Although employment is usually seen as a resource for women’s empowerment, it does not automatically translate into better status and lower rates of violence for women. In fact, in some settings, if gendered norms that support men’s violence against women are not addressed, the economic empowerment of women can inadvertently propagate gender-based violence (GBV). For example, when work is a major defining factor of masculinity, working women may face a greater risk of domestic violence.

While the ensuing media outcry quickly forced Thornley to backtrack on his comments, the reality his slide so eloquently put into words is not so easily revised. Even in Silicon Valley, considered one of the most forward-thinking industries in the world, women continue to be paid less than their male counterparts.

“What we want to get to is a place where we look at the human and not the colour, where we are not hampered by what we see. See within. Anyone can tell that story. It may be that there is a sort of access point that makes it easier for us to tell stories either from a western perspective or with a western face, because that is what we’re used to. What we must constantly do is change the access point, in order to create a fairer world.”

“Movements are destroyed by conflicts over money, power, and credit. We have to take seriously the impact of not being able to have principled disagreement, or we’re not going to be around very long.”

- Alicia Garza, an African-American activist, a labor organizer, and writer who lives in Oakland, California. She is one of the founders of the Black Lives Matter movement, and also works as the Director of Special Projects at the National Domestic Workers Alliance. She has organized around the issues of health, student services and rights, rights for domestic workers, ending police brutality, anti-racism, and violence against and gender non-conforming people of color.

The problem is that once an investor arrives to “consult with” a community, it may be too late. After a deal has been made in capital city conference rooms or in clandestine meetings between chiefs and company representatives, communities are forced on the defensive. At this point, all they can do is try to mitigate the negative impacts of investors' plans rather than assertively proclaiming their legal rights, demanding that the investor abide by FPIC principles, and then choosing whether to reject the investment or accept it on terms that ensure that the community benefits and prospers.

Meanwhile, many of the “investors” grabbing land are national or local elites unaccountable to international institutions – the cousin of the President or the nephew of the Minister – who operate with complete impunity, protected by powerful connections to government, the judiciary and the police. Such individuals do not answer to shareholders or complaint boards, and are not the least bit concerned with principles of corporate social responsibility. If a community’s land claims are unrecognized or undocumented – and if the community’s leadership is weak or corrupt – the easier it is for these elites to manipulate their power to claim what land they want.

To have a fighting chance against elites’ bad­faith actions, communities must proactively take steps to know and enforce their rights, prevent their leaders from transacting land without community approval, and seek legal recognition of their land claims. And they must do so before elites and investors arrive.

The recently-published Regional Economic Outlook for Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) by the International Monetary Fund underscores the enduring view of international financial institutions that the depth, pace and perfecting of structural reforms needs to continue, not only for competitiveness and growth but also for resilience should external headwinds emerge. The report also presents an important opportunity to further develop this agenda, by the additional treatment of the underlying causes, particularly non-price based ones, and thereby generate a more actionable view of the growth, competitiveness and equality trends so incisively presented in the report.

People, Spaces, Deliberation bloggers present exceptional campaign art from all over the world. These examples are meant to inspire.

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) individuals face many difficulties, but perhaps one of the most difficult is dealing with the stereotypes that are attributed to their status. A new video from the United Nations Human Rights office highlights their diversity and shows LGBTI as the normal, accomplished individuals that they are. Among the faces we meet in the video are a firefighter, a police officer, a teacher, an electrician, a doctor, and a volunteer, as well as prominent straight ally UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

Gender is a big deal in Oxfam, and I’ve often been struck by what the rest of the development business can learn from progress on gender rights, and the activism that underpins it. For starters:

Power begins with ‘power within’, when previously marginalized people kindle their sense of rights, dignity and voice. Far more of our work should start there.

Norms really matter. Gender activism shows just how shallow a lot of advocacy can be, when it concentrates on the ephemera of policy, and ignores the social norms that underpin identity and injustice. And international movements can have real impact on those norms.

Stamina: any struggle worth its salt takes decades – you don’t just look for a quick win and move on.

The world beyond money – work on areas such as the ‘care economy’ highlights just how much of what really matters lies outside the monetary economy that dominates thinking on development. We should be talking about shame and joy as much as about income and assets.

(I also happen to think the gender activists could learn useful lessons from others, but that’s another post.)

Child marriage, defined by UNICEF as a marriage or informal union before age 18, is a violation of human rights. It is a reality for both boys and girls but disproportionately affects young females. Globally, more than 700 million women alive today were married as before age 18, and more than 1 in 3 – or about 250 million – were married before age 15.

The following video is a partnership between UNICEF and trap artist RL Grime and tells the story of child marriage through the eyes of one young girl in Chad. Chad has the third highest rate of child marriage in the world, behind Niger and Central African Republic, and 68% of its girls are married as children. Unlike many other countries, the practice is prevalent in both wealthy and less wealthy households. Child marriage compromises the development of girls because it interrupts schooling, limits career and vocational opportunities, and places girls at increased risk of complications during pregnancy or childbirth. The video captures all of this.

Our Top Ten blog posts by readership in 2014.
This post was originally posted on December 02, 2014

I am pretty sure that most readers of this reflection were not aware that on November 19, we were supposed to observe International Men’s Day (IMD). I am also pretty confident that in most cases the slim majority (50.4%) of the global population wasn’t celebrated either. If my assumption is incorrect, please let me know, as it would make my day to learn otherwise.

IMD was inaugurated on November 19, 1999 in Trinidad and Tobago, although calls for this civil awareness day can be traced to the 1960’s. The objectives of celebrating an IMD include focusing on men’s and boy’s health, improving gender relations, promoting gender equality, furnishing opportunities for gender balance, and highlighting positive role models. IMD is observed in almost 60 countries and is not intended to compete with International Women’s Day (IWD). The theme for the 2014 IMD was “Working Together for Men and Boys.”

It might be seen as an idea whose time has come. After all, men are proclaimed as endangered. We’re dying younger and living in poorer health than women. Men are more likely to be in prison and less likely to be in college than their female peers. Boys commit suicide more often than girls.