Former NFL Quarterback Challenges Toxic Masculinity at GEIA Film Screening

Former NFL Quarterback Challenges Toxic Masculinity at GEIA Film Screening

Formal NFL player at eventCheck out The GW Hatchet’s piece about GEIA’s co-sponsored film screening of“The Mask You Live In” and discussion featuring former NFL quarterback Don McPherson. More than 200 students came together Monday night to confront a topic often left out of the conversation about campus assault: toxic masculinity

 

The discussion – the first of its kind at GW – was co-sponsored by the Student Association, the Interfraternity Council, the Panhellenic Association, GW Athletics, the Global Women’s Institute and the Multicultural Student Services Center – groups that have never before all collaborated on one event. Organizers also worked with Promundo, a gender justice organization that focuses on how men and boys can become partners in issues about gender inequality.
panelists at IWD 2018

GEIA Celebrates International Women’s Day 2018

panelists at IWD 2020On the 5th and 8th of March (International Women’s Day), 10 remarkable female Elliott School Alumnae took part in two conversations about “Pathways to Success: Women’s Career Accomplishments,” moderated by GEIA Director Dr. Shirley Graham.

Click Here to view the line-up of panelists.

This year’s theme for International Women’s Day was #PressforProgress. Data shows that when women are more present and participating in leadership roles, more women are hired right across the board at all levels. Panelists urged students not to let self-doubt get in the way of applying for jobs, promotions, asking for a pay raise, or taking a leap into a new field, as few people feel 100% ready for their next move.

Panelists also shared their experiences and responses to the #MeToo movement and sex discrimination in the workplace more broadly. For example, panelist Jenna Ben-Yehuda created the Women’s Foreign Policy Network and co-authored the #MeTooNatSec (national security) letter. The authors of the letter are pushing for a conversational shift towards prevention and constructive solutions such as multiple channels for women to report incidences without retribution, mandatory exit interviews for all women leaving federal service, and a clear message from leadership that these behaviors won’t be tolerated.

“Success is in the detail and this means doing focused work, providing specific information, and strategizing to achieve your goals. It is through hard work and a belief in the value of what you do that will get you to the top” said panelist Maura Leary of The World Bank. The International Women’s Day seminars were hosted by the Gender Equality Initiative in International Affairs (GEIA) and co-sponsored by The Elliott School, GSS, LEAP, and the GWI.

GEIA Takes Students to the Commission of the Status of Women (CSW) 62nd Session at the United Nations, NYC

GEIA Takes Students to the Commission of the Status of Women (CSW) 62nd Session at the United Nations, NYC

Shirley Graham with two panelistsGEIA (Director, Dr. Shirley Graham, and Program Associate, Danielle Cyr) brought seven graduate students to the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) 62nd Sessions at the UN in New York. Pictured from left to right are GEIA Director Dr. Shirley Graham, and M.A. candidates Pratyusha Sibal and Neia Omer.

 

The graduate students in attendance are students in International Affairs, Development Studies and International Public Policy who participate in Prof. Graham’s courses on Global Gender Policy and Gender, War & Peace. 

 

The Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) is the principal global intergovernmental body exclusively dedicated to the promotion of gender equality and the empowerment of women. A functional commission of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), it was established by Council resolution 11(II) of 21 June 1946. 

 

The group attended a series of side events organised by Permanent Missions, UN entities and NGOs. Dr. Shirley Graham noted that “attendance at the 62nd Session of the CSW provided our students with a first-hand opportunity to engage directly with influencers and policymakers on key issues affecting women’s lives, as well as deepening their understanding of the mechanics of global gender policymaking”. 

 

“Women from rural communities are not adequately represented at policy level and when they are included they are often talked at rather than listened to. There can be a preoccupation with the numbers of women attending meetings rather than efforts to understanding the multiplicity of roles women play in their communities, particularly leadership roles. Governments need to create more opportunities for women from rural communities to actively participate in decision-making on the issues that impact their daily lives” – Dr. Shirley Graham.