Blogs

Gail James, Coordinator, Cities for CEDAW Campaign & board member of Women’s Intercultural Network

How fortunate I have been to have had multiple connections to WIN and Cities for CEDAW:  I’ve had a  Front Row Seat.  I’ve worked the Back Stage.  And I’ve had a principal On Stage Role.

History

My connection begins in 1976, when I met Marilyn Fowler. We worked together on a grant to recognize women during the US Bicentennial celebration.  She connected me to her “tribe,” as she called colleagues.  This was her pattern, and why she excelled at organizational development, building networks and coalitions, training young women, and most importantly, creating life-long friends and admirers. In the 80’s, Marilyn invited me into Commission on the Status of Women activism. By the early 1990’s, we had collaborated, shared friends and interests and rejoiced as the 2nd Wave of Feminism evolved. Through Marilyn,

I met Eileen Hernandez, Fay Wattleston, Dolores Huerta, Loretta Ross, Betty Friedan and Bella Abzug, the foremothers of our time.  In 1994, we attended an International Women’s conference, where the Women’s Intercultural Network (WIN) was conceived, in collaborative commitment to global women’s lives.

Marilyn saw the critical need for diverse groups of women to interact in networks, not hierarchies, and she invited me to join WIN’s Founding Board of Directors.   By 1995, upon return from the Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing, Marilyn had WIN ready to implement the Beijing Platform for Action via CAWA, the California Women’s Agenda.  Since then, WIN established itself as a lead voice for “local to global” women’s activism and networking.

WIN’s vision and mission became increasingly allied with NGO partners and United Nations advocates, bringing into focus the dream of the “CEDAW Bill of Rights for Women” and shaped that aspiration from an idea into a real program of activism.

The Cities for CEDAW Campaign was launched in 2014, at the United Nations NGO Commission on the Status of Women Forum 58, through the coalition of the Women’s Intercultural Network, the San Francisco Department on the Status of Women, the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, and the NGOCSW/NY as founding partners. I felt the excitement in that room; it was

electric, with bustling organizations and activists sharing hopes for a new day in women’s rights. It encouraged local US jurisdictions to examine public policies with Resolutions and Ordinances focused on tackling discrimination city by city, in accordance with UN CEDAW Treaty principles, (Convention for the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women). When, In 2015, the U.S.

Conference of Mayors approved a CEDAW Resolution, spurred by San

Francisco Mayor Ed Lee, we rejoiced!

And rejoicing occurs often, as we work backstage to craft meaningful measures for gender equity: many recent celebrations for Santa Clara, San Diego County, Toledo, OH, Washington, D.C. From my front row seat, I see the individuals and the coalitions that work persistently to ensure better lives for women and girls.  Hats off to the activists!

Development

To date, over 80 cities and counties have begun to establish gender studies to identify inequities, to provide for oversight bodies and to create the measurement mechanisms that promote essential compliance.  There is growing consensus that “CEDAW is the roadmap for gender equality in city government.”  My role has moved from front row seat to backstage to on stage, as I speak and present across the country to promote CEDAW and local enactment of a legal framework to improve women’s lives.  Opportunities to highlight our work has taken me to New York and Geneva, and everywhere via zoom, to give honor to WIN for its support and to the women around the country for their dedication to the vision and its implementation.

It has been a most gratifying experience to see the forward movement toward human rights for women and girls across the country.   For WIN and for its Board of Directors, and for me personally, it has been both a commitment and an honor to carry forth the legacy of Marilyn Fowler and the visionary coalition that launched the Cities for CEDAW Campaign.

There is, of course, a cast of other key characters: I recognize the vision and leadership of Krishanti Dharmaraj and Soon-Young Yoon. I have been honored by knowing them and sharing the stage with their contributions to the CEDAW work. And younger women are emerging, as well, to take us on new paths and opportunities for gender equity and empowerment

Current

However, since Marilyn’s illness and departure from active leadership, both WIN and C4C have felt the impact of loss.   Nevertheless, we have shepherded the growing movement, with care, persistence and real passion.   WIN has done this with few resources, no staff, no funding and limited outside support.  In fact, despite these challenges, WIN has “kept the lights on, and the doors open” for CEDAW efforts everywhere.   Where would Cities for CEDAW be today, if not for the WIN Board of Directors, led by Elahe Amani?  WIN has championed and shepherded the local CEDAW Movement with grace and grit, and I am grateful to have been a working part.

This is how I’d like to highlight WIN and its continued role in my life.

And yet, I must also acknowledge “the agony and the ecstasy” of generating

human rights and CEDAW energy; it has been a difficult journey, with significant challenges. These challenges include, not only the worsening political climate for social justice, but the increasing resistance of local officials to endorse equity measures.   Moreover,  the continuous changes in leadership at the local level and in our sister organizations leave us with shifting landscapes that must be consistently renewed.   The work is endless, actual implementation is difficult and requires application and understanding.   So, when we have a local success, such as the recent Ordinances in Santa Clara, CA and Washington, D.C., we

really celebrate!   These accomplishments mark years in preparation and

persistence by intrepid local advocates.

We  take considerable pride in acknowledging the relative success of the Cities for CEDAW initiative, from one city, San Francisco in 1998, to 65 in 2024, with over additional 20 jurisdictions showing interest, building coalitions, drafting

resolutions and ordinances, and pushing for official approvals.

Going Forward

We anticipate over 100 jurisdictions developing into our next phase.

As we celebrate our 10th Anniversary in 2024, we know that our next 10 years will bring new growth and new challenges. To prepare, we are seeing new energy on the Advisory Board; we recognize new pathways, such as the CEDAW

Challenge and the History and Futures Project, in addition to the national efforts to ratify the UN CEDAW Treaty.  We are heartened to see increased support for human rights in the corporate and private sectors.  We welcome the Women’s Funding Network partnership on interactive data to energize our research and outreach.

I feel the heartfelt groundswell of connection with women at the grassroots and at the global level.   This buoys us up when challenges beset us.   At the very same time, I feel the push-pull of competing agendas, personal differences and less-than-ideal solidarity – these elements are frustrating, distracting and impediments to the goals we say we share.  I will work to promote a good faith effort for our next ten years. Because we are all fortunate to be part of an endeavor that unites us in common values, I continue to aspire to the good faith efforts of our founding coalition, with strong collaborative efforts carrying us all toward the gender equity we hold as a driving motivation.

I am committed to re-animating Marilyn Fowler’s legacy of connection and cross-cultural activism, by making WIN as relevant in the 21st century as it was at its inception.  I see WIN’s potential as a fulcrum of implementing the Beijing

Platform for Action and Cities for CEDAW on the national level, and to connect across cultures for global solidarity among all women and girls.  My vision

correlates with WIN’s mission to activate the Global Circles, our UN and CSW connections and to spur on the national Women’s Agenda that is so needed to move us forward.   I want WIN to incarnate the “go-to sisterhood” that Marilyn Fowler envisioned over 25 years ago.  Her legacy will stay relevant, if we carry forward the torch, actively looking ahead in real solidarity.