International Social Science Council Scientific Programme on
Gender, Globalization, and Democratization
Activity and Progress Report for 2009-2010
Submitted by Jane Bayes, Director
15 November 2010
Part I of this report lists the Objectives and Projects of the ISSC-GGD. Part II discusses the
Organization and Funding of GGD. Part III lists the activities of GGD during 2009- April 2010.
Part IV is a proposal for future activities of the ISSC-GGD.
PART I : Objectives and Projects of the ISSC-GGD
In 2004 when the GGD was recognized as an ISSC Scientific Research Programme, the GGD set
forth five objectives:
1) To offer a global organizational structure for scholars from different areas of the world
and from different disciplines in the social sciences to perform collaborative research on
the intersectionality of themes of gender, globalization and democratization.
2) To develop joint research projects to generate knowledge that can be used as a foundation
for policy initiatives to improve the lives of women.
3) To provide an output of scholarly publications, workshop materials, syllabi, training
manuals and course materials that can be shared globally on the internet or in other ways
to address problems generated for women by globalization.
4) To establish an inclusive network of researchers working in the field of globalization and
gender, one that reaches out to include young scholars and scholars from the majority
world.
5) To collaborate with international, national, and local organizations, including other ISSC
member organizations, to foster a long term research and training program on
globalization, gender and democratization.
To accomplish these objectives, the ISSC-GGD in 2004 identified six projects or
special areas of concern:
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)
6)
Sexual Trafficking and Human Security
Women and Leadership Around the World
Migration and Gender
Globalization and the Changing Structure of the Family
Gender in the Global Political Economy
Education, Outreach, Capacity Building
In the past six years, the members of the GGD Research Committee have conducted research and
held international conferences on each of these issue areas, produced books and articles and
reached out to younger scholars as well as to scholars and practitioners concerned with gender,
globalization and democratization in different parts of the world. In each of these endeavors we
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have attempted to identify, document and analyze the conditions and problems that women face
due to globalization.
PART II: Organization and Funding of the ISSC-GGD
The ISSC-GGD is a interdisciplinary group of scholars (representing the disciplines of political
science, sociology, history, geography, psychology, and anthropology) from countries in both the
majority and minority worlds ( Kenya, Senegal, Uganda, South Africa, Sweden, Netherlands,
Germany, New Zealand, Australia, India, Japan, Vietnam, South Korea, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka,
Chile, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras, Peru, Mexico, Canada, and the USA.) One of our goals
is to expand our membership and activities to additional parts of the world. Our members range
in age and experience from graduate students and young assistant professors to mid-career
professors and senior scholars. Our administrative headquarters are at California State
University, Northridge in Los Angeles, CA. USA.
The main steady source of funding for the ISSC-GGD since 2004, when the research committee
was recognized as a research programme by the ISSC, has been from the ISSC itself. These
monies have been supplemented by funds from GGD member’s universities ( such as California
State University, Northridge, Umea University, Munster University, Chuba University, Osaka
University of Economics and Law, University of Ottawa, American University, University of
Otago) for travel and specific projects and sometimes by grants from funding sources such as
the European Union, Sweden, the United States, Canada and Mexico governments, nongovernmental organizations, and individuals. The ISSC money has served as seed money for
many of our projects, enabling GGD and its members to raise additional support from a variety
of other sources. Currently, we have a reserve fund of $5000 of monies we have raised.
The size and scope of the GGD Research Committee has been limited. All members work full
time either as academics or as administrators of women’s NGOs. The Research Committee has
no paid staff member. In addition to the above sources of funding, the activities of the GGD
have been augmented by professional association conferences where we often meet, as well as
by supplemental funds of between five to ten thousand dollars a year which we have received in
the last six years from the ISSC and from donations by members from their research funds. We
have used the ISSC money primarily to bring women from universities and countries that have
no access to funding to our meetings and conferences, and in some cases, to pay for translation
services. The ISSC connection has been important to our work not only because of the funding
the ISSC provided. Because of the ISSC connection, universities are more likely to grant us
funds for specific events we sponsor. Often we partner with other groups at universities and at
conferences to co-sponsor events or panels or workshops (as we did in July 2009 in Chile).
Because of the ISSC connection, we have become registered as an affiliated organization with
the International Studies Association (ISA) that meets annually. Due to this status, we are
allocated a panel at every ISA meeting. Being able to hold our meetings in conjunction with the
ISA and with other professional organizations such as the Women’s Worlds International
Women’s Studies Association, the American Political Science Association, the International
Sociological Association, the International Political Science Association and other such
professional organizations that are members of the ISSC allows us to obtain funding from our
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universities more easily for travel expenses, and sometimes outside speakers and also enables us
to take advantage of cheaper hotel rates negotiated by these large associations.
PART III: List of Activities in 2009 and 2010
Publications, and Workshop Products associated with ISSC Projects 2009-2010
Brigitte Young. Questioning Financial Governance from a Feminist Perspective (Co-Author with Isabella Bakker
and Diane Elson) London/New York: Routledge 2011.
Brigitte Young. Gender Knowledge and Knowledge Networks in International Political Economy,
Baden-Baden: Nomos (Co-Author: Christoph Scherrer) 2010,
Cristina Gabriel. “Migration and Globalized Care Work: The Case of Internationally Educated
Nurses in Canada” for The Global Political Economy of Care: Integrating Ethics and Social
Politics. eds. Rianne Mahon and Fiona Robinson (Forthcoming: Vancouver: UBC Press)
Laura Macdonald and Lisa Mills, “Gender, Democracy and Federalism in Mexico: Implications
for Reproductive Rights and Social Policy,” in Melissa Haussman, Marian Sawer, and Jill
Vickers, eds., Federalism, Feminism and Multilevel Governance, Farnham: Ashgate, 2010.
pp. 187-198.
Christina Gabriel and Laura MacDonald. ‘Citizenship at the Margins: The Canadian Seasonal
Agricultural Worker Program and Non-State Advocacy of Social Rights.” Accepted for
publication in Politics and Policy Feb 2011 issue.
Jane H. Bayes and Laura Gonzalez. “Globalization, Transnationalism and Intersecting
Geographies of Power: The Case of the Consejo Consultivo del Instituto de los Mexicanos
en el Exterior (CC-IME): A Study in Progress” Accepted for publication in Politics and
Public Policy. Feb 2011 issue.
Laura González, Jane Bayes y Víctor García, "Oportunidades y Desafíos para el Liderazgo
Femenino en el Nivel Transnacional, Dos Casos de Organizaciones de Mexicanos en
Estados Unidos", en Calvo Buezas, Tomás y Gentil García, Isabel (eds.), Inmigrantes en
Estados Unidos y en España: Protagonistas en el Ssiglo XXI. Madrid: EUNATE, 2010.
Laura Macdonald and Arne Ruckert, eds. Neoliberalism in the Americas, Palgrave, 2009.
Mary Hawkesworth, ed. Special Issue on Women and Agriculture, Signs: Journal of Women in
Culture and Society 35(2): 277-536, Winter 2010.
Jane H. Bayes, ed. Gender and Politics: The State of the Discipline. Barbara Budrich Publishers
(in press). This book contains 9 chapters written by GGD members.
Mary Hawkesworth, “Neoliberalism and the Micropolitics of Domination in the United States,”
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in Laura MacDonald and Arne Ruckert, eds., Neoliberalism in the Americas, Palgrave, 2009.
Seiko Hanochi and Kinhide Mushakoji, eds. Human Security: Beyond State Centred Security.
London: Minerva Press. 2009
Seiko Hanochi, “Migration and Gender Aspects of Human Insecurity: A Critical Political
Economy Approach” in S. Hanochi and K. Mushakoji, eds. Human Security: Beyond
State Centred Security. London: Minerva Press: 2009.
Kenji Kimura “The Human Insecurity of Children of Japanese Descent in Latin American
Families.” In S. Hanochi and K. Mushakoji, eds. Human Security: Beyond State Centred
Security. London: Minerva Press. 2009.
Conference and Workshop Activities
1) Encuentro en Santiago, Chile: Political Challenges, Opportunities and Constraints for Women
in Latin America and the World. July 2009. Two day Joint Session of GGD with International
Political Science Association (IPSA) Research Committees 7,19 and 52. Prior to IPSA
Conference. Organized by Carmen Torres, (Chile), Nelly Richard, (Chile), Maria Torres
Caroline Andrew (Canada) Lois Harder (Canada) and Jane Bayes ( USA) ( Program is attached)
2) At the Mid-Atlantic Women’s Studies Association Annual Meeting, March 27-28, 2009, we
held a series of panels on GGD themes and issues: organized by Mary Hawkesworth at Rutgers
University, New Brunswick, NJ.
A. Securing Women’s Rights as Human Rights
Moderator: Mary Hartman, Director, Institute for Women’s
Leadership, Rutgers University
Charlotte Bunch, Center for Women’s Global Leadership
Jacquelyn Pitanguy, CEPIA, Brazil
Salma Maoulidi, Sahiba Sisters Foundation, Tanzania
Jane Real, Women’s Human Rights Defenders, The Philippines
B. Transnational Movements/Local Practices,
Moderator: Ethel Brooks, Rutgers University
Papers
“Domestic Debates: Feminism and the Feminization of Migration from the
Philippines”
Robyn Rodriguez, Rutgers University
“Framing Undocumented Immigrant Women: The Case of France”
Catherine Raissiguier, New Jersey City University
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“The Case of Islamic Feminism in Morocco”
Zakia Salime, Rutgers University
C. Towards Sexual Democracy,
Moderator: Arlene Holpp Scala, William Patterson University
Papers
“Engendering Political Participation within the State: How Development Discourse
Produces ‘Failed’ Elected Women Representatives in India”
Sreevidya Kalaramadam, William Paterson University of New Jersey
“State Patriarchy, Feminized Citizens, and the Struggle for Political Space and
Recognition: The Turkish Case”
Umut Ozkaleli, Syracuse University
“Obstacles for Gender Equality? Ethnic and Religious Polarization, Gender
Essentialism, and the Turkish Women's Rights Movement”
Emma Ekdahl, University of Denver and Syracuse University
D. From Law to Justice: National and International Strategies, Hickman 115
Moderator: Sally McWilliams, Montclair State University
Papers
“Feminism, Wartime Violence against Women, and International Law”
Troy Lavers, University of Leicester
“Are ‘Women’s Rights’ Human Rights After All?”
Loveday Hodson, University of Leicester
“Violence on the Girl Child During Armed Conflicts: Legal Deficiencies and New
Thinking”
Amin George Forji, Faculty of Law, University of Helsinki
“The Duality of Perceptions in Transforming Women’s Rights from an African
Feminist Perspective”
Mosope Fagbongbe, University of British Columbia
3. At the International Studies Association February 2010 New Orleans, LA, The GGD
sponsored a panel entitled: The Impact of the Global Financial Crisis on Women in the World
Chair Jane H. Bayes, California State University - Northridge
Papers ;
Gender Dimension of Indebtedness and Homeownership: Last-In First-Out.
Brigitte Young: WWU-Muenster, Germany.
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The Global Financial Crash and Its Impact on Women in California: The Gendered Saga
of the California Budget and Housing Crisis
Jane H. Bayes: California State University – Northridge, CA. USA.
Macroeconomic Governance, Gendered Inequality and
Global Crisis
Adrienne L. Roberts: York University, Toronto, Canada
Other Presentations
Mary Hawkesworth participated in a week-long seminar at in Vietnam and made the
following two presentations:
“The Gendered Politics of Development,” Philosophy East and West, Ho Chi Minh
National Academy for Politics and Public Administation, Hanoi, Vietnam, August 6,
2009.
“The Political Presuppositions of Civil Society: From Hobbes and Habermas to
NGOization,” Philosophy East and West, Ho Chi Minh National Academy for Politics
and Public Administation, Hanoi, Vietnam, August 3, 2009.
Jane Bayes organized a panel presentation on the “Impact of the Financial Crisis” and made a
presentation on the “Impact of the Financial Crisis on Women.” California State
University, Northridge, April 2009.
Seiko Hanochi and Kinhide Mushakoji made a presentation on the panel “Marriage,
Migration and the Citizenship of Women Migrants” on 23 October 2009 at the Beijing
plus 15 Meeting held in Quesson City, Philippines.
On-going research projects by our members
1) Research project directed by Kinhide Mushakoji with Le Thi Qui comparing Japan and Korea
as receiving countries of migrant women, especially marriage migrants with the context of the
relationships between the civil society and the migrant communities, looking into the social
reproduction of these communities through migrant women, their social rights and human
security. Centre for Asia Pacific Partnership.
2) Research project directed by Kinhide Mushakoji with others focusing on leadership training in
migrant communities stressing new citizenship of marriage migrants. Sponsored by the Toyota
Foundation.
3) Research project by Laura Gonzalez and Jane Bayes focusing on transnational citizenship and
gender in the transnational organization, Consuelo Consultivo del Instituto Mexicano del
Exterior, CC-IME, a transnational organization of the Mexican diaspora established by the
Mexican government in 2003 to advise the Mexican government concerning their policies
towards the Mexican diaspora in the United States.
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4) Workshop project by Seiko Hanochi as a part of the Working Group on Gender and
Minorities of the Convention of Bio-diversity is planning a workshop for October 2 , 2010 in
Nagoya, Japan as a part of the Tenth Conference of Parties of the Convention of Bio-Diversity in
Nagoya, Japan. The workshop will stress the need to learn from indigenous women and women
in traditional local communities with regard to bio-diversity issues.
Political Activities of members
On 30 March 2010, Ranjana Kumari and the Centre for Social Research which she directs
celebrated the passage of a historic bill in the upper house of the legislature that would set aside
one-third of all legislative seats for women in the national legislature and in all state assemblies
in India, the world's largest democracy. Although the bill still has to pass the lower house to
become law, this victory was a major milestone in the long struggle to provide political equality
for women in India. Ranjana Kumari and her Centre for Social Research have been working for
the passage of this legislation for several years.
Part IV: Future Plans: The Bridges Project and the Curriculum Exchange Project
The Bridges Project
The plan for the future of GGD is to continue to investigate the six areas of concern but to add to
this an effort to think ahead to the future. If we assume that the forces of globalization
(increased trade, increased international capital mobility, increased movement of people (labor)
increased speed and ease of communication through internet and technological advances) are
going to continue, what do women in the world need to do to think ahead politically and
intellectually to cope with these changes and at the same time improve their well-being?
Towards building understanding among women
The forces of globalization have had contradictory consequences for women. They have brought
many more women into the waged labor force, altered the structure of families and generally
increased women’s responsibilities within and outside of the home. They have created increased
wealth for some women while generating increased poverty, violence and destitution for others.
They have increased migration, increased sex trafficking and increased human slavery for both
men and women not only in poor nations but in rich ones as well. At the same time, globalization
forces have spread the gender equality norm for women internationally and contributed to gender
equality policies in many nations bringing more education for women, more access to health
care, more wealth for some women and more political representation for and by women in
decision-making positions.
Globalization has brought with it in the last 10-20 years the realization that women in the world
differ dramatically with regard to the problems they face, the resources that they have at their
disposal, the type and extent of gender discrimination or inequality that they experience.
Problems related to reproductive health and childbearing , gender violence, security, child and
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elder care, workplace and household gender discrimination, marriage laws and customs, gender
role change and backlash are present in every society but in very different forms requiring
different strategies and policies. Global institutions such as the United Nations and the World
Bank now recognize that the empowerment and well-being of women, their education, their
health, their ability to organize, their self identity, their participation in the waged labor force and
in the home are critical to the prosperity and well-being of the communities in which they live.
Gender relationships and gender norms are crucial to this well-being.
The gender equality norm expressed internationally in the 20th and 21st centuries especially by
the United Nations, the World Bank, and western philanthropic organizations s heavily rooted in
western political thought. It is promoted by the United Nations, the World Bank, many
academics and increasingly by agencies and governments concerned with “development.” The
gender equality norms often come with the theoretical baggage of neo-liberalism and western
imperialism. They often seek to influence women in cultures that are traditionally collective- not
based on individual rights but rather on community or communal obligations. This clash of
cultures and norms creates different outcomes in different contexts. In many of these countries,
the global women’s movement influenced by the United Nations and its 1995 Plan for Action
exists at one level, while a variety of women’s groups operate and exist at other more national or
local levels. The “global women” are those who speak an international language (English,
Arabic, French or Spanish) well enough to attend and participate in international meetings. They
serve as “bridges” between the international liberal rights based discourse and the local cultural,
linguistic, religious and historical discourses, customs, and practices in their own communities.
Post-colonial feminists argue that local discourses, norms and practices cannot be articulated or
heard globally because of the global “power hierarchy” that the forces of globalization have
intensified. The resources that the global “power hierarchy” wields include control of workplace
practices, project funding, publishing and media resources, ideas, language, institutions and
institutional practices. Local discourses often cannot be “expressed” or “heard” because of
language and cultural barriers, isolation and inadequate access. Even if access is available, there
remains the question of whether those of the dominant power structure are willing or able to
listen or understand.
This is where “bridge builders” are needed. Bridge builders are those who themselves are linked
transnationally between nations or cultures or between urban and rural, or between racial, ethnic
or religious divisions and are in a position to communicate, to translate, to negotiate. If
women’s well-being is to be advanced, communication, interest articulation and bridge building
are essential. Now that we are increasingly linked by the forces of globalization- how else are
any of us to know the consequences of our actions and ideas on others unless we develop ways
of communicating? How are we to organize? How are we to know how or whether to act either
separately or together to advance the well-being of women worldwide?
Methodology of the Bridges project
Since the ISSC-GGD is a network of interdisciplinary scholars and activists concerned with
globalization and gender relations, it is appropriate that our work be directed at understanding
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our differences, negotiating, theorizing, and building bridges among those who are separated
from one another by language, custom, distance and history.
The goal of this project is to use the many contacts we have built around the world with
academics and women’s ngos to hold five or more conferences in different regions of the world
in the next five years where we ask scholars and activists indigenous to the region to set the
agenda concerning identifying and prioritizing the problems and issues that divide and unite
women within their regions. We also hope to use the conference space to encourage discussion
about similarities and differences between their community, national or regional goals and values
and their understanding of and attitudes towards global norms such as “women’s
empowerment,” “gender equality,” “democratization” and/or “women’s well-being.” Drawing on
the model of community organizing that requires local knowledge, innovation and imagination to
build and negotiate connections between women and also on Rawl’s idea of thinking and
planning “with a veil of ignorance” as to one’s place in power hierarchies of the world, the
conferences would ask participants to express their own points of view while at the same time
learning more about the perspectives of others. Another part of these conferences might ask
participants to bring examples of bridge building among women or proposals of how they
themselves might engage in bridge building between racial, ethnic, religious, class, gendered,
national, regional and/or global divides. As scholars, we perceive these exercises as being
important exercises in developing democratic practices among women in the world, important
conceptually in crafting ideas and theories that are meaningful, important educationally to help
women understand one another, and important practically as encouraging women to develop the
skills and will to reach out to build connections with other women whom they may initially
perceive as being different, inapproachable, foreign.
The GGD has experimented with aspects of this project in three previous conferences sponsored
with ISSC monies. The first was organized by GGD member, Laura Guzmán Stein co-sponsored
by the The University of Costa Rica in 2005. The second was in 2007 in Peru, co-sponsored by
the NGO, El Centro de la Mujer Peruana Flora Tristán in Peru, where Gaby Cevasco, director of
El Centro de la Mujer Peruana Flora Tristán set the agenda for the conference. The third was a
special panel of Latin American feminists organized by Carmen Torres, a GGD member from
Chile and Director of the NGO, Instituto de Mujeres in Santiago, who discussed the political
challenges, opportunities and constraints for women in Latin America (see attachment for
program – last session of first day). In each of these instances, especially in Costa Rica and Peru,
the planning of the entire conference was in the hands of local women. All were conducted in
Spanish with English translation. The Costa Rica meeting was significant and important because
it brought together Central American feminists who had come to know one another in the
regional meetings sponsored by the UN prior to 1995. Since then, funding for regional meetings
had disappeared and these Central American women rejoiced at having three days to reconnect
and share problems and identify opportunities. In Peru, not only did Gaby Cevasco organize a
cross-section of speakers from all economic groups in Peru, she also arranged to bring women
interested in establishing women’s studies programs in their universities from about 12 different
universities in cities both in and outside of Lima. Many of these served indigenous women and
were either from these communities and/or able to convey their interests and ideas to the group.
Of all the conferences the GGD has held, this was perhaps the best example of the kind of
conferences we would like to have for the upcoming Bridges project. The Bridges conferences,
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however, would differ in that a major aspect would involve recording and summarizing the
results to be posted on the ISSC-GGD webpage. For this, we will need funding for a person
responsible for this task. As with all our conferences and projects, we expect that some of the
proceedings will result in t, reports and possibly policy recommendations.
Tentative timeline for conferences
2012 - Meeting in Morocco.
2013 - Meeting in Sri Lanka or possibly China
2014 - Meeting in Latin America
2015 - Meeting in the Middle East – possibly Turkey
The Curriculum Exchange Project
The Curriculum Exchange Project will be a part of the Bridges Project in that we intend to
collect syllabi from around the world from scholars who are teaching courses related to gender,
globalization and democratization. These we will edit and post on our website. This project will
begin with a project in the United States in 2011 to be presented at the American Political
Science Association meetings. In 2012, we plan to canvas European scholars and other scholars
who will be attending the International Political Science Association meetings in Madrid, Spain.
Plans include canvassing the International Geographers Association and the International
Sociological Association as well as those involved in our Bridges Project in the coming years.
Some of us have participated in these syllabi collection projects in the past and found them an
extremely useful way of disseminating the latest research and exposing one another to different
approaches and different sets of literature with regard to gender and globalization. This project
is also in keeping with our Education, Outreach and Capacity Building mission.
Budget Needs for Bridges Project and the next five years
Ideally, we would like to have a budget of $20,000 a year to accomplish both the Bridges project
and to continue our research on the five objectives of GGD stated in Part I of this report. In the
past, we have been able to hold conferences in Latin America for $5000 -$6000 which includes
paying the transportation costs and food and lodging for 5-7 invited speakers and the other costs
of the conference – usually with help from local universities or organizations. Other participants
from universities with research and travel funds have drawn on those funds to attend. Locally
based participants are provided certain meals only. If we had $10,000/ year to spend, we could
invite more participants from various sectors and we could do a better job with regard to
translations, web page production, summaries, and the like. Currently, we have raised $5000
towards our next Bridges meeting. We also have $5000 which can be used for the Curriculum
Exchange project.
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Progress Report for ISSC Gender, Globalization and Democratization
(ISSC-GGD) Research Committee
submitted by Jane Bayes
On 8 October 2010, as Director of the ISSC-GGD Research Committee, I received an email
from Secretary General Heide Hackmann telling us of the results of the Executive Committee’s
September review of the GGD research committee’s status and informing us of Dr. Berend van
der Muelen’s Programme Review and Recommendations which I understand were adopted by
the ISSC Executive Committee. Secretary General Hackmann indicated in her 8 October 2010
email to us that “… the Executive Committee has confirmed the importance of the
topics/substantive issues of both RECAP and GGD and would welcome concrete proposals about
how to develop these initiatives into larger, self-sufficient programmes that meet the criteria in
the attached framework.” This progress report is a response to that 8 October 2010 email from
Secretary Hackmann. In what follows, this report will address the eight characteristics that Dr.
van der Meulen has identified as critical to ISSC research programs to assess where GGD meets
and where it does not meet these criteria at the present time. The second part of the report will
identify how GGD is attempting to address its deficiencies. The third part of the report will
present the case for why GGD should be continued as an ISSC program.
How does GGD Meet or Fail to Meet the Eight van der Muelen Criteria
The first requirement that: a) the program be international in membership and participation,
b)that its content reflect global social phenomena and c) that it involve developing and transition
economies, is one that GGD fully meets. The topic of GGD is globalization, gender and
democratization. The ISSC Executive Committee has already agreed that the GGD topic meets
ISSC topic criteria. Our membership includes scholars from Kenya, Senegal, South Africa,
Japan, China, India, Bangladesh, Thailand, Vietnam, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Chile, Mexico,
Peru, Costa Rica, Honduras, Canada, the United States, Germany, Netherlands, Sweden,
Australia and New Zealand. This list includes countries that are developing, transition and
developed.
The second requirement is that the program have a science policy relationship, that it facilitate
outreach efforts to international policy forums and that it provide access to transnational
expertise. The research committee members of GGD are PhDs (or in a few cases, PhD
candidates) in the fields of political science, sociology, geography, political economy, social
anthropology and gender studies. Some are or have been employees of the United Nations’
UNIFEM and UNDP units, some are leaders of non governmental organizations concerned with
problems of women and globalization in their own countries. Some have been or currently are
advisors or consultants to their own governments. The GGD research program has for over 10
years sponsored research and organized panels at professional meetings dealing with specific
policy issues involving gender and globalization.
The third requirement concerns program objectives, the interdisciplinarity of the program, the
subject’s importance for social science advancement and the creation of new infrastructure
/facilities for social science. With regard to interdisciplinarity, the GGD members represent the
disciplines of political science, political economy, economic, sociology, social anthropology,
gender studies and geography. The topic of the GGD research program, gender, globalization
and democratization, is clearly a topic important for social science advancement. Women
represent over 50 percent of the world’s population and yet have been and continue to be
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woefully discriminated against and underrepresented in scholarly research in the social sciences.
Many social science disciplines do not include women or gender as a topic of research.
Universities in many developing and transition countries do not have curricula dealing with
gender or with women. One of the 6 objectives of the GGD program is to engage in outreach
and education with regard to our topic, gender, globalization and democratization. To this end,
we have held workshops on how to create gender and women’s studies programs and on how to
develop curricula that include women. Our writings are used in classroom teaching around the
world. In some countries, the dissemination of this information flows more freely and widely
through non governmental organization networks than it does within universities. We have been
active in cultivating and building these new infrastructures.
The fourth criteria concerns the position of the program in the field, the international reputation of the
leading program scientists and the relationship which the program has with international programs in the
field. Some of the leading program scientists in GGD include: Achola Pala Okeyo, is an anthropologist
and former senior gender advisor at the UNDP in the United Nations; Mary Hawkesworth is Professor
of Women’s Studies at Rutgers University and editor of Signs: Journal of Women, Culture and Society,
a journal published by the University of Chicago Press and perhaps the most prestigious journal in the
field of gender studies; Gunnel Gustafsson is a Professor of Political Science at Umea University in
Sweden and director of Nordforsk. NordForsk is a research council with three functions - coordination,
financing and policy advice in the Nordic region. Marian Simms is currently head of school at Deakin
University in Australia and past chair of the International Political Science Association’s Research
Committee on Gender, Globalization and Democratization. Brigitte Young is a Professor of Political
Economy at University in Germany and advisor to EU commissions dealing with economic policy
issues. She is a
German Delegate and Member of the Management Committee, European Cooperation in Scientific and
Technical Research (COST) IS0902: Systemic Risks, Financial Crisis and Credit: The Roots, Dynamics and
Consequences of the Subprime Crisis” (Project Leader: Oliver Kessler) 2010 – 2014.
Jane Bayes is a Professor of Political Science at California State University Northridge and past
chair of the International Political Science Association Research Committees on Women and
Politics and Gender, Globalization and Democratization. Jane Bayes has served as a
representative of the International Political Science Association to the United Nations Fourth
International Conference on Women in Beijing in 1995, to the UN Beijing Plus 5 meetings in
New York in 2000 and to the UN Beijing Plus 15 meetings in New York in 2010. Monique
Leyenaar is a Professor of Political Science at Nijmegen University in the Netherlands and
frequent consultant to the Dutch government and the European Union on gender issues. Najma
Chowduroy of Bangladesh has served as a senior official in the Bangladesh government.
Socorro Reyes is the immediate past head of the United Nation’s UNDP for Asia. Kinohide
Mushakoji is highly respected Japanese authority on international affairs, a former Vice Rector
of United Nations University, former President of the International Political Science Association
and Secretary General of the International Movement Against All forms of Discrimination and
Racism (IMADR).
The fifth criteria concerns program activities. The GGD research program has for the past 10
years and especially in the last 6 years since becoming an ISSC Scientific Research Programme,
held a wide variety of workshops, conferences, sponsored a wide variety of scholarly panels at
the International Political Science Association meetings every 3 years, the International Studies
annual meetings, the Women’s Worlds International Women’s Studies meetings (every three
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years) as well as at the American Political Science Association meetings. These have been held
in Japan, Spain, Chile, Canada, and the United States. In addition, the GGD program has
included special workshops and meetings with scholars in the Latin American countries of Costa
Rica, Peru and Chile and a special workshop/ research conference in Sweden. All these
activities are detailed in GGD annual reports to ISSC. GGD held two specific training workshops
on women’s studies curriculum and institutionalizing women’s studies into university
infrastructure in China and in Chile.
The sixth criteria concerns governance and the maintenance of the scientific committee, the
directorship, program office and relationship with ISSC as well as sponsors and stakeholders.
The GGD has a Director who has kept in touch with the ISSC, submitted reports and budget
expenditures to the ISSC in a timely manner. The offices of the GGD have been at California
State University Northridge where the research committee has a presence in the form of an
Institute on Gender, Globalization and Democracy. The GGD has a scientific committee which
has worked in various ways at different times to raise money for GGD projects, to plan and
organize GGD activities, to recruit new members – especially young members and members
from developing and transitioning countries, to write and execute grants, to hold workshops and
training events, to plan and execute research, to publish research results and to create publishing
opportunities for younger scholars and scholars from developing and transitioning economies.
The seventh criteria concerns a funding base with the requirement that the program have a “solid
funding base and a convincing acquisition strategy.” This is the area where the GGD is lacking
at present. One of the reasons that the research group came to the ISSC was to obtain a
continuous source of funding. Like most women’s groups, we have carried out our activities with
little money and much dedication and overtime work by our members. We have also received
generous support from our universities and from professional associations such as the
International Political Science Association and the International Studies Association and the
American Political Science Association. The $20,000 and then $10,000 and then $5000
amounts of money that we were granted by ISSC beginning in 2004 when we became a
Scientific Research Program and the lesser amounts we received from ISSC between 1996 and
2004 when we were a Scientific Research Committee were critically important as seed money to
attract monies from our universities for our activities. We wrote a major 5 year $400,000 grant
which was funded by the US, Mexico and Canadian governments involving the exchange of
students which also allowed us to do research and publish and carry on some of our ISSC GGD
activities. Other grants for topics related to gender and globalization but more specifically
focused on education, economics or health research have supported our work as well. Earnings
from our publication royalties and personal donations have also been important in providing
support for scholars from developing or transitional countries. However, we do not have a “solid
funding base.” Currently, we have $5000 available to begin our Bridges project in 2012.
The eighth criteria concerns how our program handles public relations. Our main avenues for
distributing our work include our publications in peer reviewed journals and books, our
professional meeting presentations, our sponsored conferences around the world, our
participation in policy making arenas around the world and our workshops and roundtables. Our
publications are listed in our annual reports to ISSC and are available in libraries and from
booksellers. Our panels have a regular presence in the meetings of the International Political
Science Association, the International Women’s Studies Association (known as Women’s
Worlds), the International Studies Association. Our other activities are also described in our
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annual reports to ISSC. As a program, we have a website which is currently being updated. This
is an area which needs improvement.
II. How is the GGD Program Addressing Deficiencies?
With regard to the van der Meusen criteria above, GGD has two major deficiencies. One is
easily rectified and the other is more complicated and difficult. The first concerns criteria #8 and
our website. We have not kept our website consistently up-to-date. This is a situation which can
be and is being corrected this month. We have the website infrastructure but have been remiss in
not keeping it updated. The second deficiency regarding “a solid funding base” is much more
difficult to address.
Since 2004 when GGD was recognized by ISSC as a research programme, ISSC provided GGD
with a small and diminishing, but continuous source of funding, one which we supplemented
with grants and contributions from our various institutions and activities. In the beginning from
ISSC, GGD received $20,000 per year, then at the end $10,000 which we spread out over two
years. One reason our research group sought to be an ISSC Research Committee and then
Research Programme, was to obtain this continuous source of funding which provided important
seed monies for our activities. The global economic downturn that has impacted ISSC is the
same environment in which GGD is currently seeking a solid funding base. We are currently
exploring the possibility of moving the GGD headquarters to Deakin University in Melbourne,
Australia where one of our Executive Board members, Marian Simms, is Head of the School of
History, Heritage and Society. Currently, Marian Simms is beginning discussions with the
Alfred Deakin Research Institute at her university. Should the Alfred Deakin Research Institute
be interested in providing a source of continuous funding for GGD, GGD should be able to meet
the van der Meulen criteria concerning a continuing funding source.
A second strategy that GGD is pursuing with regard to this criteria is to hereby make an
argument to the ISSC Executive Board that ISSC should consider sponsoring less well funded
research network programs as well as full scale research institutes. The reason for this is twofold.
Social science needs to study topics that are not necessarily fundable by funding agencies.
Gender is one of those topics. As has been well documented, funding agencies are generally in
the developed world and they fund projects that fit into their ideological frameworks,
frameworks which are not necessarily those of women either in the developed or in the
transitioning or developing countries. A further divide occurs between the conceptions of
gender issues in the developed countries and elsewhere. The result is that those social scientists
who are successful in seeking continuous research funds must tailor their language and their
agendas to meet the ideological needs and “buzzwords” of the funders. – often health, education,
economic development, poverty- not the specific issues of gender and/or women. Well-funded
social science research tends to take on a bias that makes invisible many social and political
problems, insights and truths apparent to those who are minorities, poor, weak, colonialized, non
English speaking and/or female. A research network program as an organization is perhaps better
able to address this problem than is the “continuously funded research institute” because it’s
existence and energy depend on the specific initiatives, resources, and contributions at different
times from a variety of scholars in different parts of the world bound together by a common
interest in how gender is understood and organized in different parts of a globalizing world. Just
as research networks like GGD are dependent on the initiative and energy of their members, so
too is such a research network’s funding is dependent on the energy and success of our members
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in cobbling together pots of money from various sources – mostly from universities and
professional organizations in a variety of countries – and not from one continuous source.
III. Why should GGD be continued as an ISSC research program?
Even though ISSC is no longer providing GGD with funds, we believe that the ISSC can be
helpful to the GGD - whether it emerges as a continuously funded research institute or remains
as a research network program - by giving GGD an international rather than a nationally based
identity. This is particularly important for us in our outreach efforts to involve scholars and
policy makers from the transitional and developing worlds. It also assists us in our relationships
with other professional and policy organizations. The affiliation of GGD with ISSC should help
GGD continue to gather resources from a variety of sources as it has in the past.
A second reason why ISSC should continue to sponsor GGD as an ISSC research program is
precisely because GGD’s topic is gender and globalization. The social sciences have
historically ignored gender as a topic of study and many social science disciplines ( especially
economics and political science ) have also ignored women. The GGD research program
strengthens ISSC. ISSC needs a gender research program, one that conforms to all of its other
seven criteria and has a proven track record of accomplishing an impressive amount of work
with very little money. The resources of GGD program are the scholars who compose it, their
energy, their knowledge, their connections, their diversity, their initiative, their willingness to
cooperate and work with each other and their commitment to making gender visible both
locally and globally.
A third reason why ISSC should continue to sponsor GGD is that as long as GGD meets all (or
all but the “source of continuous funding” criteria) and continues its activities, the cost to ISSC
of keeping GGD as a research network program is low and the benefits are positive and
substantial. GGD spent 8 years as an ISSC research committee (1996-2004) and has spent six
years as an ISSC research programme. During this time, it has built a broad network of scholars
who know one another and can work together; it has recruited young scholars especially from
transitional and developing countries; it has produced a substantial body of research published in
refereed journals and in peer reviewed books. ISSC has shaped and funded this international
interdisciplinary research network. Should it not continue to be associated with it?
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