified in culture) and rewarded (paid…

Protecting Women with More than Words

Nov 2, 2020 | Margot Wallström and Dan Smith

While the global conversation about protecting women and girls has improved in the 20 years since the adoption of the United Nations Security Council Resolution…

South Sudanese Women on the Move: Their Roles in Conflict and Peacebuilding

Nov 2, 2020 | Marisa O. Esnor

Enduring violence, climate change and other environmental crises force people in South Sudan to flee their home towns. Women and girls face gender-specific challenges and…

How to Build a More Equal World

Oct 26, 2020 | Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka

Just as the World Health Organization identified COVID-19 as a pandemic, UN Women launched our analysis of the global status of women’s rights, showing limited…

World Leaders Should Champion Gender Equality

Oct 13, 2020 | Nisha Varia

Women’s rights, including the right to live free from violence or to make decisions about their own bodies, are in the crosshairs of reactionary forces…

Exploring Gender Inequality in Yemen

Oct 13, 2020 | Lily Jones

Due to structural inequalities, women and girls cannot easily access essential services in Yemen, such as education. The effect of this limited access is poor…

Why Are North & South India so Different on Gender?

Oct 13, 2020 | Alice Evans

Everyone knows that Southern and Northern India are very different in culture, language and socio-economic development. But the most dramatic regional disparity may be in…

COVID-19 Recovery - A Missed Opportunity to Fight Climate Change and Gender Inequality?

Oct 13, 2020 | Sven Harmerling

There is a real risk that women will not be able to take advantage of new green jobs as countries overlook gender in pandemic stimulus.COVID-19…

Gender, Climate and Security in Latin America and the Caribbean: From Diagnostics to Solutions

Oct 6, 2020 | Adriana Erthal Abdenur

Women in the region suffer disproportionately from climate impacts, but they also play an essential role in addressing climate change. With the right policy responses,…

Gender Equality is Important to Building Resilience and Peace during Disasters and Conflict

Sep 28, 2020 | Cindy Zhou

Conflict and natural disasters are often correlated: approximately 58 percent of deaths related to natural hazards take place in the world’s 30 most fragile states. 

Women, Peace and Security as Evolving and Contested Terrain: A Review of New Directions

Sep 28, 2020 | Aiko Holvikivi and Sarah Smith

In the WPS agenda’s twentieth anniversary year, New Directions brings academics, practitioners and activists into conversation in a book that demonstrates the evolutionary breadth and depth of…

Conflict-Related Sexual Violence in Ukraine: An Opportunity for Gender-Sensitive Policymaking?

Sep 18, 2020 | Kateryna Busol

The stigma of CRSV, the patchy domestic legislation, and the unpreparedness of the criminal justice system to deal with such cases prevent the authorities from…

The Global Impact of COVID-19 on Women and Girls

Sep 16, 2020 | Hannah Chosid

“As we face a global pandemic that has taken the lives of more than 800,000 people as of right now around the world, we certainly…

Biometrics Could Give More Vivid Picture of Woman’s Workload

Sep 8, 2020 | Allison Floyd

Asking a busy woman to report her daily activities can give researchers insight into how she spends her limited time and whether child-care and other…

Loss and Damage in Rwanda: A Young Climate Activist Reports

Sep 3, 2020 | Ineza Umuhoza Grace

On 8 September 2020, IIED and ICCCAD are hosting a webinar on climate-related loss and damage in the least developed countries. Here one of the speakers,…

Foundations for Gender Inclusive Peacebuilding

Sep 1, 2020 | Abiosseh Davis

Through years of programming experience in post-conflict contexts, Interpeace has learned first-hand that inclusion, particularly of marginalized and historically excluded groups, is fundamental for the…

1325: Rhetoric or Reality?

Sep 1, 2020 | Ndeye Sow and Gemma Kelly

Working on Women Peace & Security (WPS) issues since the 1990s, International Alert was directly involved in the global advocacy campaign “From the Village to…

More Justice, Less Violence Related to Gender

Sep 1, 2020 | Simone Eggler

Although 25 years have passed since the World Conference on Women was held in Beijing, violence against women worldwide is still at alarming levels. Even…

Ideas for How to Break Gender Barriers in Colombia's Water Sector

Aug 28, 2020 | Karen Navarro

The relationship between water and women does not come only from mythology. Since ancestral times, women have been responsible for managing water in communities, particularly…

Expert's Take: Four Lessons from COVID-19 that Should Shape Policy Decisions Everywhere

Aug 28, 2020 | Laura Turquet

All crises have gendered impacts – simply put, they affect women and men, girls and boys in different ways. COVID-19 is no different. Six months…

Why Are Women Experts ‘Absent’ From Panels on War & Security?

Aug 27, 2020 | Ruhee Neog

In Aristophanes’ Lysistrata, an Athenian magistrate demands of an assembly of women: “And where do you get off taking an interest in war and peace?” The play, set…

COVID-19 Exacerbates the Effects of Water Shortages on Women in Yemen

Aug 20, 2020 | Margaret Habib

The UN estimates that gender-based violence (GBV) has affected 33 percent of women worldwide. In Yemen, GBV has increased by 63 percent since the start of the civil war.…

To Address Gender-Based Violence, We Need Creativity, Collaboration and Courage

Aug 20, 2020 | Bjorn Andersson

One glaring truth the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic has reinforced when it comes to gender-based violence is that it is a humanitarian, development and socioeconomic crisis—a…

Put Gender Equality at the Heart of the Post-COVID-19 Economic Recovery

Aug 20, 2020 | Valeria Esquivel

Prior to the onset of the COVID-19 crisis large numbers of women were excluded from the labour market. The pandemic has made things much worse.

It is disproportionately…

Want More Global Freedom and Prosperity? Include More Women in Leadership

Aug 16, 2020 | Natalie Gonnella-Platts

A century after women secured recognition of their right to vote within our own democracy, we must recommit to ensuring that women and girls around…

Breaking Down the Gender Barriers in Mining

Aug 11, 2020 | Tebogo Leepile

In a male-dominated industry like mining, women have proven themselves to be just as competent and valuable - despite the industry-related stigma and stereotypes.Giving more…

How Impact Investing Can Help Girls Shatter the Glass Ceiling

Aug 10, 2020 | Henrietta H. Fore and Suzanne Biegel

Governments and private investors have long recognized the importance of investing in education and skills development, in terms of both achieving gender equality and economic…

The Key to an Inclusive Recovery? Putting Women in Decision-Making Roles

Aug 9, 2020 | Francesca Donner

As the world sketches out post-pandemic plans, Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, the head of U.N. Women, explains why having more women in leadership positions could lead to…

Thoughts on Womanhood, Gender Roles, and Agriculture

Aug 7, 2020 | Patricia Marie Cordero Irizarry

As women, we’ve been generally told to be obedient, to sit with our legs closed, to comb our hair, to wear bras, and not to…

Decades of Progress on Gender Equality in the Workplace at Risk of Vanishing

Aug 2, 2020 | Pamela Jeffrey

Five months into the pandemic, the warning lights for female participation in the workplace are flashing furiously as progress made toward gender equality over the…