Home

Perspectives: The ICRW Blog

  • Posted by ICRW Communications Staff on Thursday, December 1, 2011
    Moving the Goal Posts for Girls
    Encouraging girls to join sports programs can help empower them and their communities

    Two ICRW experts participate in an international meeting focused on the role of sport in international development and in promoting gender equality. They talk cricket, coaches and how to include more women.

  • Posted by ICRW Communications Staff on Tuesday, November 29, 2011
    Cheers to Cherie Blair Foundation
    ICRW partner releases new report on mobile communications and women

    Congratulations to our partner, the Cherie Blair Foundation for Women, which today launched a new report, “Women Entrepreneurs in Mobile Retail Channels: Empowering Women, Driving Growth.”  This latest endeavor is another example of the foundation’s commitment to providing insight into how the mobile communications industry can benefit women entrepreneurs in emerging markets.

  • Posted by Roxanne Stachowski and Ann Warner on Friday, November 4, 2011
    Leadership at All Levels
    Congresswoman reintroduces legislation to prevent child marriage

    U.S. Rep. Betty McCollum (D-Minn.)  on Nov. 3 on Nov.oon Nov. 3 reintroduced the Child Marriage Violates the Human Rights of Girls Act of 2011. The legislation has been introduced - but not yet passed - in every session of Congress since 2006.

  • Posted by Sarah Degnan Kambou on Wednesday, October 19, 2011
    Comments (2)
    Smart Economics
    Economic development programs must address the complexities in women’s lives

    More economic development efforts must address the “intersections” in women’s lives. Such an approach can create an army of resilient, workforce-ready women to serve as the next drivers of economic prosperity and stability.

  • Posted by By ICRW Communications Team on Wednesday, October 12, 2011
    Preparing for Passports
    Panelists for ICRW’s Oct. 19 event explore possible discussion themes

    Panelists for ICRW’s “Women: An Emerging Market” event met over the phone lines this week to touch base about their discussion next Wednesday, Oct. 19, at The National Press Club. And judging from what we heard, it promises to be a provocative conversation about the openings and obstacles for women’s economic advancement. 

  • Posted by Allison McGonagle on Friday, September 16, 2011
    Comments (4)
    Powered by Women
    Ugandan women find new market in solar lanterns

    Our van climbed higher and higher as we navigated the rolling foothills of Mt. Elgon on the Uganda-Kenya border. Lush greenery surrounded us and plump cows dotted the fields. Although sparse electricity lines hung from some of the houses, there was no light as we approached Kapchorwa district. No light, except in the homes that owned a Solar Sister solar lantern.

    Headquartered in the U.S.

  • Posted by Roxanne Stachowski on Tuesday, September 6, 2011
    The Foreign Assistance Act: New and Improved
    Congressman to Release Draft Legislation

    The United States is the largest bilateral donor of official development assistance in the world, providing billions of dollars every year for humanitarian and long-term development support. Right now, thanks to this assistance, millions of people affected by drought and famine in the Horn of Africa are receiving food, water and other vital emergency supplies. Haitians are rebuilding their roads, businesses and spirit after the earthquake of 2010.

  • Posted by Laura Kaufer on Wednesday, July 27, 2011
    Understanding Gender's Role in Agriculture
    Workshop Reveals Need for More Research

    A recent trip to Nairobi to conduct a workshop for agriculture practitioners and researchers revealed to me just how much more work needs to be done to bolster women’s roles in agriculture, from the farm where food is cultivated to the homes and plants where it is packaged and processed. 

  • Posted by Jeff Edmeades on Monday, June 13, 2011
    Comments (1)
    Transformations
    Young Married Girls Work Toward a Different Future

    After so many visits here, I should no longer by surprised by how young the girls are, but I always am. The girls –  and so many of them really are just girls –  met with me to share their experiences with our project, which aims to improve the social, economic and health status of more than 5,000 recently-married girls in the Amhara region of Ethiopia. 

  • Posted by Abigail Disney on Thursday, May 26, 2011
    Women, War and Peace
    Women Are More Critical to Peace than Ever Before

    There is a general perception that women could not possibly have anything to do with war, and therefore they really have nothing to do with peace. Nothing could be further from the truth, and the longer we proceed under this misapprehension, the longer we will go on failing to solve the fundamental problems that bring conflict to so many places around the world.

  • Posted by Brian Heilman on Wednesday, May 4, 2011
    Income Isn't Everything
    Bangladeshi Women Define Empowerment

    Whether you translate it as "discussion," "debate," or just plain "gossip," there is no doubt that adda is among the most beloved pastimes of Bengalis around the globe. In its most idealized form, adda is a flurry of passionate philosophy, argument and interruption among poet-revolutionaries gathered over cups of tea.

  • Posted by Roxanne Stachowski on Wednesday, April 27, 2011
    Rethinking U.S. Foreign Assistance Reform

    Recent years have brought remarkable progress in the way the U.S. government alleviates poverty, eradicates disease and drives sustainable economic growth around the world. President George W. Bush’s Millennium Challenge Corporation and President Barack Obama’s Presidential Study Directive on Global Development have improved the effectiveness and efficiency of U.S.

  • Posted by Anju Malhotra on Thursday, April 14, 2011
    Comments (1)
    Accidental Empowerment

    Women are on the move in New Delhi, and in an entirely new way: on the Metro. I couldn’t help but notice them during my last trip to India a few weeks ago. Women filled the first car of every train — by law designated exclusively for them — and were scattered throughout the co-ed cars. They were of all ages, and from all walks of life: young teens in their jeans; moms in saris with one child in their arm and another at their hand; middle-aged women from North Delhi covered in burqas; and working women dressed professionally and in a hurry.

  • Posted by Ann Warner on Thursday, April 14, 2011
    Research Shows More is Needed to Safeguard Adolescent Health

    A recent article in the medical journal The Lancet, starkly illustrates that investments in global health and development are failing to meet the needs of adolescents. While significant progress has been made in the survival rate of young children over the past 50 years – mostly due to funding for vaccines and declines in infectious diseases – we have barely made a dent in the mortality of adolescent girls and boys over the same time period.

  • Posted by Amy Gregowski on Thursday, April 14, 2011
    Environmental Influences
    Way of Life in Namibian Community Fosters Vulnerability to HIV

    In the fight against HIV, the environment in which women and men live influences their risk of becoming infected. That’s part of the reality in Kabila, a small community on the outskirts of Katutura, Namibia.

    ICRW is launching a project here to reduce people’s vulnerability to HIV by addressing risky sexual behavior associated with drinking alcohol. Bars serving alcohol are ubiquitous in the hilly, informal settlement of Kabila.