Read about our scholars' week at the United Nations!
CSW Day 1
Mia Miranda
In the CSW67 kickoff, I attended four amazing events. Two standouts were the side events I attended. One was hosted by various Nordic countries, and featured the Prime Minister of Iceland! The various ministers (Sweden, Norway, Greenland, Iceland, Denmark, Faroe Islands, Finland) discussed gender based violence in the digital sphere and its implications for the “real world.” I learned some really interesting facts and am truly amazed by how these countries are leading the way in addressing this issue. For example, according to the panel, in Sweden, a person can be convicted of rape if they coerced an individual into sending explicit material of themselves (even if they did not physically touch the other person). The Prime Minister of Iceland also highlighted the importance of both legislation to protect women and girls on the internet and raising awareness for this issue among all generations. The best moment of the panel, though, came from the minister from Greenland. She deeply emphasized how it is not enough to treat the symptoms of the problem, we must get to the core: patriarchy. Perhaps the best moment of the day for me, though, was the side event hosted by the United Kingdom that focused on the impact of pornography on violence against women and girls. This is an issue I feel very strongly about. From this session comes one resounding declaration: There is no such thing as ethical pornography!
Kahlia Jones
Like everyone, I started the day off with orientation which clarified some things for me and it was helpful to hear other people had questions like mine. Next, I went to the Mental Health Advocacy parallel event. A point I found really interesting was after the social isolation of COVID, which subsequently created a shift towards teletherapy for many patients, therapists had a hard time getting clients to focus during sessions and experienced difficulty maintaining professional boundaries. Overall, it was clear that access to internet, equipment, and money is a big telehealth barrier. I also went to the side event with Nordic countries, and really appreciated the overt try "not to be boring" mentality. I liked that Iceland, Sweden, Greenway, and Norway all had a similar sentiment of with legislation as th groundwork legislation for further change. In the afternoon I attended Men and Masculinities and the Catholic Church and Gender Ideology, both of which had interesting points on gender oppression in power structures.
Lia Willcoxon
I attended the opening session of the 67th Commission on the Status of Women (CSW). It was an incredible opportunity to meet people from all over the world who are passionate about gender equality. I had the pleasure of meeting Jose from Mexico City, who will be running a panel on HeforShe, and Jennifer who runs a logistics program in NYC. The three-hour opening session included a number of beneficial thoughts and calls to action. Delegates brought a range of culturally diverse thoughts and implored leaders to include funding for research into new technologies and how they may impact women. One of the topics that caught my attention was the discussion of AI as an intersection to women in technology. It was fascinating to hear about the ways that technology can improve the status of women's health. Overall, the events were inspiring and informative, and I am looking forward to attending more sessions in the coming days.
Tessa Delgo
Today, I had the opportunity to attend the an Official Meeting of CSW67. There were incredibly powerful and inspiring speakers, including the heads of state of Hungary, Iceland, and Georgia (all of whom are among the too-few women heads of state across the world). I was especially struck by the talk given by Hungary’s president, Katalin Novák. President Novák spoke of Hungary’s deep commitment to families, which I was not aware of before today. Apparently 60% of Hungary’s state budget goes to family policy, supporting initiatives such as writing off the student loans of mothers, housing subsidies, and maintaining a large network of state-sponsored nurseries. My WomenNC research, which focuses on supporting single mother students at community colleges, enlightened me to the absolute LACK of structural supports for mothers (and mothering students), so it was inspiring to hear about a nation that is so resolutely committed to supporting mothers.
Shreya Kancharla
The events I attended today consisted of two parallel events and two side events. The parallel events I attended were “Mental Health Advocacy and promotion for Girls through Innovation and Technological Change” and “How the Catholic Church uses ‘gender ideology’ to threaten human rights.” The first event discussed how the pandemic was somewhat of a blessing in disguise because it facilitated meaningful conversations regarding mental health since mental health is such a stigmatized topic. Additionally, I found it interesting when the panelists discussed leveraging AI to help those struggling with their mental health, and this was a new perspective I gained. The side events I attended were the most enriching; these included “Pushing Back the Push-Back: Nordic Solutions to Online Gender-Based Violence” and “The Impact of Pornography on Violence Against Women and Girls” with panelists from the United Kingdom. Violence against women and the dangers behind the pornography industry have always been really interesting and important to me. A lot of the strategies the panelists from the UK discussed were very insightful since the issue of the pornography industry and the degradation of women is an international issue. For example, there should be a focus surrounding holding online service providers accountable as many can escape blame by claiming they are not responsible for what is posted on their site which is true for the United States due to the Communications Decency Act. Overall, the events I attended today were heavily informative and interesting.
Talia Chavis
The first official day of the CSW was very full, from the start of the day until the very end. Initially, I attended the virtual Orientation Day, which further introduced the CSW. There was a clear distinction between non-governmental organizations forums and the United Nations events. This set the tone for the events of the week. The next event was about Mental Health Advocacy and Promotion for Women and Girls, which was hosted by an NGO from Singapore. This session opened my eyes to the stigma around mental health in other countries. Also, the effect that the pandemic has had on mental health and the brain. In addition, I attended the Nordic event on solutions to online gender-based violence. I included the following notes: Increasing workshop on how to behave online; Speaking to small children in a democratic way on boundaries; Gender-Based stereotypes in video games; Increase punishment for all offenses; Offenses that occurred online were not severe in Sweden, now people can be sentenced for rape; Nordic’s have been changing criminal codes; Iceland, girls who are 16-19 were forced to commit sexual crimes; Educate young people about behaviors; More dialogue and contact with people; Raise awareness from the people at the bottom; Norway has online police on social media and video games, Secure chat with police; Criminalizing online sexual exploitation; Denmark criminalizes grooming, traffic clock to educate young people on how to behave online, was proposed to school curriculum; Collection of evidence is crucial, need tools to help with this. Both countries need similar governments to facilitate charges; Abuse of women that take up space/voice their opinions; Female sexuality is shamed in every country in Nordic; Girls and women are viewed as slutty if they engage in sexual activities; Involve men and girls on how to behave online; Sexual Education knowing what you don’t know is some sort of knowledge.
CSW Day 2
Mia Miranda
Just like yesterday, today was another exciting day where I learned a lot about topics such as the politics in Iran, displacement and refugee women, and indigenous women’s safety. I would say that the most groundbreaking moment all day was hearing a former political prisoner from Iran speak about her own experience in prison as well as the current uprising in Iran today. Listening to her speak, you could hear how emotional she would get speaking about the experiences of so many women in the region, and it made me emotional just listening to her. Additionally, a very powerful speaker at the session on refugee women emphasized just how important it is to let refugee women make their own decisions. Oftentimes, people do not give these women enough credit— they are smart! They are capable! As the daughter of a refugee woman myself, this words resonated greatly. Lastly, I would also say that hearing indigenous women speak about their community was very eye opening.
Kahlia Jones
Today I learned about combating gender discrimination in the MENA region, and engaging boys and men to advance gender equality. My favorite event of the day was the He For She workshop. It was fun to see men from various regions of the world and their strategies to engage other men in gender equality activities in different regions. I really liked how the presentation was interactive and engaged the audience in the discussion. I think it’s very important to include men and boys, and to not alienate them, in the move for gender equality.
Lia Willcoxon
I had the opportunity to attend two incredible events: the EU High Level Side Event "A Gender Equal World With Technologies - Digitalization and AI, what is our roadmap?" and the HeForShe Solutions Lab. At the High Level Side Event, I was impressed by the panel's acknowledgement of their support for women, and the Q&A audience member who advocated for more inclusion of women with disabilities. At the HeForShe lab, we discussed the importance of acknowledging toxic masculinity, and one member suggested a SheForShe spin-off to further support women. However, I still have questions about AI's relationship with gender and how technologies can improve on the UN SDG goals. I had the pleasure of meeting Eveline van Eerd and Viola Cheng at the HeForShe Solutions Lab, and it was inspiring to hear their perspectives on gender equality and technology. I am grateful for the opportunity to attend these events and continue learning and advocating for gender equality.
Tessa Delgo
One of the highlights of today was attending a side event hosted by representatives from Chile, who discussed “Gender Gaps in Trade and Development: Does Digitalization Hold Solutions?” One of the panelists talked about the specific need for a gender lens in trade negotiations. Apparently, a recent trade agreement between Chile and Canada was the first to include a chapter specifically discussing gender in trade. This was an important point because people often see trade -- and, more pertinently to the topic of this year’s CSW, technology -- as “neutral” entities, with no inherent biases, when that is anything but true. We also heard from the COO of Gamaga Games, one of the first video game design companies in Chile. She spoke about the importance of encouraging women’s entrepreneurship from an early age, and creating policies that specifically promote more women entering STEM fields because most women-owned businesses are currently in the fields of crafts and food, which are not typically as lucrative as tech companies have the potential to be. All the panelists emphasized the need to collect good data as a precedent to creating better policy -- in Chile, they do not know how many women entrepreneurs there are and don’t have specific data on what industry they’re in, which prevents them from even beginning to push policy forward. This was an issue for my topic as well -- in looking into single mother students in North Carolina, I found it incredibly difficult to find relevant data. It was interesting to hear that a lack of data was a common issue in an entirely completely different sector in a different geographic region.
Shreya Kancharla
The events I attended today included three parallel events and one side event. The parallel events I attended included “The Digital Age: Empowering Women in Iran & MENA Region,” “New pandemic in digital era: Challenges and strategies to combat cyber gender-based violence,” and an event about protecting the rights of sex workers. I genuinely enjoyed the event about cyber gender-based violence because I learned about how other regions of the world are combating this widespread issue. I noticed how other countries have websites that spread non-consensual pornographic images similar to what exists in the United States, which puts into perspective how many international issues women face. From this event, I also received a booklet about how Taipei is maintaining gender equality, and they have many facilities that foster inclusion. I found this to be very progressive, and I noticed that the U.S. does not have many services or facilities for individuals of different gender identities and sexualities that Taipei has. The side event I attended was called “Integrating women refugees” which was located at the Permanent Mission of the Czech Republic. It was interesting to see and hear from different representatives from the Czech Republic, and the events gave a lot of helpful information for NGOs to integrate refugees into their mission. For example, there should be an effort to partner with women-led, refugee-led organizations which are especially important for Ukrainian women. All in all, I thoroughly enjoyed the events I attended.
Talia Chavis
I attended the meeting about the digital age in Iran and what barriers women face accessing technology. Many women in Iran are required to have their smartphone use monitored by their family, most likely by male relatives. Many women also fear they will be mugged or harassed if they have possession of a smartphone. Posting on social media platforms, such as TikTok, is dangerous as well because young women can be arrested for doing so. I attended the Lived Realities in Displacement with Women Leaders and Local and Global Solutions, where I gained knowledge on how women leaders are helping displaced women in their respective countries.
CSW Day 3
Mia Miranda
Today we spent the morning on our own session (exciting!). Afterwards, we ate at the cafe inside the UN building and then spent the afternoon in the General Assembly room. It was amazing to be able to hear the delegates speak, and it excited me so much when the delegate from Liberia said that she agreed with the statements from the delegates of Cuba (I am Cuban-American). Afterwards, we went into a large conference room for a session on FGM which I learned much more about than I knew previously. One thing that struck me was what one of the speakers said about respecting tradition and treating people like humans. Many times, when trying to end harmful practices like FGM, people treat those in the community who practice this like they are barbaric. Instead, people should be treated with dignity and basic humanity.
Kahlia Jones
Today the highlight of my day was our presentation. It was an amazing opportunity to present at a parallel event for United Nations CSW, especially on International Women’s Day! I was really proud of myself for getting through the presentation without looking at my notes. I worked really hard to memorize my presentation so I felt good that I succeeded. After working on my WomenNC research for so many months, it was amazing to share my findings with the global community.
Lia Willcoxon
Today was an incredible day of learning and connecting! I had the opportunity to present my research on education and brain-drain as a problem related to women's health in rural areas. After the presentation, I attended "Ending Violence Against Women and Girls Globally and Maintaining Gender Equality" and "Women, Work, Migration, and Technology". I had the pleasure of meeting Nikki Chou and another woman who advocates for women's rights in rural blue-collar regions of Canada. One powerful moment was hearing about the gender roles in blue-collar families and how they impact job opportunities and career advancement. It was inspiring to connect with so many passionate and motivated women, and I can't wait to continue the conversation and further my understanding of these important issues.
Tessa Delgo
The most enlightening event for me today was “DEVELOPMENT OF PEACE EDUCATION IN THE DIGITAL AGE FOR GLOBAL PARTNERSHIP AND THE EMPOWERMENT OF ALL WOMEN AND GIRLS,” co-hosted by South Sudan and the International Women’s Peace Group. The panelists, spanning South Sudan, Australia, and Korea, all discussed the role of women in peacemaking. I learned a few facts that were particularly surprising:
- When women are involved in peace negotiations, those negotiations are 64% likely to last
- Gender inequality is the MOST important indicator of peace in a nation
One of the panelists also spoke about conflicts in Mindanao, Philippines, which is incredibly important to me as I am Filipino and had a cousin who passed in a bombing related to the ongoing religious conflict there. While the conflict has not been completely quelled, it was heartening to see some of the peace monuments created in the region, such as this one made of metal from weapons that were originally used in the warfare.
Shreya Kancharla
Today, I presented my research at the UN CSW conference. It was fulfilling to be able to share all of the work I did with others on International Women’s Day. I had the opportunity to share the research I conducted over the past nine months, while also sharing the progress I have made with my recommendations. In addition to this, I attended one of the UN official meetings today, and it was really interesting to see how different countries are working to improve the digital divide in their country. The general assembly room the event took place in was really beautiful as well; it felt amazing to be a part of such an important event. Lastly, I attended a side event about female genital mutilation in Liberia and how to eradicate this issue. For the representatives of this event, it is important for them to talk about this issue rather than others outside of the culture, because outsiders do not understand the culture or why FGM still exists in some cultures. Therefore, it is more effective for people of the culture that practices FGM to speak out against this oppression. I thoroughly enjoyed this event and it was emotional to hear how others in the audience were impacted by the representatives’ words because many have experienced FGM or have lost family to FGM. I hope after attending this event that FGM will cease as a tradition in all cultures.
Allison Reilly
I arrived in New York City bright and early, just in time to get dressed and ready to join my fellow WomenNC Scholars as we walked from our hotel to the United Nations Church Center to give our presentations. I was proud to share my research about school-based restorative justice in such an empowering forum. I even connected with a colleague of my mother’s who made the trip from Boston a day early to hear my presentation in person — just one of the special networking opportunities I had this week! After giving our presentations, I got my UN Grounds Pass and made my way into the United Nations Headquarters, where we listened in to the general discussion in the beautiful General Assembly Hall. It was fascinating to hear ambassadors and representatives from around the world give their perspectives on the current state of digital gender equity and the priorities they envision for future policy and advocacy. From there, some scholars and I attended a powerful side event hosted jointly by Liberia, Sierra Leone, The Gambia, Sweden, and UN Women. The panelists discussed the recent successful effort to ban Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) in Liberia, highlighting the intentional participatory process they undertook that uplifted the voices of traditional leaders in local communities. It was a powerful example of collaboration and community-led change.
Talia Chavis
The day of my presentation was somewhat nerve wracking. Being that I am representing the only Historically Black College or University in the program and the only black scholar in attendance, there was a bigger sense of responsibility to deliver an extraordinary presentation. However, once I was in front of the podium, I was in the zone. I believe my presentation was well-received by the audience. Later that day, I attended the General Assembly meeting, where I learned what each country is doing to combat the issue of gender-based online violence.
CSW Day 4
Mia Miranda
This afternoon we went to an interesting event hosted by the U.S. Department of State. It was great to hear from high ranking officials, such as the assistant to the president, and others from the Gates Foundation and Microsoft. They were able to impart extremely pertinent information to the theme of CSW. For example, one of the speakers brought up a brutal statistic: only 1 in 5 women in least developed countries has ever connected to the internet. This was shocking to hear, but honestly something we could all stand to think more about. Though we have many gender disparities in the United States, I think it is easy to get caught in a Western-centric mindset and forget the issues that the rest of the world is facing. That is why events like CSW are so important, as they bring these global issues to the forefront.
Kahlia Jones
I started off my day learning about Physicians for Human Rights and how they have created an app to empower sexual violence survivors, especially those who may lack access to safe physicians. Next, I listened to the panel on youth leadership as a driving force for change in Iran. After that, we listened to the U.S. mission, which was informative on how our country’s government is treating gender issues in the realm of technology. I learned about USAID, which I didn’t even know existed. We also attended the the U.S. Women’s Caucus event. The event was small and everyone knew each other so it was helpful in figuring out how NGOs in the U.S. work together to lobby for change.
Lia Willcoxon
I had a great experience attending the "Freedom of Religion or Belief as an Ally to Empowering Rural Women and Girls" event, as well as the "U.S. Mission Briefing" and "UN Women's Caucus Address". I had the pleasure of meeting Susan Lee, and it was inspiring to hear about her work and perspectives. The U.S. mission briefing was particularly engaging, with a panel that actively engaged with audience questions and provided thorough insights. The UN Women's Caucus gave me a better understanding of the current work being done at the UN, and the important role that women's representation plays. However, I am still left wondering how to get more involved in creating change and moving beyond advocacy. I look forward to continuing my education and involvement in these important issues.
Allison Reilly
I started the day by virtually attending the parallel event hosted by Beth Dehghan. While I am intimately familiar with WomenNC and the opportunity that it provides young activists in North Carolina, I enjoyed hearing from Sahar Sanie and Homan Nasir about the role of youth leadership in the protests against human rights violations in Iran and comparing these two cultural contexts. The next two events that I attended were two of my favorites from the week. The first, hosted by USAID, brought together leaders from the Biden Administration, civil society, and the private sector. Together, they discussed pressing issues in digital gender equality, including the biases that are being amplified by artificial intelligence, and brainstormed how public-private partnerships can be leveraged to address some of those disparities. During the UNDP event, Carolina and I were able to learn about one positive example of how technology is being leveraged to increase access to care services in Bogatá, Columbia. And the last event of the day was a great opportunity to support another North Carolina- based organization.
Talia Chavis
I attended the virtual meeting, Iran to the U.S: Youth Leaders as Feminist Changemakers. It involved one of our scholar, Lia, as well as our founder, staff, and board member of WomenNC. They shared their perspectives on the work they do for gender equality and other important issues relating to women and girls. The most touching part of the meeting was the video, where many young people gave their testimony on the protests that are occurring in their country.
CSW Day 5
Lia Willcoxon
We had the privilege of attending one last event at the UNCSW 67, "Civil Engagement at the UNHQ Conference room 4". The event provided valuable insights into ways for local leaders and NGOs to get involved in their communities and push for changes that improve the status of women, especially in the field of technology. It was empowering to see the passion and dedication of so many change-makers in attendance. As the conference comes to a close, I am looking forward to what will be included in the charter for the commission and eagerly anticipate the impact that will be made for the empowerment of women and girls around the world.
Allison Reilly
On my last morning, I walked over to the UN Headquartersfor one final event. UN Women and the organizers of the CSW67 NGO Forum were hosting a Civil Society Briefing to share updates about the negotiations process for the CSW67 outcome document. It was interesting to hear several NGO leaders, who are experts in their fields and local contexts, advocate for more transparency and representation in the United Nations. Over and over, they talked about how they deserve “a seat at the table.” I am looking forward to seeing the final outcome document at the end of this second week of CSW. On my way out, I took a few final photos of the United Nations grounds and reflected on my experience. I cannot begin to express how empowering it was to spend my week in conference rooms surrounded by women and non-binary people with so much passion for equality and human rights. I am leaving feeling more certain than ever that I want to pursue a career dedicated to promoting global human rights and that I will have role models around the world to support me.
Talia Chavis
Reflecting on this week and this day, I have met some amazing people and learned many things. I feel that the most important thing I have gained is better global citizenship. Though I was aware of issues that occurred in other countries, this year’s CSW theme was something I had not considered as a serious global issue. Also, during this week, I was fortunate to be able to meet delegates from the Bahamas at the Nordic meetingon Monday, who were very gracious in addressing the need for more collaboration on matters of gender-based violence between Nordic countries and the Bahamas, especially since this is a global issue. I also connected with other NGO representatives, the CEO of the American Association of University Women, and the Chair of the UN NGO CSW. Going away from this experience, I have gained so much perspective on global women’s issues as it relates to technological access, barriers to technology for women, and what improvements can happen in the digital age.