Baroness Goudie Blog: October Newsletter

This month I had the pleasure of being part of the El-Hibri Peace Awards - recognising individuals that have demonstrated outstanding leadership in advancing inclusion, building capacity, and organizing communities for positive social change. These individuals are doing so much to ensure that we continue to build a diverse and inclusive world.

With the recipients of the Peace Awards 2017

I encourage you to read more here about the three recipriants of the Peace Awards and hear about the incredible work they are doing.

Mohamed Magid has been named the 2017 El-Hibri Peace Education Prize Laureate for his decades of work as a tireless and vocal champion of inclusion, social justice, and interfaith collaboration. 

John Esposito has been named the 2017 Fearless Ally Award Recipient for his close collaboration with national Muslim leaders to advance inclusion and understanding of American Muslims for over four decades. 

Kameelah Rashad has been named the 2017 Community Builder Award Recipient for her innovative work to build the capacity of American Muslim communities to improve mental health and wellness and promote more inclusive norms.

 

GIWPS releases more comprehensive measure of women's wellbeing

Last week, Georgetown University's Institute for Women, Peace and Security and the Peace Research Institute of Oslo, released a new global Women, Peace, and Security (WPS) Index. It draws on recognized international data sources to rank 153 countries on the condition of women and their empowerment in homes, communities, and societies more broadly.

Several global indices endeavor to capture women’s status in countries around the world, distilling an array of complex information about their lives into a single number. However, most are limited to indicators of inclusion, such as whether women complete secondary school, or are represented in parliament or paid work. These aspects of inclusion are important, but incomplete in the absence of aspects of justice and security. For example, to get a full measure of a girl’s wellbeing, data on schooling alone is insufficient, if she is not safe in her community.
 

It is the first index to capture women’s inclusion, security, and access to justice in the context of the UN’s Sustainable Development Agenda.

Find out more here.

 

Working with men for women's empowerment - a new report from Women for Women International

Since 2002, Women for Women International have worked with more than 21,000 men through its men’s engagement programmes, in addition to more than 462,000 marginalised women survivors of war. The report makes key recommendations based on its evidence and experience:

Continue to invest in women: Men’s engagement activities should be delivered as part of a larger, more comprehensive approach that supports women’s equality and meaningful partnerships between men and women.

Take an inclusive approach: Equality cannot be founded on division and so approaches must be grounded in respecting each other’s differences.

Focus on behaviour and action: Training is not enough to make significant changes; men’s engagement should include activities that are practical and action-oriented.

Ensure clarity of outcomes: As women’s equality is dependent on ending discrimination against women and promoting their empowerment, men’s engagement activities must also aim to achieve this.

Be context specific: A context-specific approach needs to be taken to ensure that content is focused on the specific, tangible issues that communities face, and provides concrete ways to address them.

The full report can be read here and more information on the important work Women for Women International is doing can be seen in the video below. I encourage you all the watch and do what you can do to support this great organisation. #EqualityIsMyBusiness

I hope you enjoy learning about these important organisations and work. I encourage you to share what you have learnt and do what you can do to spread this important information with your networks, to do what still needs to be done to achieve equality and long term change and growth across the whole globe.