2012 Must-Reads: Women in Politics, Business, and Government
This image is from “Texts from Hillary,” an internet meme inspired by Sec. Clinton that went viral online. Clinton, whose favorite post showed her texting with Ryan Gosling, even joined in on the fun by contributing her own creation to the tumblr blog.
This past year, Inclusive Security was part of promising change that got more women to more decision-making tables.
We’re proud that our work is part of an even bigger splash women made in 2012. Preventing and ending war requires not just policy shifts but also widespread changes in the way people think about women in politics, business, governance, and beyond.
Here are my must-read articles from 2012:
- Valerie Hudson’s groundbreaking research in Sex and World Peace revealed the best predictor of a state’s security. Hint: It isn’t wealth or democracy.
- Christina Huffington compiled this list of the 24 best moments for women in 2012. At #9: More positions are formally opened up to female service members.
- Anne-Marie Slaughter’s manifesto (#12 on Huffington’s list) on why women can’t have it all sparked debate about work-life balance that dominated the internet and news media for weeks over the summer. Don’t miss Slaughter’s follow-up on “Why Family is a Foreign-Policy Issue.”
- Olivia B. Waxman highlighted four ways women won the 2012 US election. Our favorite? The record-breaking number of incoming female senators (20).
- Inclusive Security’s founder and chair, Ambassador Swanee Hunt, laid out why we should care about getting more women elected on both sides of the aisle. It will lower corruption, broaden the agenda, and encourage bipartisan collaboration.
- Ambassador Melanne Verveer also made the case for how promoting the status of women makes for smarter foreign policy. We couldn’t agree more.
- The Global Network of Women Peacebuilders published its annual “Women Count” report [PDF], which monitors worldwide progress on implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1325 and offers recommendations for improving results.
- Jamie Bechtel echoes Wangari Maathai’s stirring call for the women of Kenya to plant trees and how women, war, and natural resources are vitally connected.
Inclusive Security had a banner year, too: we launched a new website and a multi-million dollar initiative called Resolution To Act, designed to support countries developing and implementing National Action Plans.
We expanded our work in the Middle East, North Africa, and beyond. Here in the US, we moved into a beautiful new office to accommodate our growing staff.
Our next steps promise to be even more exciting. We’re ready to make 2013 the best year yet: more women at the table, more meaningful policies to ensure everyone has a say in decisions that affect their lives, more peace and security in communities throughout the world. We hope you’ll join us.
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