Every March 8th the international community honours women for their many and various achievements in the struggle for gender equality. For centuries women’s movements have fought for the rights and freedoms of women and girls – but not in a zero-sum game. Already in 1792 British author and activist Mary Wollstonecraft wrote: “I do not wish them [women] to have power over men; but over themselves.” The movement has seen many successes, even in the last few months. In December 2015, Saudi Arabia b...

Prof. Shyama V. Ramani of UNU-MERIT has been voted one of the #100 Women Achievers of India in the category of ‘Hygiene and Sanitation’, as part of a contest organised by the Indian Ministry of Women and Child Development in partnership with Facebook. The result was made public on 1 January 2016. Prof. Ramani will attend a reception lunch with the President of India, Pranab Kumar Mukherjee, on 22 January 2016 in the Ceremonial Hall of the Rashtrapati Bhavan Cultural Centre, in the Pr...

This lecture provided insights from a combination of science and practical experiences on the potential power of female entrepreneurs. Prof. Josette Dijkhuizen discussed the results of a recent European study on women in social enterprises as well as her experiences of working with women entrepreneurs in the Netherlands and potential female entrepreneurs in refugee camps in Lebanon....

Tomorrow marks the 15th anniversary of UN Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security (WPS), adopted 31 October 2000. For the first time it recognised the unique impact of wars on women, and their role in peacekeeping and peacebuilding. Yet a renewed focus on ‘hard security’ now threatens to exclude more women from peace processes worldwide. Fifteen years on, how much has the resolution achieved? PhD fellows Ortrun Merkle and Tamara Kool investigate. Above all, UN Security Coun...