The International Center for Research on Women (ICRW) to Participate in 2023 Women Deliver Conference in Kigali, Rwanda

ICRW leadership to participate in pre-conferences focused on the care economy and preventing violence against women 

Researchers to present findings from global study on economic opportunity in the informal economy

Organization to co-host reception with Partners In Health (PIH) and University of Global Health Equity (UGHE)

Washington D.C. – July 13, 2023 – The International Center for Research on Women (ICRW) will have a robust presence at the 2023 Women Deliver conference in Kigali, Rwanda from July 16-20, 2023. Representatives from the Africa, Asia and U.S. offices will present research findings, convene advocates and coalitions and host critical discussions on gender equity during the four-day event. 

The International Center for Research on Women (ICRW) will have a robust presence at the 2023 Women Deliver conference in Kigali, Rwanda from July 16-20, 2023. Representatives from the Africa, Asia and U.S. offices will present research findings, convene advocates and coalitions anThe International Center for Research on Women (ICRW) will have a robust presence at the 2023 Women Deliver conference in Kigali, Rwanda from July 16-20, 2023. Representatives from the Africa, Asia and U.S. offices will present research findings, convene advocates and coalitions and host critical discussions on gender equity during the four-day event. d host critical discussions on gender equity during the four-day event. 

The International Center for Research on Women (ICRW) will have a robust presence at the 2023 Women Deliver conference in Kigali, Rwanda from July 16-20, 2023. Representatives from the Africa, Asia and U.S. offices will present research findings, convene advocates and coalitions and host critical discussions on gender equity during the four-day event. 

Below is an overview of the sessions where ICRW will participate and engage. The full program can be found here.

Follow ICRW and WeProsper on Twitter and use the hashtag #WD2023 for live updates from Kigali. 

Sunday, July 16 

Strengthening Care Policies and Intersectional Movements for Care Justice 

Time: 8:30 am – 6:30 pm CAT / Location: Serena Hotel

Ongoing conflicts and crises have spurred the urgent need for action and political will to support a resilient care economy. The COVID-19 pandemic exposed the fragility, inadequacy, and injustice of the global childcare, eldercare, and disability care infrastructures. This has been exacerbated by more frequent climate emergencies and conflicts. Women’s disproportionate share of unpaid care responsibilities increased significantly due to school and daycare closures, heightened eldercare and disability care needs, lockdowns, and other disruptions. As a result, women were forced to reduce their work hours or drop out of the labor force entirely to meet care demands. Many girls have not returned to school due to increased caregiving and domestic responsibilities and early marriage. Despite these ongoing challenges, the care economy remains underinvested and understudied. The Women Deliver Pre-Conference on the Care Economy is a collaboration across a consortium of partners.

Building on recent regional and global convenings focused on care, the Pre-Conference will elevate regional perspectives on care while specifically focusing on concrete, tangible actions for change and lifting up intersectional movements for care justice.  

Hosts: Women Deliver, The Asia Foundation, the Center for Global Development, WeProsper, and the International Labour Organization (ILO), in partnership with  Cadmus Group, International Development Research Centre (IDRC), Equimundo: Center for Masculinities and Social Justice, the International Rescue Committee (IRC), Global Alliance for Care, Early Childhood Development Action Network (ECDAN), with additional support from the Municipality of Bogotá, Hilton Foundation, Pro Mujer, UN Women Asia-Pacific Regional Office, UN Women, FEMNET, Moving Minds Alliance (MMC), MenCare: A Global Fatherhood Campaign, and Sonke Gender Justice.

This is an invitation-only event. 

Monday, July 17

Preventing & responding to violence against women: from evidence to action

Time: 8:30-12:30 pm CAT / Location: Ubumwe Grande Hotel

Globally nearly 1 in 3 women experience physical and/or sexual violence in their lifetime, mostly by an intimate partner. Violence against women is preventable. The Generation Equality Forum’s Gender-Based Violence Action Coalition has prioritized scaling-up evidence-based prevention. 

Hosted by UN Women and the WHO, this pre-conference workshop aims to highlight what commitments, evidence, tools, and practical experiences from the field can be applied to inspire global and local actions to prevent violence against women.The session will be a mix of interactive panel discussions, presentations and participatory activities. Panelists will include Government representatives, feminist civil society leading prevention in communities, UN and multi-lateral agency representatives. Participants will learn what policymakers can do to prevent violence against women. They will learn about interventions from the field that have worked to prevent violence against women; will have access to available data, evidence and tools to support their own advocacy, programming and monitoring and evaluation of prevention.

Tuesday, July 18 

Gender Transformative Education: Promoting Gender Responsive School systems: Insights from Low and Middle-Income Countries (LMICs)

Time: 10:30-11:45 am CAT/ Location: Room AD12.2

Inequitable gender norms, reinforced and sustained by various institutions including schools, adversely impact the aspirations and agency of girls and limit their access to resources and opportunities. This session will specifically focus on sharing and discussing insights on gender transformative programming within schools, highlighting the role of school leadership and other stakeholders in creating responsive educational environments. The session will delve into both successful initiatives and challenges faced, as well as explore opportunities for collaboration to bring about sustained and impactful change toward gender equality.

Advancing Women’s Access to Economic Justice and Opportunity in the Informal Economy

3:30-5:00 pm CAT / Location: Theater MH3.1 

This session draws upon emerging evidence and lessons learned from efforts to drive advocacy and policy related to women in the informal sector through the ReBUILD project. In a collaborative round table, researchers, advocates, and stakeholders will discuss the vulnerabilities revealed and exacerbated by COVID-19 and the ongoing impact of recovery policies on IWWs’ lives and livelihoods, focusing on creating opportunities to elevate IWWs’ voices in policy-setting. Participants will engage in an interactive workshop to offer their own insights and propose solutions, developing action plans for future advocacy and engagement in their own work.

Learning out loud: holding ourselves accountable to equity everyday

Time: 11:30 am – 1:00 pm CAT / Location: Room AD12.2 

This session will focus on how organizations and individuals can best hold themselves accountable to equity everyday. There are 3 parts, featuring a panel discussion from speakers from various organizations discussing what they are doing to center equity in their programming, a hands-on component where the audience will be able to apply what they have learned from the panel discussion and explore how they can make their own programming more equitable, as well as the opportunity for Global South participants to reflect and provide commentary.

Raising Women’s Voices Through Health Workforce Education and Research

Time: 5:30-8:00 pm CAT / Location: Four Points Sheraton

In partnership with Partners In Health (PIH), University of Global Health Equity (UGHE), ICRW will host an evening of cocktails and conversation with Didi Bertrand Farmer, PIH Ambassador and Adolescent Youth Program Advisor and Founder and President of Women and Girls Initiative, and Peggy Clark, ICRW CEO and President.

IDEA Initiative: #BackingTheBrave: Building a Social Innovation Ecosystem for SRHR Outside the Movement

Time: 5:30-7:00 pm CAT / Location: M Hotel, Room: Pelican 3

What does building a social innovation ecosystem with non-traditional partners look like? IDEA Initiative is our answer! Come and experience how this proven model of working with the media, tech, social entrepreneurship, and advertising industries has sparked innovative solutions to address SRHR challenges. Born in Latin America in 2017, IDEA Initiative Africa launched in 2022. The innovation lab taps into talents and explores creativity for SRHR problem-solving in spaces where it previously didn’t exist. This visual and digital showcase will lead guests through an exploration of pioneering solutions that will challenge how we work with innovative partners to catalyze collective action.

Wednesday, July 19

No More Excuses! Accountability Mechanisms for Girls and Young Women 

Time: 3:30-5:00 pm CAT / Location: Theater: AD10.1

Adolescent girls represent one of the most marginalized demographic groups globally: their unique needs often get overlooked in both child-rights, and women’s-rights conversations, and their voices go unheard in decisions on policy, climate, health, and beyond. Accountability for adolescent-focused commitments is not guaranteed either: global processes, such as Generation Equality, lack adolescent-led accountability mechanisms.

This session, facilitated by young people, showcases approaches to achieving accountability for adolescent girls and young women in all their diversity. We will hear from diverse stakeholders on challenges, solutions, and commitments which advance power being shifted to adolescent girls – nothing about them, without them.

Press contact: Anne McPherson, Vice President of Communications ([email protected]; +1-917-531-4050)