For immediate release: March 4, 2014
The Wellesley Centers for Women (WCW) will host "The Power of Data: How Research Advances Social Change for Women and Girls," a parallel event of the 58th session of the U.N. Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) to be held Thursday, March 13th at 10:30 a.m. at the Salvation Army, 221 East 52nd Street, New York, New York, 10022.
"Rigorous research, sophisticated statistics, and disaggregated data are essential to advancing women's and girls' equality and empowerment," notes Layli Maparyan, Ph.D., WCW Executive Director. "For research to be effective in moving the needle on social change, both micro and macro processes need to be investigated, documented, and tested. This "meta issue" needs to be raised up more vigorously as the post-2015 development framework solidifies."
A panel of social science researchers and international advocates for women and girls will facilitate vigorous conversation about how women-and-gender research institutes around the world can and should serve as key partners in advancing development and other social change initiatives worldwide. They will also share examples and/or frame some ways nongovernmental organizations can access and collect data, independently and more effectively in collaboration.
Speakers include: Akosua Darkwah, Ph.D., Director, Centre for Gender Studies and Advocacy, and Senior Lecturer, Department of Sociology, University of Ghana; Haven Ley, MSc, Senior Advisor to the Co-Chair, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation; Maparyan, the Katherine Stone Kaufmann '67 Executive Director, WCW at Wellesley College; and Priya Nanda, Ph.D., Group Director – Social & Economic Development Group, International Center for Research on Women.
This program is free and open to the public and U.N. and NGO representatives; space is limited--first arrived, first seated. This program will be recorded and posted online by March 19th.
The Wellesley Centers for Women at Wellesley College is one of the largest gender-focused research-and-action organizations in the world. Work at WCW addresses three major areas: the social and economic status of women and girls and the advancement of their human rights both in the United States and around the globe; the education, care, and development of children and youth; and the emotional wellbeing of families and individuals. Nongovernmental organization (NGO) special consultative status at the United Nations facilitates WCW's participation in its international work.
