By Menachem Wecker
March is Women’s History Month, so George Washington Today caught up with Barbara Miller, associate dean for faculty affairs at the Elliott School and professor of anthropology and international affairs, to discuss some of the challenges facing women and girls worldwide, and the ways they are being studied at GW.
Dr. Miller, who directs the Culture in Global Affairs research and policy program and the Global Gender Initiative, writes a blog called Anthropologyworks and has just launched another blog called Global Gender Current.
Q: What are some of the most important initiatives and projects about women and girls at GW that the community should know about?
A: Here is a sample:
- A high-level search for a director for the to-be-established cross-university Global Women’s Institute;
- Naomi Cahn, John Theodore Fey Research Professor of Law, who studies masculinities in post-conflict societies of Africa;
- Susan Wood, associate professor of health policy and of environmental and occupational health, who is tracking inclusion of women in clinical studies;
- Dan Moshenberg, director of the Women’s Studies Program and associate professor of English, who is working on a new donor-funded project on women and aging;
- Jim Williams, associate director of the Graduate School of Education and Human Development’s Office of International Activities and associate professor of international education and international affairs, who is studying the ways marginalized groups are being included in education in Liberia;
- Rachel Brem, director of breast imaging and intervention and professor of radiology at the GW Medical Center, who is working on translational research for improved breast cancer screening and testing;
- Toni Marsh, founding director of the paralegal studies program, who is working to train paralegals in Tanzania;
- Shelly Heller, associate provost for academic affairs at the Mount Vernon Campus and director of the Elizabeth Somers Women’s Leadership Program, who is studying women in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) careers;
- Shaista Khilji, associate professor of human and organizational learning, who is studying women and the glass ceiling; and
- Andrea Bertone, visiting assistant professor of international affairs, who researches sex trafficking as a global social movement.
Q: During this women’s history month, what are some of the greatest challenges facing women and girls worldwide?
A: Access to secure livelihoods and technological innovations, political security and protection during conflicts, involvement in peacemaking and war prevention, protection from damaging effects of global warming and environmental destruction, such as pollution of ground water, involvement in all decision-making processes that affect their lives, and access to health care and education.
Q: You wrote on Anthropologyworks about a list of the top 100 anthropologists working on behalf of women. Who would be the top three people on that list?
A: It seems that the question I posed was very challenging, as no reader responded with ideas. I named Paul Farmer to get people thinking! I am also a great admirer of Marion Pratt who works in USAID’s Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance and is currently in Peru. My good friends Deborah Rubin and Deborah Caro are co-founders and co-presidents of a consulting company called Cultural Practice, which does excellent applied work with and for women and girls in developing countries—for example, providing training about how to prevent domestic violence.
Here in D.C. at the Institute for Women’s Policy Research, Jane Henrici does policy research related to improving the lives of women and girls in Latin America and the Caribbean. I know I am missing a lot, but I am over my quota!
Q: You recently held a discussion at the Elliott School titled Women Working for Women. What were some of the most important things that were discussed?
A: This was an inspiring panel of six young women professionals moderated by Afeefa Syeed of USAID’s Asia and Middle East Bureaus.
Each panelist discussed some aspect of her work, and the stories were all riveting from witnessing exploitation of women in El Salvador and more hopeful stories of teaching women in Mali how to quilt and start a cooperative business.
During the Q&A, important issues included:
- How can men become involved in helping improve the lives of women and girls?
- Is the West imposing its value of gender equality on the rest of the world, and if so is that a good or bad thing?
- How can women and girls become empowered in countries where powerful political and cultural forces do not support gender equality?
Some important avenues of women’s empowerment are the mainstays such as education, skills training, leadership training and access to microcredit. Several people mentioned the need to include men and boys, especially male youth.
Q: Obviously you don’t have access to a crystal ball, but if you had to predict what some of the largest issues that will face women and girls between this women’s history month and next year’s are, what would you say?
A: My big three are safe food and water, protection from violence in times of economic strain and political upheaval, and being able to attend school.
Of course, none of these touches the issue I have studied my entire academic life: the missing millions of girls and women, mainly in India and China, due to families not wanting to raise a daughter and selectively neglecting or aborting them. They don’t even have a chance to be born!