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“A balm for the soul”
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GOOD PEOPLE Book
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Equal Everywhere

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This story was originally shared on #EqualEverywhere — a campaign to champion the changemakers working to make equality for girls and women a reality. You can find the original story here.

Christine T. Rose is founder and CEO of Christine Rose Coaching & Consulting, a boutique coaching firm in the greater Seattle area dedicated to facilitating and accelerating transformation for individuals and organizations. The firm has helped business leaders grow their leadership skills, teams, and companies since 2015. Christine's book, Life Beyond #MeToo: Creating a Safer World for our Mothers, Daughters, Sisters and Friends, lays out a vision for freedom from violence and discrimination and offers tools for taking action to change the world.

Why do you advocate for equal rights for girls and women?

I grew up in a home with three sexual abusers. My early life was traumatic. In fact, I've forgotten much of my childhood and made some very poor decisions about relationships with men as a result. I've spent years working with counselors and coaches, reclaiming my life and rebuilding on the ashes of past abuse. I also have experienced workplace sexual harassment. I've volunteered and coached and worked with countless girls and women who have shared stories of harassment, abuse, and violence. I have felt the call to use what I know about coaching to help others who have faced similar challenges. Even recently, since press releases about the book have gone out, I've been subjected to online sexual harassment from people I've never met. It's an epidemic which needs immediate attention around the world.


I wrote about this subject in my Life Beyond #MeToo book because we live in a world that is unsafe and unjust, where girls and women are not treated equally but are objectified and abused — where one third will be victims of violence and more are harassed. I believe it is past time for this old normal to end. It is time for a new normal where girls and women are honored and valued — not only for who they are, but also for the unique gifts and talents they bring to the world. The world has nothing to lose and everything to gain from working together to create this new normal.

What does #EqualEverywhere mean to you?

I dream of a new normal where all people are respected and honored for their unique gifts and have equal opportunities to live and learn and grow and earn and lead, while they contribute their brilliance to the world.

What motivates you to do this work?

The silence of millions of girls who were not born due to gender discrimination, the silence of countless more who endure harassment and abuse daily, and the outcry of those who dare to raise their voices against injustice is more than enough motivation for me and for the entire human race to engage in creating a new normal.

What are the main challenges you experience in your work to advance gender equality?

Like most who are engaged in work to advance gender equality, I am under resourced — one small voice in a community that deserves more attention. I write about some of the obstacles to change in my book.

What progress are you seeing as a result of your work?

Life Beyond #MeToo reached #1 in Amazon.com's new release in the Workplace Behavior category the day it launched and is receiving five star reviews. Men and women are saying "I get it now." I'm very encouraged that people are recognizing that we all need to engage to create the kind of culture change it will take to make gender equity a reality.

What progress are you seeing in the wider gender equality movement?

I believe silos are breaking down and diverse groups and people are coming together to do the work that will allow for norms to shift. As a result, more ideas and knowledge are spreading to raise awareness and to advance change. The #MeToo movement created an unprecedented opportunity for open conversations about gender equality. The world is seeing small shifts in how women are treated, and I write about some of these in my book.

United Nations Foundation
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This story was originally shared on #EqualEverywhere — a campaign to champion the changemakers working to make equality for girls and women a reality. You can find the original story here.

London J. Bell is Founder and President of the Bell Global Justice Institute. She is connecting the drive for equality from Michigan to the world while raising awareness about what it will take to fulfill the Sustainable Development Goals. Bell is also a member of UNA-USA, and is a UNA Women Co-Chair.

What does #EqualEverywhere mean to you?

To me #EqualEverywhere means gender equality in every area of life for every global citizen. #EqualEverywhere means equal pay, equal access to healthcare, education, and employment opportunities for all. #EqualEverywhere means equal access to participation in the political process on local, national, and international levels. #EqualEverywhere means the eradication of all forms of violence against women and girls.

Why do you advocate for equal rights for girls and women?

I advocate because I know the impact of the oppression of girls and women around the world. I am particularly concerned with violence against women and girls and the lack of access to justice for victims and survivors as well as the impunity of perpetrators. The absence of justice reinforces the belief that the dehumanization of women and girls is acceptable and normal. As an advocate, I use my voice to let law and policy makers know that the dehumanization of women and girls is 100% unacceptable. I am particularly vocal about laws, policies, and customs that strengthen protections for women and girls locally and globally.

What motivates me to do this work?

I am motivated to do this work because I know the lives of women and girls are at risk of violence around the world every hour of the day. I grew up in Detroit, Michigan, where women and girls are often impacted by violence in many forms. This past summer, I was deeply troubled when I learned that, within the span of one week, four African-American women were murdered in Detroit. In response to this violence, in August 2019, I organized and led a Universal Periodic Review Consultation Session (UPR) on gender-based violence with fellow members of the United Nations Association of Greater Detroit. Our Consultation Session was included in UNA-USA's National UPR Consultation ahead of the country's scheduled appearance before the UN as part of its Periodic Review in May 2020. When we held our UPR Session at Wayne State University Law School in Detroit, an inter-generational, intercultural group of about 25 community leaders offered personal stories, observations, and recommendations for the U.S. to address systemic issues that perpetuate all forms of violence against women here at home and globally. As an advocate, a member of UNA-USA, and as a UNA Women Co-Chair, I will continue to use my voice to empower women and girls and to demand accountability in every area of life where women and girls are adversely impacted.


What are the main challenges you experience in your work to demand gender equality?

One main challenge for me is sitting down with people in my community and even my family and having tough conversations around the systemic oppression of women and girls, the intersectionalities of women and girls, and the ways in which power and privilege work against gender equality. I have had many hard conversations with very well-meaning people who may not even realize how laws, policies, institutions, and systems continue to subjugate women and girls, even institutions and systems that many among us may benefit from. Though these conversations are challenging, most people are open to becoming part of the solution and resist adhering to their preexisting views and opinions. The more we dialogue about achieving gender equality as a community, the closer we move toward making it a reality. I am committed to continuing these conversations to bring us closer to gender equality, one person at a time.

What progress are you seeing as a result of your work?

As a human rights advocate, I spend time with young people discussing issues around human rights, gender inequality, and the UN's Sustainable Development Goals. When I talk with young people, I am so encouraged to hear girls and young women speak about ways they assert themselves in different situations and offer ideas for empowering themselves and fellow young women and girls. In addition, I have had the privilege to conduct a workshop about gender inequality with high school boys at Cass Tech High School in Detroit. When I walked into the room and asked for a show of hands of how many of the boys supported gender equality and supported women's and girls' rights, every boy raised their hand with enthusiasm. These are important examples of progress for me.

What progress are you seeing in the wider gender equality movement?

I am seeing that the movement for gender equality is everywhere! I was very excited when I learned Secretary-General Guterres declared himself a feminist at the 62nd session of the Commission on the Status of Women in 2018 (CSW62). I am happy to see the UN work toward gender equality under his leadership. The movement toward electing more women to government positions in Rwanda and Ethiopia is also exciting. Here in the U.S., more women, particularly women of color, are running for office at every level of government and are in turn being sworn in at every level of government. When women are at the table when laws and policies are created, the needs of women and girls are more likely to be considered. This is progress to me.

United Nations Foundation
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This story was originally shared on #EqualEverywhere — a campaign to champion the changemakers working to make equality for girls and women a reality. You can find the original story here.

Caroline Gatwiri Mutiwiri is a gender statistician at the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics.

What does #EqualEverywhere mean to you?
#EqualEverywhere is fundamentally about fairness. It means that women and men as well as girls and boys enjoy the same rights, resources, opportunities and protections, irrespective of their orientation, gender, or any other defining characteristic. Notably, #EqualEverywhere does not assume uniform treatment of all people, since deliberate steps are needed to reach gender parity and to redress the exclusion of girls, women, and marginalized groups.

Why do you advocate for equal rights for girls and women?
Men and women are not equal and gender affects an individual's living experience. Gender equality is a fundamental human right and is essential to a prosperous, sustainable world. Inequalities faced by girls begin right at birth and follow them all their lives. Women and girls represent half of the world's population — empowering them can facilitate a more peaceful society where everyones' full potential can be realized. By accelerating social progress, gender equality can correct the long-held status quo of men being better positioned in social, economic, and political arena than women.

What motivates you to do this work?
Steady progress in integrating gender perspectives into development policies over the past few decades has motivated me. Kenya's progress across many sectors is a case in point. According to World Bank data, the share of Kenya's waged and salaried female workers in the labor force rose from 19.4% in 2000 to 23% in 2018, a significant shift, albeit still low when compared to men, who constitute 53.2% of the workforce. News of this disparity led to a push for equality everywhere. Nonetheless, women globally earn 77 cents for every dollar that men receive for the same work, so clearly, we are far from #EqualEverywhere. Likewise, more effort is required in the economic and political sectors where the disparities persist and where legislative reforms and affirmative action are needed.


What are the main challenges you experience in your work to advance gender equality?
A lack of political goodwill, inadequate legal protections, weak legislative enforcement and resource shortfalls are delaying advances. Gender stereotyping and lack of awareness regarding what constitutes gender-sensitive policy making persists. Kenya, for instance, has struggled to pass Bill 2018, known as the Gender Bill, due to lack of political will.

What progress are you seeing as a result of your work?
As awareness of gender inequalities spreads, discussions are opening up — people are beginning to reject gender stereotypes, some of which are formed in the workplace. As gender advocacy begins to gain traction, more men accept that women can also hold the same positions as them and make positive contributions inside and outside the workplace. The realization that gender is not solely a women's issue but rather an all-inclusive priority for both men and women is taking hold. In addition, the frequency with which a gender dimension is included in processing and analyzing data is growing.

What progress are you seeing in the wider gender equality movement?
Harassment and violence perpetrated against women in the workplace are being identified and handled and racial discrimination is easing. Women are increasingly becoming role models, challenging the notion of male chauvinism and dominance. More and more women are joining the labor force and the push to select female CEOs and to foster entrepreneurship among women is intensifying, particularly in big economies like the U.S. This motivates other countries and international bodies to champion for gender equality. The rise of women in politics, which has long been dominated by men, is also encouraging.

United Nations Foundation
True

This story was originally shared on #EqualEverywhere — a campaign to champion the changemakers working to make equality for girls and women a reality. You can find the original story here.

Kritika Singh is a bioengineering and chemistry student at Northeastern University in Boston, MA who in 2014 founded Malaria Free World, an initiative promoting research and education about the epidemic. In 2017, she established Northeastern's Global Health Initiative (GHI) with support from faculty advisors. GHI is a student-led conference focused on public health issues around the world. Kritika is a recent Rhodes Scholarship awardee, a Truman Scholar, and a Goldwater Scholar.

What does #EqualEverywhere mean to you?
#EqualEverywhere means women and girls feel empowered to do whatever they want in whichever field(s) they want.

Why do you advocate for equal rights for girls and women?
I advocate for equal rights for girls and women because it is our right to be successful in any field we choose. The most important thing for the next generation of girls is to have role models in the fields they want to go into. Right now, there are not enough leadership positions in engineering, science, medicine, or policy held by women. This needs to change. Women are half the world's population — not having them seated at decision-making tables, especially in global health, impairs program development and undermines public health efforts. We need an equal balance of leadership so that all voices are represented at the highest echelons. For example, there has only ever been one female Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). We need more women leaders to bridge the gaps between health policy, biomedical research, and clinical medicine, which is why I aspire to be a physician, a scientist, and advocate.


What motivates you to do this work?
Growing up, I was inspired by my mom – the first female engineer in her family. She worked hard, broke stereotypes of what a girl at that time in India should be, and was at the top of her class in her male-dominated electrical-engineering degree program. She inspired me to pursue math in middle and high school and then I fell in love with biology and chemistry. This led me to pursue a bioengineering degree at Northeastern University where I am surrounded by inspiring faculty and fellow students. My mentor at the lab where I work also inspires and pushes me to pursue my research at the intersection of bioengineering and chemical biology. Growing up at home with a strong female engineer, being part of women-in-STEM communities in high school, and now, working with strong female scientists, I understand the importance that these communities and mentors have played in my life and in motivating me to continue my path in science, medicine, and advocacy. I strive to help build and continue these communities through my work with Malaria Free World and the Northeastern University Global Health Initiative.

United Nations Foundation

What are the main challenges you experience in your work to advance gender equality?
Some of the main challenges are breaking into fields dominated by men. According to the Harvard Business Review, although 80 percent of the healthcare workforce is female, only 3 percent of healthcare CEOs and 6 percent of department chairs are female. Some early challenges that I encountered breaking into STEM were that, in middle school, I was the only girl on the chess team and the only girl selected for our competitive math team. There was lots of bullying, teasing, and being called 'a nerd' associated with this but, I was very lucky to have good mentors and role models who inspired me to keep going. Now, in my work, it is exciting to see girls so interested in STEM at an early age. I think the main challenge is to continue that enthusiasm through college and into the workforce or graduate school.

What progress are you seeing as a result of your work?
In the past year, as part of Malaria Free World's Malaria Masters program, we have recruited eight high-school girls who want to pursue science. These girls are in positions of leadership at their schools and in their states and are inspiring others to pursue careers in infectious disease research and advocacy. In our most recent Northeastern University Global Health Initiative Conference in February 2020, we had a majority of female attendees and speakers (28 women out of our 44 high-level speakers). This was a great move forward from our previous conference at which only 9 out of our 27 speakers were female. In survey responses this year, people noted that they were inspired by the strong women presenting on their leadership in global health efforts and by the diversity and equality that our speaker selection showed.

What progress are you seeing in the wider gender equality movement?
I am seeing more girls pursue science and engineering. For example, in my bioengineering core classes, there are now more girls than boys. Additionally, this year there are more girls than boys in the Rhodes scholarship class. This is very encouraging, because there will likely be more female leaders and role models who will help create gender balance in STEM as well as in public health.