weden elected a conservative government on Monday, October 17. In a matter of days, its pioneer feminist project has already begun to erode. Sweden is just one of many countries which has recently experienced alarming right-wing backlash to gender equality. Sweden’s policy shift was unfortunate, but it was timely in one way – the same week more than fifty feminist leaders gathered at Salzburg Global Seminar, where they discussed how to more effectively advocate for feminist policies in the political arena. As participants discussed different experiences in various parts of the world a common theme emerged: building a network is essential.
An Organizer Incubator in Hawai’i
Khara Jabola-Carolus, executive director of the Hawai’i State Commission on the Status of Women, co-founded the Hawai’i chapter of Af3irm, an incubator for feminist political organizers. In addition to teaching women how to organize a protest, run a campaign, and start a union, it teaches women feminist leaders to support one another.
“Women – especially women of color – are on borrowed time if they are truly adhering to feminist principals,” Jabola-Carolus said. Women in positions of power are often conditioned to tear each other down, and that’s bad news for progress in gender equality. Jabola-Carolus explained:
“When you’re a feminist in government, you’re not the popular voice. You’re something completely new that breaks with the way of doing things in the government. If you don’t have people to support you publicly, it's hard to weather the pushback. Having a bunch of feminists who can articulate why your work was amazing, turn out articles, and go to the government to laud your work makes it really hard to carry out any punishment against you.”
Mujeres Gobernando
Mercedes D’Alessandro came to the same conclusion. When she became the first National Director of Economy, Equality, and Gender in Argentina’s Ministry of Economy in December 2019, she and State Secretary of Climate Change, Sustainable Development, and Innovation Cecilia Nicolini created a WhatsApp group chat. They called it “Mujeres Gobernando '' [the “Governing Women”]. D’Alessandro was new to politics and needed other leaders she could turn to for advice. Hundreds of women joined, whether they were feminist or not.
“Feminism can carry stereotypes and expectations. But in this group, no one cares what your label is. It’s about working together for the construction of a common agenda. Mujeres Gobernando gives you something to be a part of that is above the party-level. It’s a group of people doing politics with a gender lens at the same time, in the same government.”
D’Alessandro scrolled through the group chat. Amid heart emojis and words of encouragement, there were messages sharing information on projects as well as asking for help with connections, retweets, and accompaniment for important meetings.
A quick text enabled D’Alessandro to bypass the hierarchical structure of Argentine politics. For instance, she could cut through the typical red tape of securing a meeting with a minister. Reflecting on this, D'Alessandro added, “We are humans, you know. We don’t have this division in real life."
Extending Networks into the Community
For Jacqui Dyer, Deputy Leader of Council in Lambeth, England, it's not just about building a network within your political environment. It's about building community with the people you are representing, too.
“You should be looking for shared ownership. The absence of diverse and divergent voices raises the risk of non-inclusive policy development—policies that don’t respond to the needs of the population. For informed decision making and policies that actually achieve their objective, everyone should have the opportunity to participate. This is how you can create a shared language,” she explained.
Dyer developed this approach in addressing gender-based violence in Lambeth, England, where the number of African and Caribbean women who sought out domestic abuse services or children and family statutory services was disproportionate to their representation in the Lambeth population at large. The imbalance reflects how many of these women face cumulative and ongoing economic disempowerment, poor housing, and lack of access to education and employment.
Noticing that Lambeth’s Eurocentric one size fits all approach did nothing to correct systemic and structural racism, Dyer rethought government-community engagement. She reached out to the communities to understand which organizations they trusted and engaged with. Then, she “worked in those grassroots settings, following their style of engagement rather than the style used by government services,” Dyer explained. “There's a humility that has to be present there, that we do not know everyone’s experiences.”
According to Jabola-Carolus, networks are critical to building longevity in feminist politics. "How do we make sure feminism doesn’t die just because a policy is overturned or a law is repealed? We need to create an organized structure that can last beyond commissions coming and going.”
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Networks, the Future of Feminist Politics
Group photo of participants of Salzburg Global Program's "Health and Economic Well-being: Gender Equity and Post-Pandemic Rebuilding." Photo by Katrin Kerschbaumer, courtesy of Salzburg Global Seminar.
October 24, 2022
In many countries across the world, there has been a harsh backlash against feminist principles in politics. At Salzburg Global Seminar, a diverse group of feminist leaders discussed how to be more resilient. One answer? Networks of women, writes Diplomatic Courier Correspondent Millie Brigaud.
S
weden elected a conservative government on Monday, October 17. In a matter of days, its pioneer feminist project has already begun to erode. Sweden is just one of many countries which has recently experienced alarming right-wing backlash to gender equality. Sweden’s policy shift was unfortunate, but it was timely in one way – the same week more than fifty feminist leaders gathered at Salzburg Global Seminar, where they discussed how to more effectively advocate for feminist policies in the political arena. As participants discussed different experiences in various parts of the world a common theme emerged: building a network is essential.
An Organizer Incubator in Hawai’i
Khara Jabola-Carolus, executive director of the Hawai’i State Commission on the Status of Women, co-founded the Hawai’i chapter of Af3irm, an incubator for feminist political organizers. In addition to teaching women how to organize a protest, run a campaign, and start a union, it teaches women feminist leaders to support one another.
“Women – especially women of color – are on borrowed time if they are truly adhering to feminist principals,” Jabola-Carolus said. Women in positions of power are often conditioned to tear each other down, and that’s bad news for progress in gender equality. Jabola-Carolus explained:
“When you’re a feminist in government, you’re not the popular voice. You’re something completely new that breaks with the way of doing things in the government. If you don’t have people to support you publicly, it's hard to weather the pushback. Having a bunch of feminists who can articulate why your work was amazing, turn out articles, and go to the government to laud your work makes it really hard to carry out any punishment against you.”
Mujeres Gobernando
Mercedes D’Alessandro came to the same conclusion. When she became the first National Director of Economy, Equality, and Gender in Argentina’s Ministry of Economy in December 2019, she and State Secretary of Climate Change, Sustainable Development, and Innovation Cecilia Nicolini created a WhatsApp group chat. They called it “Mujeres Gobernando '' [the “Governing Women”]. D’Alessandro was new to politics and needed other leaders she could turn to for advice. Hundreds of women joined, whether they were feminist or not.
“Feminism can carry stereotypes and expectations. But in this group, no one cares what your label is. It’s about working together for the construction of a common agenda. Mujeres Gobernando gives you something to be a part of that is above the party-level. It’s a group of people doing politics with a gender lens at the same time, in the same government.”
D’Alessandro scrolled through the group chat. Amid heart emojis and words of encouragement, there were messages sharing information on projects as well as asking for help with connections, retweets, and accompaniment for important meetings.
A quick text enabled D’Alessandro to bypass the hierarchical structure of Argentine politics. For instance, she could cut through the typical red tape of securing a meeting with a minister. Reflecting on this, D'Alessandro added, “We are humans, you know. We don’t have this division in real life."
Extending Networks into the Community
For Jacqui Dyer, Deputy Leader of Council in Lambeth, England, it's not just about building a network within your political environment. It's about building community with the people you are representing, too.
“You should be looking for shared ownership. The absence of diverse and divergent voices raises the risk of non-inclusive policy development—policies that don’t respond to the needs of the population. For informed decision making and policies that actually achieve their objective, everyone should have the opportunity to participate. This is how you can create a shared language,” she explained.
Dyer developed this approach in addressing gender-based violence in Lambeth, England, where the number of African and Caribbean women who sought out domestic abuse services or children and family statutory services was disproportionate to their representation in the Lambeth population at large. The imbalance reflects how many of these women face cumulative and ongoing economic disempowerment, poor housing, and lack of access to education and employment.
Noticing that Lambeth’s Eurocentric one size fits all approach did nothing to correct systemic and structural racism, Dyer rethought government-community engagement. She reached out to the communities to understand which organizations they trusted and engaged with. Then, she “worked in those grassroots settings, following their style of engagement rather than the style used by government services,” Dyer explained. “There's a humility that has to be present there, that we do not know everyone’s experiences.”
According to Jabola-Carolus, networks are critical to building longevity in feminist politics. "How do we make sure feminism doesn’t die just because a policy is overturned or a law is repealed? We need to create an organized structure that can last beyond commissions coming and going.”
