Upcoming Events

Past Events

Gender Equity and Sustainable Development: Prioritizing Actions to Achieve Results
January 19, 2012
8:30am-5:00pm
1400 16th St. NW, Conference Center, 1st Floor

Keynote Address:
The Honorable Melanne Verveer, Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women's Issues US Department of State

Today, prospects for sustainable development remain a serious challenge as our global economy, our natural environment, our social well-being, and our political structures are in crisis. From the economy to climate change to food and agriculture, systems of governance are in disarray. Leaders recognize that gender equity is essential for achieving sustainable development, yet in many instances rhetoric has yet to materialize into action.

Join the Boell Foundation and Partners in a multi-stakeholder dialogue to review systems of governance focusing on economics, food and agriculture, and climate that aren't working, success stories that are working and concrete ways to ensure that progress toward achieving gender equitable and sustainable development will be achieved in 2012 and beyond.

To RSVP, please send an email by January 17th COB to Eva Zschirnt at us-trainee2@us.boell.org

Click here to access the event page on Heinrich Boell Foundation's website

Click here to access the program and list of expert speakers (pdf)

Food Insecurity and the Gender Divide: Haiti and Kenya
November 29, 2011
Kenyan Embassy, Washington, D.C.

Featured Speakers:
His Excellency Elkanah Odembo, Kenyan Ambassador to the U.S.
Jacqueline Morette, Farmer and President of the United Women's Association of Poully, Haiti
Elizabeth Arend, Programs Coordinator and Gender and Food Insecurity Lead, Gender Action

The Gender Dimensions of World Bank Aid
September 30, 2011
WIDER-UN University

Elaine reviewed the gender impacts of World Bank food security, SRHR/HIV, post conflict and especially pipelines investments. She recommended inter alia that the Bank replace its weak gender policy with a strong mandatory policy and enforce it; expand and deepen its gender expertise; stop privatizing social services which denies poor people access to health and water; stop financing dirty oil and gas pipelines that benefit oil companies but harm poor women, men, boys and girls.

Panel Discussion: The Gender Impacts of the Chad-Cameroon Oil Pipeline and the West African Gas Pipelines
September 22, 2011
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace Conference Center

Gender Action and Friends of the Earth International teamed up in 2010 to conduct a gender analysis of the pipelines in Cameroon, Nigeria, Togo and Ghana, an initiative that represents one of the only efforts to highlight women's priorities and perspectives in areas traversed by the pipelines. Based on fieldwork, our analysis reveals that, while IFIs provided financial security to the oil and gas multinational companies that profited from pipeline development, they failed to adequately protect vulnerable social groups in affected communities, particularly women. Consequently, these gender-blind investments increased women's poverty and dependence on men; caused ecological degradation that destroyed women's livelihoods; discriminated against women in employment and compensation; excluded women in consultation processes; and led to increased prostitution.

Panelists:
Betty Abah, Friends of the Earth Nigeria
Eimi Watanabe, World Bank Inspection Panel
Korinna Horta, Urgewald
Sonia Lowman, Gender Action

Moderator:
Liane Schalatek,Heinrich Boell Foundation

Read the report

Watch video from this event

Gender WDR 2012 Roundtable Brainstorming Session
September 22, 2011
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace

Coinciding with the 2011 annual World Bank fall meeting, Gender Action hosted a civil society brainstorming session on the World Bank's Gender Equality and Development World Development Report (WDR), which was released on September 19th. We hope you will be able to join us!

Anti-Rape Rally at International Monetary Fund
Remarks by Elaine Zuckerman
Gender Action
May 18, 2011

Elaine spoke at an anti-rape rally outside the IMF to call for IMF Chief Dominque Strauss-Kahn's resigination. See her remarks here

World Bank, Energy Finance, and Climate Change: Something Old. Something New
Thursday, April 14, 2:00 - 3:30 pm

Because addressing climate change remains a global imperative and a critical gender justice issue, Gender Action co-sponsored a panel at Friends of the Earth International to examine energy access and World Bank energy financing. Gender Action arranged for Tito Soentoro of the Philippines based NGO Forum on the ADB to address the gender impacts of energy finance and climate change.

Speakers included Tito Soentoro, Elizabeth Bast of Oil Change International; Sunita Dubey of groundWork/Friends of the Earth South Africa; of Lidy Nacpil of Jubilee South - Asia/Pacific Movement on Debt and Development; Karen Orenstein of Friends of the Earth U.S.; and Titi Soentoro NADI Indonesia and the NGO Forum on ADB.

Gender, IFIs, and Food Insecurity
Tuesday, April 12, 12:00 pm
1776 I St, NW
Suite 600
Washington, DC

Gender Action, ActionAid, and Heinrich Boell hosted a panel to discuss the gendered impacts of IFI investments in agriculture and rural development. Panel speakers discussed the ways in which IFI investments exacerbate food insecurity and poverty in developing countries and thereby undermine the health and livelihoods of women and girls. The panel invited discussion on how civil society can advocate for rural development and agriculture investments that meaningfully involve women and girls as stakeholders and equally benefit women and men, boys and girls.

Panelists:
Marie Clark-Brill, ActionAid
Zaamu Kaboneke, Solutions for Women Development in Uganda
Elizabeth Arend, Gender Action

Watch video from this event

Roundtable on the 2012 World Bank "World Development Report"
Tuesday, April 12, 4:00 pm
1875 Connecticut Ave, NW
3rd Floor
Washington, DC

Gender Action and the Bretton Woods Project hosted a roundtable discussion on the Gender WDR 2012. The roundtable provided a fantastic opportunity for forum members in Washington, D.C. to meet in person to brainstorm about the Gender WDR and future objectives for the WDR Forum.

Gender Justice and the International Financial Institutions
Monday, April 4, 12:15 pm
Colorado State University, Fort Collins
Shepherdson Building, Room 118

Read Elaine's speech

VALUING CARE WORK
How can we make care more visible in national accounts?
Tuesday February 22nd 2011
55th Session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women parallel event
New York, NY

The panel discussed the importance of unpaid care work, primarily done by women to enable paid work and economic development. However unpaid care work continues to be largely ignored in national statistics and economic performance indicators. Women's indispensable work caring for household members, cleaning homes, collecting fuel and water, preparing food, and volunteering in community organisations, remains invisible in many national accounts. With UN Women now in place, civil society is calling for an ambitious review of economic and social indicators to recognise and value care work. This panel discussion drew on experts from both Southern and Northern organisations working to reframe the debate on growth and human development so as to value care work on the one hand and to challenge women's disproportionate responsibility for it on the other.

Presentations

• Measuring care in Zambia - Emily Sikazwe, Women for Change, Zambia; Board Member, Gender Action
• Caring Economics Campaign - Kimberly Otis, Center for Partnership Studies
• Moderator - Rachel Moussié, ActionAid International

Women's Leadership in the Green Economy
Good Jobs, Green Jobs Event
Presented by: Nicole Zarafonetis
February 9, 2011

Women are positioned to play a powerful role in achieving an economic model that serves people and the planet. From international business leaders to micro-level entrepreneurs, women around the world are advancing the green economy. This panel will discuss the importance of women's leadership, mentorship, and training; examine gender-responsive financing; and share examples of successful initiatives from around the world. Participants will consider how to build alliances to ensure women are leading and benefiting from the growing green economy.

Gender Justice and the International Financial Institutions (IFIs)
July 23, 2010
Mosaic International Gender Workshop
University of Ottawa

Elaine was one of several experts who presented at the Mosaic International Gender Workshop held in July at the University of Ottawa. You can read the transcript of Elaine's presentation here.

Gender Justice and the International Financial Institutions (IFIs) Brownbag
July 23, 2010
Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA)

Elaine was invited to present at a brownbag luncheon held at CIDA on July 23. You can read the transcript of Elaine's presentation here.

Commemorating World AIDS Day
December 1, 2009
Embassy of Zambia, Washington DC
Gender Action, The National Council of Women's Organizations and the Zambian Ambassador Tnonge Mbikusita-Lewanika jointly sponsored a discussion of

"HIV/AIDS and Gender Justice: Funding the Fight"

Panelists: Dr. Paul Zeitz, Executive Director of Global AIDS Alliance
Elaine Zuckerman, who spoke on Multilateral Development Banks' spending on HIV/AIDS and Reproductive Health
Regina Dumba, gender expert & educator

November 17, 2009
NCWO Meeting, Washington DC
Presentation on the IMF and Women
Elaine Zuckerman presented to the National Council of Women's Organization members on the US government's recent massive $106 billion appropriation to the International Monetary Fund to address the global financial and economic crises. She explained that Congress's funding required the IMF to take measures to prevent indebting the world's least developed counties and to permit these countries to undertake stimulus spending rather than cutbacks during recessions which result in shrinking social programs particularly harming women and children who constitute the majority of the poor. Congress also called for greater IMF transparency. However, President Obama attached a signing statement to the bill he signed, denying the IMF reforms, and instead giving the IMF a blank check.

October 6, 2009
Istanbul, Turkey
Gender Tools for IFI-Watchers
Speaker: Anna Rooke, Gender Action
Contributors: Alvin Carlos, BIC; Ama Marston, Bretton Woods Project; Red Constantino, NGO Forum on ADB; Johan Frijns, BankTrack
Moderator: Elaine Zuckerman, Gender Action

October 3, 2009
Istanbul, Turkey
The Gender Impacts of (Illegitimate) IMF and World Bank Debt
Speakers: Beverly Keene, Jubilee South; Anna Rooke, Gender Action
Moderator: Elaine Zuckerman, Gender Action and Jubilee USA Council
Co-Sponsored by Heinrich Boell Foundation, Jubilee South & Jubilee USA

July 14, 2009
Center for Women Policy Studies, Washington DC
Presentation to State Legislators
Elaine Zuckerman was among several experts invited to present at the Foreign Policy Institute for State Legislators, sharing her expertise on International Financial Institutions (IFIs) and their impact on women around the world. Ms. Zuckerman gave a background on the IFIs, explained the influence that the US wields as a member of the IFIs, and gave a brief description of Gender Action's most important current projects.

April 21, 2009
Gender Action, Washington DC
Workshop "Gender Tools for IFI-Watchers"
Gender Action conducted a workshop for civil society groups to guide them in ‘engendering’ their work on the IFIs or any other projects. Download our vital and user-friendly toolkit: Gender Toolkit for International Finance Watchers. (Anna Rooke, April 2009) All sections contain electronic hyperlinks to a vast array of available gender resources. Just click on an underlined word to be directed to the specific tool you need!

April 13, 2009
Bank Information Center, Washington DC
Workshop "Gender, IFI Transparency and the World Bank Disclosure Policy"
Gender Action staff members Anna Rooke and Mande Limbu led a workshop for the Bank Information Center on gender, transparency, access to information and the World Bank Disclosure Policy. The workshop highlighted the importance of integrating gender into the Bank’s 2009 Disclosure Policy review process in order to ensure both men and women benefit equally from information provision and outreach practices.

March 19th, 2009
World Bank Independent Evaluation Group (IEG) consultation session on Bank’s Gender Policies, with Elaine Zuckerman as invited panelist.
Problems in the World Bank’s Gender Action Plan and Gender Policy.

February 18th, 2009
Global Citizens for Change, Telephone Conference with Elaine Zuckerman as invited panelist.
Elaine Zuckerman gave her presentation on Women in the Global South and the Financial Crisis and shared her expert opinion with approximately 50 callers.

January 23rd, 2009
Washington, DC
Presentation by Elaine Zuckerman to International Honor Students. Ms. Zuckerman’s presentation focuses on the role of International Financial Institutions (IFIs) in the financial crisis and the role of Women. Read her full presentation Globalization and Health IHP Health and Community Program.

October 6-7th, 2008
Gender Action, Washington DC
IFI Watcher Workshop
The IF-watcher workshop is part of a larger 'Gender Capacity Building Project' (GCBP) initiated and financed by Oxfam Novib. The three-year project includes gender audits/projects with six IF-watcher organizations and a multi-partner workshop in the first year, followed by two years of individual gender capacity building, monitoring and evaluation for partners who have not yet initiated work on gender. The overall goal is to stimulate, extend and strengthen work on gender equality and women’s rights within the IF-watcher community in order to reduce the negative impacts of IFI and commercial bank lending, projects and policies on women and men worldwide.
- Read Elaine Zuckerman's presentation on Gender and Macroeconomic Policy.
- Look at pictures from the workshop.

February 21st, 2008
Crowne Plaza, Crystal City VA
Is it Worthwhile to Engage in PRPSs?: Capacity-Building Discussion with Members of the Youth Coalition for Sexual and Reproductive Rights from Asia, Africa, the Caribbean, and North and South America
Elaine Zuckerman spoke to the Youth Coalition for Sexual and Reproductive Rights about the negative gender impacts of PRSPs and alternative strategies for reducing poverty and empowering women.

Wednesday, October 31, 3:30-5:30PM
Georgetown University Law CenterElaine Zuckerman spoke about Gender Action’s work at a fellowship seminar hosted by the Women's Law and Public Policy Fellowship Program

Friday, October 19th 12:30-2pm (Brown Bag Lunch)
Environmental Law Institute, Washington, DC
Gender Justice: A Citizen's Guide to Gender Accountability at International Financial Institutions
At this event, Gender Action and the Center for International Environmental Law launched Gender Justice: A Citizen's Guide to Gender Accountability at International Financial Institutions, the first guide for taking gender discrimination cases to IFI accountability mechanisms! The Guide provides tools for women and men harmed by gender discrimination in IFI investments to use these mechanisms to seek redress. We find that despite IFI commitments to promote gender equality, only half of the eight IFIs we reviewed have policies to address gender issues in their work. These policies tend to be weak, poorly resourced and understaffed. Additionally, most IFIs have accountability mechanisms that enable people harmed by IFI investments to raise concerns about project impacts. Although these mechanisms have not yet been used to address gender issues, complaints based on gendered impacts could help ensure that the IFIs having gender policies comply with them. Gender Action is also pressuring IFIs lacking gender policies to adopt them to permit citizens to hold all IFIs accountable for gender discrimination caused by their projects.

Thursday, October 18th 12:30-2pm
The Moriah Fund, Washington, DC
Mapping Multilateral Development Banks' Reproductive Health and HIV/AIDS Spending
Gender Action presented Mapping Multilateral Development Banks' Reproductive Health and HIV/AIDS Spending—the first report assessing the quantity and quality of Multilateral Development Banks’ (MDBs’) spending for reproductive health and HIV/AIDS. Mapping demonstrates a decline in World Bank and little African Development Bank, Asian Development Bank, and Inter-American Development Bank loans and grants for reproductive health and HIV/AIDS. Mapping also charts unmet MDB commitments to reproductive health and HIV/AIDS, and harmful loan conditions such as restricting public spending which undermine poor countries' ability to address these key public health issues. Mapping provides evidence for conducting advocacy to improve MDB performance on achieving reproductive health, HIV/AIDS and other Millennium Development Goals. At this event we also discussed the World Bank's recent attempts to eliminate its commitments to reproductive health and family planning.

Wednesday, October 17th 3- 4:15pm
Lutheran Church of the Reformation, Washington DC
The Gender Impacts of Debt and the IFIs
Gender Action and Jubilee USA Network hosted this education session on gender, debt and the IFIs. We discussed how the often illegitimate and unpayable debt burden of poor countries disproportionately falls on women and girls. Indebted governments are forced to prioritize payments to rich country creditors over spending on essential services such as healthcare, education and clean water. Women and girls must make up for the shortfall, for example, by quitting their jobs to care for sick family members when public health services are reduced. The World Bank and International Monetary Fund require indebted countries to implement painful reforms such as water privatization. Water becomes unaffordable, increasing women's time spent collecting water. Another common IFI reform requires poor countries to impose user fees for basic services such as education. Girls are the first to be taken out of school when fees are imposed. We also highlighted debt relief successes, such as how Kenya and Uganda abolished user fees for primary school after receiving partial debt relief, which led to an immediate increase in girls’ enrollment!

Tuesday, September 25, 12noon-1:30PM
International Funding Investments for Gender Equality featuring Elaine Zuckerman
Sponsored by: Clearinghouse on Women's Issues
Location: American Council on Education, One Dupont Circle, 8th Floor Kellog Room, Washington DC

Tuesday, September 11, 12noon-1:30PM
Mapping Multilateral Development Banks’ Reproductive Health and HIV/AIDS Spending
A donor luncheon briefing with report authors Suzanna Dennis and Elaine Zuckerman
Sponsored by: Wallace Global Fund
Location: 1990 M Street, NW, Suite 250, Washington DC
RSVP: ktibone(at)popact.org or 202-557-3444

July 30-August 2, 2007
Gender Action and nearly one hundred gender-equality activists, policymakers and academics from around the world participated in the Heinrich Boell Foundation International Summer School 2007, "Engendering Economic Policies in a Globalizing World." Gender Action led the following events:

- Gender Impacts of Indebtedness and Structural Adjustment Policies, presentation by Elaine Zuckerman
- Gender and World Bank Post-Conflict Reconstruction, workshop facilitated by Suzanna Dennis
- Gender Justice: Gender Accountability at the International Financial Institutions, presentation by Suzanna Dennis

July 15-17, 2007 (Thailand)
Conference: Understanding Global Finance, Building International Resistance
Sponsored by: Bretton Woods Project, Eurodad, Fifty Years is Enough, Focus on the Global South, Gender Action, IDEAS, Jubilee South APMDD, and Solidarity Africa.
July 2007 marked the 10-year anniversary of the Asian Financial Crisis, which global activists commemorated with a conference in Bangkok, Thailand. As part of the events, Elaine Zuckerman presented on The Crisis of Multilateral Institutions of Global Financial Governance.

July 11, 2007
Mapping Multilateral Development Banks’ Reproductive Health and HIV/AIDS Spending
At Population Action International’s (PAI’s) office, Washington DC
A launch presentation with Suzanna Dennis and Elaine Zuckerman, moderated by Suzanne Ehlers of PAI

April 13, 2007
National Sovereignty Versus Aid Cartels in the Global South
Location: Gender Action Office, Washington DC
Event Sponsors: Jubilee USA, Action Aid USA, Gender Action, 50 Years is Enough Network, Center for Economic and Policy Research, and the Center of Concern.
Panelists:
- Nancy Alexander, Globalization Challenge Initiative, Washington
- Oscar Ugarteche, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México
- Mark Weisbrot, Center for Economic and Policy Research, Washington
- Sun Baohong, Counselor, Policy Analysis Section, Embassy of the People's Republic of ChinaChinese Government Official (invited)

April 11, 2007
Panel Discussion: Gender Impacts IFI Conditionalities
International Student House, Washington, DCElla Burling Hall
Co-Sponsored by Gender Action and the South Asian Women's Leadership Forum

Featuring:
- Elaine Zuckerman, Gender Action
- Suzanna Dennis, Gender Action
- Lidy Nacpil, Jubilee South Asia/Pacific
- Monét Cooper, Jubilee USA Network

This workshop launched our Gender Guide to World Bank and IMF Policy-Based Lending. International Financial Institution (IFI) investments such as those of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank often aggravate discrimination against women and girls by intensifying poverty, trafficking in and violence against women, prostitution and sexually transmitted diseases including HIV/AIDS. This is particularly true of IFI policy-based loans, which often require governments to implement reforms such as privatization of essential services and cutting government spending that reduce services to the poor.

Several IFIs have gender policies or strategies which tend to be poorly implemented and apply to projects but not policy-based lending. The World Bank's Operational Policy on Gender and Development specifically excludes policy-based operations. The IMF, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, and the European Investment Bank lack gender policies.

December 14, 2006
The Policy Space Debate: Does a globalized and multilateral economy constrain the ability of developing countries to pursue development policies?
Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, Washington DC

Featuring:
- Keynote speaker: Jomo Kwame Sundaram, United Nations (UN) Department of Economic and Social Affairs
- Heiner Flassbeck, UN Conference on Trade and Development
- Elaine Zuckerman, Gender Action
- Commentator Mark Allen, International Monetary Fund
Moderator: Bhumika Muchhala, Wilson Center

Elaine examined the gendered impacts of economic conditions attached to IFI loans which constrain policy space. The entire debate can be viewed by clicking on the event link above. Elaine’s presentation is in Part I of the video.

November 29, 2006
Boom-Time Blues: The Gender Impacts of Big IFI Financed Oil Projects
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Washington DC
Sponsored by the Bank Information Center, Gender Action and the Heinrich Böll Foundation
This panel discussion on Boom-Time Blues: Big Oil’s Gender Impacts in Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Sakhalin was moderated by Liane Schalatek (Heinrich Böll Foundation North America), included a welcome and introduction by Elaine Zuckerman (Gender Action), and presentations by:
- Fidanka Bacheva-McGrath, CEE Bankwatch Network
- Suzanna Dennis, Gender Action
- Manish Bapna, Bank Information Center

October 30, 2006
Elaine Zuckerman was a panelist on Setting the Post-Conflict Donor Agenda at The Center for Development and Population Activities' WomenLead in Promoting Peace and Stability Training, Washington DC

September 16, 2006
Elaine Zuckerman, How Gender Action Advocates for Change
Georgetown University Progressive Students' Conference, Washington DC

June 26-27, 2006
Elaine Zuckerman, Gender Action and Social Entrepreneurship
The Chicago Global Donors Network 3rd Annual Conference on International Giving

May 15, 2006
Elaine Zuckerman, The Gendered Impacts of IFI Investments
Syracuse University, Washington DC Campus

February 23, 2006
Elaine Zuckerman, The Gendered Impacts IFI Policies
American University, Washington DC

February 15, 2006
Elaine Zuckerman, Gender Action’s Advocacy Campaign on the IFIs: Empowering Women as Change Agents in Development
The Philanthropy West Workshop Alumni Network
The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, Menlo Park California

Elaine Zuckerman made three presentations at the last forum in this series, the Fourth Non-governmental Organization Forum on International Environmental Cooperation in China, held in November 2005 in Kunming, China as follows:

Tuesday November 8, 2005
How to Start an NGO

Wednesday November 9, 2005
Forum Opening Plenary Presentation. Elaine Zuckerman, invited to speak as the International NGO Representative, presented on:
An Historical Perspective on the Gender and Environmental Impacts of Economic Development and the Role of NGOs in China (1970-2005)

Thursday November 10, 2005
Gender and Biodiversity: The World Bank Track Record

Friday June 10, 2005
The Practices of NGOs: Why Gender Action?
Elaine Zuckerman's videoconference with students at the Shanghai Jiao Tong University in partnership with the George Washington Center for the Study of Globalization

In Bangkok in October 2005, Elaine Zuckerman presented at UNIFEM and at the Association for Women’s Rights in Development (AWID) Forum.

October 28, 2005
AWID Forum
The Gendered Impacts of the International Financial Institutions
Gender Action and Third World Forum – Africa co-sponsored this session that included the following speakers:
- Rose Mensah-Kutin, Abantu for Development, Ghana, Chair
- Dzodzi Tsikata, University of Ghana
- Junya Lek Yimprasert, Thai Labour Campaign, Thailand
- Alma Espino, International Gender and Trade Network, Uruguay

Elaine Zuckerman presented on the gendered impacts of IFI economic policy reforms in the context of the 25-year history of IFI structural adjustment programs. She presented examples from Gender Action’s publication The Gendered Impacts of Structural Adjustment: the Case of Serbia and Montenegro.

October 26, 2005
Elaine Zuckerman, How UNIFEM Can Influence Engendering Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers
In this presentation Elaine Zuckerman advised UNIFEM officials on how it can contribute to ensuring that PRSPs promote women’s rights and gender equality. She emphasized focusing on economic conditions and interventions.

September, 19, 2005
Engendering Macroeconomics in PRSPs
Therme, Bosnia & Herzegovina
At a workshop for BiH PRSP macroeconomics and gender team members and other PRSP stakeholders, Elaine Zuckerman presented on how macroeconomics ignores women’s work in the unpaid care economy; gender differences in paid employment and in policies affecting consumption, savings and investment; macrostability and social needs; revenue sources including taxation; PRSPs and related structural adjustment measures; and the gender impacts of trade.

September 13, 2005
An Introduction to Gender Budget Initiatives (GBIs)
Elaine Zuckerman presented a paper on this theme to a group of BiH gender experts as a basis for brainstorming with them on BiH’s early gender budget analyses and advocacy outcomes and to explore other countries’ best practices.

June 21, 2005
The Gender Dimensions of Post-Conflict Reconstruction
Institute for Women’s Policy Research Conference, Omni Shoreham Hotel, Washington DC, USA
Roundtable Discussion Sponsored by Gender Action and the Heinrich Böll Foundation

Presentations by:
- Elaine Zuckerman, President of Gender Action
- Marcia Greenberg, Consultant and Adjust Professor of Law, Cornell University
- Nata Duvvury, Gender, Violence and Rights Director at the International Center for Research on Women
Moderator: Liane Schalatek, Deputy Director of the Heinrich Böll Foundation USA

June 10, 2005
How to Start an NGO
From a George Washington University teleconference site, Elaine Zuckerman presented to a class of about 100 students at Jiaotong University in Shanghai, China. She discussed her life and studies in 1970s China; her work on China and on the social impact of structural adjustment during the 1980s for the World Bank and in the 1990s on Latin America for the Inter-American Development Bank; and how these experiences impassioned her to establish an NGO to hold the IFIs accountable on their unkept gender-equality promises. Then she discussed mechanisms for establishing an NGO that are reflected in her November 8 outline, How to Start an NGO

May 15, 2005
The Gendered Impacts of IFI Investments
Maxwell School of Syracuse University, Washington DC Campus
Elaine Zuckerman presented to a graduate class on the gendered impacts of IFI structural adjustment loans, poverty reduction strategies and post-conflict investments.

May 13, 2005
Wangari Maathai, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate of 2004 Fundraiser Benefiting the Green Belt Movement
Women, Development and the Future
Co-Sponsored by the Women’s Edge Coalition, the Academy for Educational Development, Gender Action, and other citizen’s groups
AED Academy Hall, Washington DC, USA

May 2, 2005
Gender and the IFIs
University of Kansas, Lawrence Kansas
Elaine Zuckerman made two presentations at the University of Kansas. First she made a public presentation on gender and the IFIs. Second she presented to a graduate class on Gender Action’s work around the IFIs.

April 9, 2005
Partners in Help or Partners in Crime?: Structural Adjustment Programs, Policies of the World Bank, IMF, WTO, and their Impact on Poverty
The Feminist Majority Foundation National Collegiate Global Women’s Rights and Human Rights Conference, Arlington Virginia

Panel presentations by:
- Elaine Zuckerman, President, Gender Action
- Marie Clark Brill, Director for Public Education and Mobilization, Africa Action
- Rick Rowden, Policy Analyst, ActionAid International
Moderator: Jessie Raeder, Campus Organizer, Feminist Majority Foundation

In her presentation, Elaine Zuckerman argued that IFI Structural Adjustment Lending further impoverishes women, who already comprise 70% of the world’s poor. Zuckerman made a Call to Action for IFIs and other “donors” to target 70% of an improved version of their aid to women.

September 29, 2004
Gender and Post-conflict Reconstruction: The World Bank Track Record
Sponsored by the Heinrich Böll Foundation
The Brookings Institution, Washington DC

Panel Presentations by:
- Elaine Zuckerman, President Gender Action
- Marcia Greenberg, Adjunct Law Professor, Cornell University
- Ian Bannon, Manager Conflict Prevention and Reconstruction Unit, The World Bank
- Sanam Naraghi Anderlini, Director, Policy Commission, Women Waging Peace
- Anita Sharma, Director, Conflict Prevention Project, The Woodrow Wilson Center
Introduction/Moderator: Adriana Quinones, Heinrich Böll Foundation

Many conflict resolution approaches have advocated women’s participation during conflict and peace negotiations, humanitarian assistance, and peacekeeping. Elaine Zuckerman and Marcia Greenberg presented their paper addressing women’s inclusion and gender issues in the reconstruction that follows by examining the post conflict reconstruction gender dimensions of social, economic and political development and the weak World Bank track record in integrating gender dimensions into its post-conflict grants and loans.

July 12, 2004
Elaine Zuckerman, Gender, Development and the IFIs
American University, Washington DC
Gender and Peacebuilding in Development Course

January 13th, 2004
Reforming the World Bank: Will the New Gender Strategy Make a Difference?
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Washington DC
Sponsored by Gender Action, The Heinrich Böll Foundation and The Bank Information Center

Panel Presentations by:
- Elaine Zuckerman, President, Gender Action
- Karen Mason, Director, Gender and Development, The World Bank
- Nasreen Khundker, Professor of Economics, University of Dhaka, Bangladesh
- Bruce Jenkins, Policy Director, Bank Information Center
Introduction/Moderator: Liane Schalatek, Heinrich Böll Foundation

International development research demonstrates compellingly that greater gender equality translates into greater economic growth and less poverty worldwide. Thus, there are many good reasons to promote engendering – or ensuring gender considerations are included in – World Bank investments, programs, projects, and initiatives. With its 2002 Gender Mainstreaming Strategy, "Integrating Gender in the World Bank’s Work: A Strategy in Action," the World Bank promotes the "business" and "poverty reduction" cases for engendering World Bank initiatives.

This panel discussion assessed the strengths, weaknesses, the implementation track record and the potential effectiveness of the Bank’s Gender Mainstreaming Strategy and made recommendations on how to strengthen it. It presented the results of a study on the World Bank’s Gender Mainstreaming Strategy by Elaine Zuckerman, Gender Action, and Wu Qing, China Women’s Health Network which was commissioned by the Heinrich Böll Foundation.

A Gentle Touch? Gender and the World Bank — A Critical Assessment, presented by Nasreen Khundker.

An updated version of this study titled, Reforming the World Bank: Will the Gender Strategy Make a Difference? A Study with China Case Examples is available on our Publications page.

December 2003
Engendering PRSPs: The Track Record and Key Entry Points
Conference on Engendering PRSPs in Africa, December 2003
Nairobi, Kenya
Sponsored by GTZ

Elaine Zuckerman presented on the PRSP track record in addressing gender issues. Click here to view her slide presentation which is also available on the conference website.

April 13, 2003
Elaine Zuckerman, The Gendered Impact of Multilateral Investments
Concordia/Universite de Quebec a Montreal Conference, Women’s Access to the Economy in the current Period of Economic Integration of the Americas: What Economy?
Montreal, Canada

January 15, 2003
Elaine Zuckerman and Ashley Garrett, PRSPs and Gender
At the International Center for Research on Women (ICRW)
Brown Bag lunch workshop co-Sponsored by ICRW, InterAction’s Commission on the Advancement of Women (CAW) and Committee on Development Policy and Practice (CDPP) and Gender Action

June 23, 2003
Gender Action One-Year Anniversary Launch Reception
Gender Action celebrated its official launch through a reception held on its one year anniversary. About 125 people participated in this celebration.

Bill Drayton, Gender Action seed and steadfast funder, whom US News and World Report honored on its cover as one of America's 25 Best Leaders in 2005, and Business Week cited as one of America’s most creative philanthropists in 2004 for developing the field of social entrepreneurship through Ashoka: Innovators for the Public, introduced Elaine Zuckerman. He portrayed her social "intrapreneurial" track record inside the international financial institutions. Drayton said, "Gender Action is taking on the biggest and most complex players at the international level and getting them to change. If any organization will succeed in this challenge, it is Gender Action because of its strong leadership."

Elaine Zuckerman described Gender Action's programs (see the About Us page) and presented Joanna Kerr, the Executive Director of the Association for Women's Rights in Development (AWID), Gender Action's Achievement Award for Kerr's outstanding transformation of AWID into a globally influential women's rights advocacy organization.

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