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Danish Minister of Gender Equality Seeks ICRW’s Expertise

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Minister Manu Sareen visits ICRW to talk gender equality, women’s rights
Thu, 02/21/2013
By Gillian Gaynair

Manu Sareen, Denmark’s minister of gender equality and ecclesiastical affairs, spoke with ICRW’s Suzanne Petroni and Stella Mukasa to learn more about the organization’s work on gender equality and preventing violence against women, among other issues.

Denmark’s minister of gender equality and ecclesiastical affairs on Feb. 19 visited the International Center for Research on Women (ICRW) to learn more about the organization’s work on gender equality and preventing violence against women – particularly in the context of recent political attacks on women’s health and rights.

ICRW was the only nongovernmental organization that Minister Manu Sareen met with during his short visit to Washington, D.C., to help kick off the Nordic Cool 2013 international festival at the Kennedy Center for the Arts. A member of parliament for the Danish Social-Liberal Party, Sareen has been instrumental in, among other efforts, promoting the incorporation – or “mainstreaming” – of gender and equality perspectives in policy.

Indeed, for the past six years, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden have claimed the highest level of gender equality in the world, according to the Gender Gap Report. Gender equality ministers in each Nordic nation are keen to maintain this ranking, even amidst increasingly vocal opposition to some of their efforts.

“We’re holding the gender torch high,” Sareen said. “We’re doing this because other countries rely on us.”

Sareen met with ICRW’s Suzanne Petroni, senior director of gender, population and development, and Stella Mukasa, director of gender, violence and rights, for an hour-long conversation that centered largely on women’s health and rights and often touched on the upcoming session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW), which will focus on eliminating all forms of violence against women.

Petroni discussed challenges that advocates for women’s sexual and reproductive health and rights continue to face in the United States and globally, and stressed the importance of sharing facts to counter opposing voices. “We have the evidence to make the case,” Petroni said.

Meanwhile, Mukasa shared her expertise on violence against women, saying that in tandem with prevention programs, there must be efforts to encourage communities to reflect on and adjust their attitudes about violence. “This has to be reinforced,” Mukasa said, “with long-term public messaging.”

In terms of incorporating gender perspectives into programs and policies, Sareen spoke of a need to develop “a new language” for the public, “explaining that this is for all of us – that men have a role; that we face problems, but also have to be part of the solutions.”

Sareen will return to the U.S. in March to represent Denmark at the CSW.

ICRW Commits to Build Evidence on Women's Access to Family Planning Services

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Thu, 07/26/2012

During the London Summit on Family Planning earlier this month, more than 150 leaders from donor and developing countries, international organizations and the private sector committed to provide 120 million more women in the world's poorest nations with access to contraceptives by 2020. Read what ICRW pledges to contribute to the effort.

During the London Summit on Family Planning earlier this month, more than 150 leaders from donor and developing countries, international organizations and the private sector committed to provide 120 million more women in the world's poorest nations with access to contraceptives by 2020.

Here is what the International Center for Research on Women (ICRW) pledged to contribute to the effort:

 

  ICRW commits to expanding the evidence base on the importance of addressing socio-cultural barriers – including intimate partner violence, stigma and partner involvement – when striving to meet women’s demand for reproductive control and use of family planning services. ICRW will leverage new evidence to inform the framing of national reproductive health/family planning policy, development assistance programs and corporate social responsibility programs. ICRW will expand the evidence base linking women’s social and economic empowerment to family planning and sexual and reproductive health. ICRW will also produce new evidence related to adolescent sexual and reproductive health and rights and strengthen the connection between adolescent girls’ education and sexual and reproductive health outcomes, including delayed marriage and childbearing. This new evidence will help inform the design of family planning and sexual and reproductive health programs and services delivered through governments, the private sector and civil society. In addition, ICRW will develop and validate metrics to improve our understanding of the benefits that education brings to women’s access to and correct use of family planning. 

 Related commentary: "Breaking the Invisible Barriers to Birth Control"

Read the press release from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the UK Department of International Aid about the commitments.

Commentary: Breaking the Invisible Barriers to Birth Control

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Global community must tackle obstacles that prevent women from accessing contraceptives
Tue, 07/10/2012
By ICRW Communications Staff

TrustLaw Women, a Thomson Reuters Foundation service, features a commentary by ICRW's Jennifer McCleary-Sills in advance of the July 11 London Summit on Family Planning. In her piece, McCleary-Sills argues that the international community will likely fail to deliver on commitments to improve women's access to women contraceptive methods if it does not address the often invisible barriers that block their ability to get birth control.

TrustLaw Women, a Thomson Reuters Foundation service, features the commentary "Breaking the Invisible Barriers to Birth Control," by ICRW's Jennifer McCleary-Sills in advance of the July 11 London Summit on Family Planning. Spearheaded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the British government, the summit’s goals include expanding the availability of family planning services, information and supplies to enable 120 million more women in the world’s poorest countries to use contraceptives by 2020.

In anticipation of the London gathering, ICRW and several other global organizations urged Melinda Gates and British Prime Minister David Cameron to make women's human rights and autonomy central to any commitments made at the summit. Meanwhile, McCleary-Sills argues in her commentary that the international community will likely fail to deliver on commitments to improve women's access to contraceptive methods if it does not address the often invisible barriers that block their ability to get birth control. The commentary draws from findings in ICRW's latest report, "Women's Demand for Reproductive Control," which McCleary-Sills co-authored.

For the report, ICRW collaborated with a variety of organizations to identify approaches that address women's barriers to birth control. Here is a highlight of a few of these approaches:

* Johns Hopkins University Center for Communication Programs (CCP) helped develop a radio mini-series targeted to men in Uganda that aimed to spur conversation about societal norms that promote having large families and a preference for sons. In Egypt, CCP led an effort enabled families to better protect and maintain their health. This included using a multi-pronged communication strategy to inform newlyweds about family planning and other health issues. 

* The Central American Health Institute (ICAS) used a voucher program to tackle limited information and use of family planning methods among adolescents in Nicaragua.

* The Lady Health Worker program in Pakistan used a mobile outreach strategy to address barriers women faced to getting birth control, including restricted mobility and limited communication with health care providers.

Related content: ICRW Commits to Build Evidence on Women's Access to Family Planning Services

Suzanne Petroni to Join ICRW

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Petroni will direct reproductive health research and programs
Wed, 06/27/2012
By Gillian Gaynair

Suzanne Petroni, an expert in designing programs and mobilizing support for women’s reproductive health and rights, will join ICRW in August.

Suzanne Petroni

Suzanne Petroni, a veteran in designing programs and policies as well as mobilizing political and financial support for women’s reproductive health and rights, will join the International Center for Research on Women (ICRW) in August.

Petroni will direct ICRW research and programs centered on population issues and women’s reproductive health. She currently serves as vice president of global health at the Public Health Institute in Washington, D.C.

“Throughout my career, I’ve known and respected ICRW, and have often looked to the organization's research to inform the work that I’ve done,” Petroni said. "I'm excited to contribute to ICRW's important efforts to empower women and advance gender equality in the developing world." 

She praised ICRW’s focus on women’s health and empowerment as well as its commitment to building evidence for approaches that produce the results women in developing countries need. “A lot of organizations have the passion and the mission,” Petroni said. “But they turn to ICRW for the evidence.”

ICRW President Sarah Degnan Kambou lauded Petroni’s experience in global development. “Suzanne brings to ICRW tremendous breadth and depth of expertise on issues pertaining to women and youth living in low-income and otherwise marginalized communities around the world,” Kambou said. “Throughout her career, she has championed women’s reproductive health and rights and has pressed for greater attention to the health and livelihood needs of adolescents. We are delighted to have her on board.” 

Petroni holds a doctorate in gender and social policy from George Washington University, and has spent two decades working in the government and nonprofit sectors. At the Public Health Institute, she created a new global health department and expanded the organization’s global health efforts through research, programmatic and policy work. Prior to her joining the institute, she was a senior program officer at The Summit Foundation, where she directed the group’s global population and youth leadership program. She also designed grant-making strategies to advance adolescent and reproductive health and garner resources for reproductive health and rights in the developing world.

Petroni also has chaired the Funders Network on Population, Reproductive Health and Rights, worked as a program officer at the U.S. Department of State's Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration and served as the special assistant to the under secretary of state for global affairs at the State Department. 

Once she joins in August, Petroni said she is looking forward to building on ICRW’s work in the fields of population and reproductive health. She has particular interest in using research to better illustrate the relationship between women’s reproductive health and economic development. Petroni also aims to deepen ICRW’s research around adolescent sexual and reproductive health, providing evidence to convince donors and other partners that “this area is worth investing in,” she said. “You can produce outcomes and results.” 

A sample of Suzanne Petroni’s publications: 

 “7 Billion Reasons” – Ms. Magazine

“International Reproductive Health Still Worth the Investment” – Contraception Journal

 “Policy Review: Thoughts on Addressing Population and Climate Change in a Just and Ethical Manner” – Population & Environment (subscription required) 

Gillian Gaynair is ICRW’s senior writer and editor.

Fertility Decline and Women’s Empowerment in China

Fertility Decline and Women’s Empowerment in China

Xiaogang Wu, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology; Hua Ye, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology; Gloria Guangye He, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology
2012

The literature typically treats fertility decline in developing countries as an indicator of women’s status improvement, based on the assumption that women have greater decision making power on childbearing as their status improves. This paper investigates whether and how fertility decline leads to reduction in gender inequality and the improvement of women’s status in China. Based on the analyses of data from two nationally representative surveys, we show that women with lower fertility do less housework and tend to be more satisfied with their status within family than women with higher fertility. Such effects are more pronounced for women in more recent marital cohorts. Across generations, lower fertility implies fewer siblings and daughters benefit more in terms of years of schooling and subsequently occupational attainment.

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We encourage the use and dissemination of our publications for non-commercial, educational purposes. Portions may be reproduced with acknowledgment to the International Center for Research on Women (ICRW). For questions, please contact publications@icrw.org; or (202) 797-0007.

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A Macro-level Exploration of the Links between Fertility Decline and Gender Equality

A Macro-level Exploration of the Links between Fertility Decline and Gender Equality

Susan Lee-Rife, Lee-Rife Research; Sophie Namy, International Center for Research on Women; Anju Malhotra, UNICEF
2012

This study investigates the hypothesis that fertility decline fosters changes in gender equality by investigating macro-level patterns of fertility decline relative to changes in the labor and education sectors using national-level time-series data from approximately 30 low- and middle-income countries. We examine the temporal ordering of changes in women's labor force participation and fertility, overall and for women ages 25-34, as well as the relative labor force dynamics of men and women to determine if fertility decline preceded changes in these domains and whether the dynamics of the gender gap suggest changing opportunity structures for women. We then examine trends in women’s and men’s educational attainment relative to aggregate fertility decline, focusing on secondary and tertiary education to reflect shifts in the level of schooling most likely to empower women and representing significant parental and societal investments in women and girls. We find that gaps between men's and women's labor force participation and post-primary education narrowed following declines in aggregate fertility, and sometimes concurrently. Thus the analysis lends qualified support for the hypothesis that fertility decline fosters shifts in the gender dynamics of two key domains.

(425.71 KB)

We encourage the use and dissemination of our publications for non-commercial, educational purposes. Portions may be reproduced with acknowledgment to the International Center for Research on Women (ICRW). For questions, please contact publications@icrw.org; or (202) 797-0007.

Terms and Conditions »

Fertility Decline, Women’s Well-being, and Gender Gaps in Well-being in Poor Countries

Fertility Decline, Women’s Well-being, and Gender Gaps in Well-being in Poor Countries

Kathryn Yount, Emory University, Sarah Zureick-Brown, Emory University; Nasifa Halim, Boston University; Kayla LaVilla, Emory University
2012

We examined how declining total fertility and women’s increasing median age at first birth have been associated with changes in women’s and girls’ well-being and gender gaps in children’s well-being in panels of 60–75 poorer countries using 124–187 Demographic and Health Surveys spanning 1985–2008. In adjusted random-effects models, these changes in fertility were associated with gains in women’s and girls’ well-being, particularly access to prenatal care and trained attendance at delivery, survival at 1–4 years, vaccination coverage at 12–23 months, school attendance at 11–15 years, and nutrition at 0–36 months (for later childbearing). Benefits were equal for boys and girls with respect to vaccination coverage and school attendance. Declining total fertility was associated with greater gains for boys relative to girls with regards to child mortality and malnutrition; however, increases in women’s age at first birth were associated with greater advantages for girls relative to boys on these same measures. Family planning programs in higher-fertility societies may wish to encourage equitable investments in children.

This research is part of the Fertility & Empowerment Network Working Paper Series, which is examining whether and to what extent increasingly smaller family sizes in lower and middle income countries have empowered women or resulted in fundamental transformations in inequitable gender systems.

(2.08 MB)

We encourage the use and dissemination of our publications for non-commercial, educational purposes. Portions may be reproduced with acknowledgment to the International Center for Research on Women (ICRW). For questions, please contact publications@icrw.org; or (202) 797-0007.

Terms and Conditions »

Suzanne Petroni

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Suzanne
Petroni
Senior Director, Gender, Population and Development
Bio: 

Dr. Suzanne Petroni is senior director of gender, population and development at the International Center for Research on Women (ICRW), where she leads the organization’s research and programs on reproductive health and rights, as well as gender and population dynamics, such as fertility rates, marriage patterns and urbanization.

Prior to joining ICRW, Petroni was the Vice President of Global Health at the Public Health Institute. There, she expanded the organization’s global health engagement through research, program and policy work. She also acted as the organization’s spokesperson and liaison on global health issues with governments, the media, federal agencies, private foundations, non-profit organizations, universities and other outlets.

Prior to that, Petroni was Senior Program Officer at the Summit Foundation, leading the foundation’s Global Population and Youth Leadership Program by designing and implementing grant-making strategies to mobilize support for sexual and reproductive health in the developing world. While at Summit, Petroni also served as Chair of the Funders Network on Population, Reproductive Health & Rights, and as chair of an international donor group on adolescent reproductive health and development. At the U.S. State Department from 1997-2001, Petroni worked in the offices of the Under Secretary for Global Affairs and Population, Refugees and Migration

Expertise: 

Reproductive Health and Rights, Adolescents, Gender and Population

Languages Spoken: 

English (native), Spanish

Education: 

Petroni received her PhD in gender and social policy from The George Washington University and her master of science in foreign service from Georgetown University. She has published and spoken widely on a range of issues related to population and reproductive health and rights.

Urban Lives Changed

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Global family planning stakeholders convened on July 11, 2012 for the London Summit on Family Planning Summit to mobilize commitments to support access to family planning information, services, and supplies by an additional 120 million women and girls in the world's poorest countries. The Measurement, Learning & Evaluation (MLE) Project seeks to remind world leaders that half of the world's population now live in urban areas and almost all global population growth will occur in towns and cities in developing countries over the coming decades. A commitment to securing access to family planning products and services in poor urban areas is a critical component to this summit's success.

Breaking the Invisible Barriers to Birth Control

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Mon, 07/09/2012
TrustLaw Women
Jennifer McCleary-Sills

TrustLaw Women, a Thomson Reuters Foundation service, features a commentary by ICRW's Jennifer McCleary-Sills in advance of the July 11 London Summit on Family Planning. In her piece, McCleary-Sills argues that the international community will likely fail to deliver on commitments to improve women's access to women contraceptive methods if it does not address the often invisible barriers that block their ability to get birth control.

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