Why Women?

Marie Berry

IGLI Summer Institute

Guiding Questions

Why do women matter in movements for social change?

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How have women mattered historically in civil resistance and efforts to build peace?

Women’s Historical Roles in Social Movements

“Most of what we commonly call women’s history is actually the history of women’s role in the development of nonviolent action”

• Pam McAllister (1999:1)

Two trends

1. Women mobilize with other marginalized groups for rights, gender equality gets put on the agenda
2. Women mobilize for rights as women; nonviolent movements for all human rights and democracy are strengthened

→ Positive feedback loop which has allowed women to struggle for their own rights and the capabilities of all human beings (Codur and King 2015: 415)

Women’s Strategic Advantages during Civil Resistance

• Women’s presence often lowers level of violence and repression from security forces
• Women are often best keepers of nonviolent movement inside the movement
• Women tend to organize in horizontal networks, which can be more efficient and resilient for a movement than male-run hierarchical systems
• Women display fewer internal rivalries and can often achieve greater unity than male activists
• Women show a greater ability than men to build ties of solidarity across and beyond societal lines of division (e.g., religious, economic, ethnic, political)

(Codur & King, 2015: 433)

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Do these ring true in your experience?

Women as peacebuilders/peacemakers

• Peace is both more likely and more durable when women are involved
• Women’s participation in conflict prevention and resolution can improve outcomes before, during, and after conflict
• But, women comprise: 3% of mediators; 3% of signatores; and 9 % of negotiatpors in major peace processes between 1992-2017 (UN Women and CFR)

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References to Women and Gender-Based Violence in Peace Agreements between 1990-2017 (n=1187) �Source: Pa-X and CFR

Intersectional People Power

We have to think intersectionally about power and oppression – women aren’t a monolithic category

Thus, where is our power as women in movements, and how do we wield it?

What happens when women participate in movements that are battling patriarchy/racism/colonialism/authoritarianism, but are within movements that often embody some of these same systems of oppression?

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The Need for Leadership

Organized collective action to challenge the status quo, as opposed to the occasional outburst of resentment, does not "just happen”…it requires leadership that goes far beyond a stereotypical charismatic public persona with whom it is often identified. The capacity of a social movement for effective action depends largely on the depth, breadth, and quality of leadership able to turn opportunity to purpose. Mobilizing others to achieve purpose under conditions of uncertainty— what leaders do—challenges the hands, the head, and the heart.” – Marshall Ganz (2011: 273)

BUT

So much of our understanding of leadership comes from traditional male forms of authority

• How can we disrupt individualist expectations of leadership and instead center those that devalue ego and uplift the collective?
• How are collaboration and creativity seen as leadership values?

What does feminist leadership look like?

From charter:

• We recognize that we do not have a homogenous identity as feminists - we acknowledge and celebrate our diversities and our shared commitment to a transformatory agenda
• As feminist leaders we are committed to making a critical difference in leadership, based on the understanding that the quality of women’s leadership is even more important than the numbers of women in leadership. We believe in and commit ourselves to the following:
• Disciplined work ethics guided by integrity and accountability at all times  
• Expanding and strengthening a multi-generational network and pool of feminist leaders across the continent
• Crediting African women’s labour, intellectual and otherwise in our work.

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What does your leadership look like?

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• Break into groups of 3 (5 min each)
• Introduce yourself by answering the following questions:
• Who are you?
• What are three values you care about?
• Whose shoulders do you stand on? In other words, whose work do you build on? What traditions do you honor in your work?
• How do you work for transformative change?

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