Violence is the main obstacle to human development. There is an intrinsic link between violence and religion, patriarchal gender violence being the most pervasive expression of religious violence. Mitigating violence therefore requires overcoming the patriarchal mindset, especially in religious institutions. The mission of this independent newsletter is to provide a commented digest on current research and emerging issues related to human solidarity, ecological sustainability, and both religious and secular non-violence. The U.N. "Millennium Development Goals" (MDGs) are used as a point of reference.
Theme of this Issue Gender Dimension of Sustainable Development
The dignity and human rights of each person are sacred
The original unity of man and woman must be restored as much as possible
Gender balance in the family is the cornerstone of society
Gender balance in the workplace is the cornerstone of sustainable development
Gender balance should become normative in all secular institutions
Gender balance should become normative in all religious institutions
Both the MDGs and integral human development require gender balance
In the secular spheres of family, workplace, and social institutions, zygarchy (gender balance) is the norm that follows from the full sharing of human nature by men and women. Surely, men and women are different genitally, and there are psychosomatic differences (left side of brain predominantly male, right side of brain predominantly female) but men and women being mutually complementary in no way implies that they are mutually exclusive as to their roles in the family, in the workplace, and in society.
The same applies in the religious sphere. Both men and women can and should have roles of religious authority and responsibility. The patriarchal imagery and organization of most religions is one of the most harmful distortions created by the human mind, and is basically at the service of phallocentric doctrines and institutions. It cannot possibly be for the glory of God and the good of souls, since both the glory of God and the good of souls is attained by way of sacrificial service, not by way of self-serving domination.
It follows, that religious institutions have the greatest responsibility to let go of harmful practices and doctrines, as the New Testament advises in 1 Thessalonians 5:21-22: Test everything. Hold on to the good. Avoid every kind of evil. Nothing is as harmful to humanity as religious intimidation, religious violence, and religious fundamentalism.
This issue also provides some information on the complex issue of subsidies. There are a huge number of government subsidies (usually in the form of tax breaks) given to both secular and religious institutions that practice gender discrimination in one form or another. In the secular world, women are generally paid less for doing the same work as men. Everyone knows about the "feminization of poverty" and other forms of gender violence which is often orchestrated by institutions that abuse women with one hand and receive lucrative subsidies with the other. In the world of religion, it is sufficient to mention that Roman Catholic and Islamic practice of excluding women from the clergy; a practice which is perpetuated by plain intimidation and crudely rationalized by ancient prejudice and recently developed "new doctrines."
Updates of the SSNV-MDG knowledge taxonomy and links database continue as time permits. Links to marginal research resources are being deleted, and links to "best of the web" resources continue to be collected. This is a never ending task, and the reader is cordially invited to take a look at this resource, grab anything of interest, and download it (free) for your own use (two options: HTML Web Page
or EXCEL Spreadsheet with tailorable HTML code). Adding an additional column to link content to same or similar content in languages other than English is under consideration.
Violence makes sustainable development unfeasible. There is no room for solidarity and sustainability when human behavior is driven by violence. The ubiquity of violence derives from gender violence: 50% of humanity struggling to dominate the other 50%. This has been so since the beginning of human history (Genesis 3:16), but it does not have to remain as a permanent wound of human civilization (Galatians 3:28).
Both patriarchy and matriarchy are institutionalizations of gender violence. Zygarchy, or gender balance, is the sharing of both authority and responsibility by men and women in all dimensions of human life. Zygarchy is proposed as the best model to attain gender balance, and gender peace, pursuant to solidarity, sustainability, and the future of humanity. Figure 1 is a Venn diagram visualization of this proposal.
Figure 1 - SSNV Model of Sustainable Human Development
SUMMARY
VIOLENCE is the greatest barrier to sustainable development
GENDER VIOLENCE is the most fundamental and pervasive form of VIOLENCE
PATRIARCHY and MATRIARCHY are institutionalizations of GENDER VIOLENCE
ZYGARCHY is proposed as the best model to mitigate GENDER VIOLENCE, and attain GENDER BALANCE, pursuant to solidarity, sustainability, and the future of humanity. According to the Web Glossary: "Zygarchy is a form of society in which power is equally shared between men and women, or a family structure where power is shared equally by both parents. The word zygarchy derives from the Greek word zeugos meaning "couple" and the Greek word archein meaning "to rule". Zygarchy is to be distinguished from matriarchy, a form of society in which power is with the women and especially with the mothers of a community, and from patriarchy in which power lies with the men and fathers of the society."
A reader has suggested the following question: "How do traditional gender relations adapt to the new requirements of sustainable development?" This is a good question, perhaps the key question that must be researched. Good research questions are the ones that most often lead to good research answers. The SSNV working hypothesis is that gender relations will have to adapt to the new realities and the new culture of sustainable development by becoming less patriarchal without becoming more matriarchal, eventually leading to zygarchy, i.e., men and women sharing both authority and responsibility in all aspects of family and social life (including religion!).
In previous issues, it was concluded that MDG3 - the promotion of gender equality - is the pivotal MDG and the gateway to making progress in all the other MDGs. It was shown that lack of cross-gender solidarity was a significant (perhaps the most significant) inhibitor along the path toward attaining the MDGs. Zygarchy would provide a model for male-female relations that would mitigate the propensity to domination by either gender. Theoretically, it is very appealing. In practical terms, however, the fact is that human history provides only minimal experience in working things out under zygarchy. In a hierarchical order of things (patriarchal or matriarchal) it is easy to understand who has the final word. Zygarchy would require a continuous balancing act, with dialogue replacing unilateral decisions in matters of importance.
In brief, gender balance is the natural order of things. There is gender balance in most living species. There is gender balance in humanity. But zygarchy, which is the structuring of gender balance in human affairs and institutions, is still rare. It may be that it takes dialogue, and therefore time and effort, to make zygarchy work. Patriarchy is no longer an option. The reader is invited to revisit our 2007 series of analysis on the MDGs, showing the need to achieve full gender equality worldwide, and sooner rather than later. Else, none of the other MDGs will be achieved. MDG3 is the key that opens the gateway to all the others.
The husband and the wife make all important decisions together. Children are under the joint authority of their father and mother, who share responsibility for their education and well-being. The husband/wife (father/mother) couple makes decisions as a couple. Both, together, are head of the family; except for cases in which one of them is absent or incapable. This may require dialogue to resolve disagreements, and would seem to be more difficult than letting one person make all the final decisions. But it is both possible and better than either the patriarchal or the matriarchal order of things; and this for many reasons.
The first reason is the human development of the spouses themselves. It is not only a matter of both developing their human potential in terms of work and leisure, inside and outside the home. The vocation to married life does not imply that one spouse shall go to the university, have a career, and work in various capacities at the service of society; while the other stays at home washing dishes and taking care of the children. In fact, the precise opposite is the case. The vocation to married life entails a commitment to nuptial unity and mutual self-giving. By definition, such unity and self-giving are precluded by either patriarchy or matriarchy.
The second reason is the human development of the children. Surely, this includes feeding them, clothing them, keeping them safe, caring for them in every way shape and form. But is also includes being role models for them. Both the boys and the girls must see, in their parents, the desire to become all they can be. Why should the boys see in their father the provider and figure of authority? Why should they see in their mother a second-class human being that languishes in the minutiae of daily house chores? The same questions apply for the girls. It is critical to understand that children learn by what they see and feel at home. This is the kind of learning that will guide their behavior and priorities when they become adults and have their own families. Surely, schooling is indispensable, for girls as well as for boys. But no school is more important than the family. And it is becoming increasingly evident that the patriarchal family is breaking down and can no longer provide a good "domestic school" for the children.
A third reason pertains to the practice of social justice within the family. Whether induced by external factors or internal family relations, there is such thing as "rich" and "poor" within families: "The chronically poor are those trapped in unequal social relations that are so unjust that there is no or very limited opportunity for upwards social and economic mobility, such that they experience persistently high levels of poverty. These may be at national or international level, but in some cases are at local, community level, and may even be found within households" (see The World's Most Deprived, IFPRI, 2007, page 78). Poverty within households can be material (exclusion from sharing in the family resources), spiritual (exclusion from sharing in heart to heart communications), or both. This happens in poor families, in middle-class families, and in well-to-do families. In any case, the best preventive is for both the father and the mother to be "the heart of the family."
Much has been written on gender roles at home, covering the wide spectrum from overt misogyny to gender balance. For further study, the following are recommended:
Zygarchy (gender balance) must begin at home and continue at work.
The collapse of patriarchy at home is tightly coupled to the collapse of patriarchy at work. We still have a long way to go in achieving gender equity in the workplace. Mercifully gone are the days in which women would be excluded from most of the professions and public functions. But there are many subtle (and not so subtle) ways to discriminate against one gender or another; and there are many ways to rationalize discriminatory behavior, including some that include highly "altruistic" fallacies. The following are recommended sources of historical accounts:
One way to discriminate (or, at least, condone discrimination) is the practice of subsidies. The following reader feedback pertains to the USA, but is certainly not limited to the USA: "I would suggest looking at government subsidies that encourage individuals and corporations to degrade the environment and will cause societal strain. For example - people buy/build larger houses because there is no cap on tax write-offs for homes. A larger home consumes much more in heating/cooling, electric and materials. The subsidy should be changed to still encourage home ownership, but to discourage "McMansions" with a cap a certain square footage .... In agriculture, out west - those who use more water maintain the rights to greater usage. Those who conserve water, lose their rights to using more water. This is out west in a drought-prone/problem area. Water conservation should be encouraged. Wasting water should be discouraged - the subsidy should be changed" (Joshua Leonard, personal communication).
Specifically on the tightly coupled issue of subsidies and gender imbalance, consider the following:
Freedom of Expressive Association and Government Subsidies, Eugene Volokh, The Stanford Law Review, Volume 26, Issue 6, pp. 1919-1968, 2005.
"May the government limit these programs to groups that don’t discriminate based on religion, sexual orientation, sex, race, ethnicity, and similar factors? Such discrimination is often a constitutional right—a right that’s one of Chief Justice Rehnquist’s and Justice O’Connor’s important contributions to First Amendment jurisprudence. And many groups exercise this right.
The Boy Scouts discriminate against the irreligious and against practicing homosexuals. Some religious student groups discriminate against members of other religions, and sometimes against practicing homosexuals. The Catholic Church discriminates based on sex in selecting its clergy, presumably based on religion. Orthodox Jewish synagogues discriminate based on ethnicity, not just religion, in choosing rabbis and members.6 Meetings organized by the Nation of Islam sometimes exclude attendees based on race and sex. Some
religious schools discriminate based on religion in selecting students, at least in the sense that they will choose only those students who are willing to participate in the religion’s devotional activities. May all these groups be constitutionally excluded from generally available benefit programs, because they exercise this constitutional right to discriminate?
This Article will try to answer this question. Part I will discuss what I call the No Duty To Subsidize Principle, to which Chief Justice Rehnquist and (to a lesser degree) Justice O’Connor have contributed much: the principle that the government generally need not subsidize the exercise of constitutional rights. Groups have the constitutional right to put on events and programs open only to blacks, heterosexuals, men, or religious believers; they may also put on programs open to all listeners but designed by group officers who are chosen in discriminatory ways. Yet the government need not subsidize this right, just as the government need not subsidize the rights to abortion, private schooling, or political expression about candidates or about legislation."
"Actions of the state, however, may also be supportive of religion. Indeed, many countries openly favor select religions. We define religious favoritism as “subsidies, privileges, support, or favorable sanctions provided by the state to a select religion or a small group of religions.” This favoritism can come in many forms. Like government regulation, subsidies can be constitutional guarantees, or they can result from the more capricious actions of administrative offices. The most obvious are specific constitutional privileges and the financial subsidies that directly support religious institutions. Less obvious are the supports of state institutions and administrators for such things as the teaching of religion in state supported schools and subsidy of service institutions run by religious groups."
Subsidies do have gender discrimination repercussions. Succinctly stated:"Generally speaking the government provides various benefits -- such as the tax deduction for contributions -- to a vast range of nonprofit organizations, religious or not, and discriminatory or not. There's no constitutional problem with the government's declining to exclude discriminatory groups, whether they discriminate based on sex, religion, or whatever else" (Eugene Volokh, personal communication). In other words, the law of the land must be changed before the subsidy can be changed. Easier said than done, but the fact remains that it is unfair to use tax monies to subsidize institutions (including religious institutions) that systematically discriminate in the workplace based on gender, race, age, etc. Needless to say, untangling the laws and regulations that subsidize patriarchy in the workplace may take several generations.
There is another option: do not buy goods and services from, or make financial contributions to, institutions that practice gender discrimination while receiving government subsidies. For instance, a campaign is currently underway to abstain from buying gasoline from Enron and Mobil after these companies reported huge financial gains for the first quarter this year. Buy all the gasoline you need, but not from Enron or Mobil. The only way to get the attention of those abusing subsidies and tax brakes is to hit them in the pocketbook.
Zygarchy (gender balance) must begin at home, continue at work, and expand to become normative in all human affairs and human institutions.
The equal development of men and women pertains to all dimensions of human development, both secular and religious:
"The world of humanity has two wings; one is woman and the other man. Not until both wings are equally developed can the bird fly. Should one wing remain weak, flight is impossible. Not until the world of woman becomes equal to the world of man in the acquisition of virtues and perfection's, can success and prosperity be attained as they ought to be."
Most universities in the world now have programs in women and gender studies as part of their curriculum. The United Nations recognized the importance of gender balance by making it one of the Millennium Development Goals (MDG3). A wealth of scholarly literature has emerged in conjunction with the first and
second waves of feminism. Examples:
The first wave of feminism emerged in the 1960s in order to overcome some of the limitations of the fist wave:
"First-wave feminism refers to a period of feminist activity during the nineteenth and early twentieth century in the United Kingdom and the United States. It focused on de jure (officially mandated) inequalities, primarily on gaining women's suffrage (the right to vote). The term "first-wave" was coined retroactively in the 1970s. The women's movement then, focusing as much on fighting de facto (unofficial) inequalities as de jure ones, acknowledged its foremothers by calling itself "second-wave feminism."
The second wave of feminism emerged in the 1960s in order to overcome some of the limitations of the fist wave:
"Second-wave feminism is generally identified with a period beginning in the early nineteen sixties. It is referred to as "second-wave" feminism as social changes tend to occur in waves. Its proponents ascribe its arrival to what they see as the failure of first wave feminism to achieve its aims. The movement encouraged women to understand the psychological implications of sexist stereotypes, and to make them realize that they could achieve more in life than being a housewife. It is credited by some as having opened up the eyes of American women to a world of careers and achievement. During the Second World War, many women experienced working life for the very first time. Women and men were working side by side, and achievements were being recognized. In the wake of the war, it is often argued that the short-lived affirmation of women's independence gave way to a pervasive endorsement of female subordination and domesticity, and it was not until the 1960s that the women's movement became successful.
The third wave of feminism is a more mature response to the backlash induced by the first and second waves:
"Third-wave feminism seeks to challenge or avoid what it deems the second wave's "essentialist" definitions of femininity, which often assumed a universal female identity and over-emphasized experiences of upper middle class white women. A post-structuralist interpretation of gender and sexuality is central to third wave ideology. There is a heightened emphasis on the discursive power and fundamental ambiguity inherent in gender terms and categories. Third-wave theory usually encompasses queer theory, transgender politics and a rejection of the gender binary, anti-racism and women of color consciousness, womanism, post-colonial theory, critical theory, transnationalism, ecofeminism, libertarian feminism, and new feminist theory. Also considered part of the third wave is sex-positivity, a celebration of sexuality as a positive aspect of life, with broader definitions of what sex means and what oppression and empowerment may mean in the context of sex. For example, many third-wave feminists have reconsidered oppositions to pornography and sex work of the second-wave and challenge existing beliefs that participants in pornography and sex work can not be empowered.
Third wave feminists often focus on "micropolitics," writing about forms of gender expression and representation that are less explicitly political than their predecessors. They also challenged the second wave's paradigm as to what is, or is not, good for females."
The first wave of feminism was mostly limited to the UK and the USA. The second wave extended the horizons of the feminist movement to include most of the entire "Global North." The third wave is truly global. It is also green and irreversible, because it is required for sustainable development and for humanity to become more human.
Zygarchy (gender balance) must begin at home, continue at work, and expand to become normative in all human affairs and human institutions, including religious institutions.
Let us reconsider the equal development of men and women as pertaining to all dimensions of human development, both secular and religious:
"The world of humanity has two wings; one is woman and the other man. Not until both wings are equally developed can the bird fly. Should one wing remain weak, flight is impossible. Not until the world of woman becomes equal to the world of man in the acquisition of virtues and perfection's, can success and prosperity be attained as they ought to be."
Gender balance in religion has not benefited from as much research as gender balance in society. There is something in religion, and in the dynamics of religious institutions, that inhibits many people from even touching the subject.
This is a real treasure, but unfortunately it remains buried and unknown to most people when it could be applied to the resolution of all the objections to the ordination of women. It is hard to understand why Pope John Paul II, who had written most of it before becoming pope, backtracked and decided to terminate (unilaterally) the process of discernment pursuant to the ordination of women in the Roman Catholic Church.
A patronizing pontification in which the Roman Catholic Church finally admits (better late than never) that women are not inferior to men, while at the same time reiterating that roles of religious authority in the RCC remain reserved to men (why???)
This may be the most brutal aberration in Roman Catholic teaching since Maleus Maleficarum (1486). It is a blunt, intimidating statement to the effect that ordination of women is forbidden in the Roman Catholic Church. The opening section is an attempt to intimidate the Anglican Communion about proceeding with the ordination of women. The subsequent sections are nothing but a crude rationalization of the status quo, based on a "literalist" ("fundamentalist") exegesis of selected passages from the Bible; a sad repetition of the Galileo case. The document is written in such as way that it is not an infallible definition (smoke screens to the contrary notwithstanding) but a definitively fallible statement that ordination is reserved for men alone. To add insult to injury, Christ is used as scapegoat ("the church cannot ordain women before Christ has not given permission to do so"). What is then the meaning of the "power of the keys"? And, for Roman Catholics, it is now forbidden to even discuss the issue. Only God can judge, but Ordinatio Sacerdotalis smells fishy.
By this "definitive" refusal to ordain women, the harm that the Roman Catholic Church is inflicting on humanity is incalculable. It reinforces primitive taboos about women being unclean, and even subhuman. It reinforces old misconceptions about the "masculinity" of the Trinity. It perpetuates the worship of a warrior God -- an idol entirely created by human hands. At a time when even Islamic scholars are reconsidering the misogyny of the Koran and the role of women in Muslim society, it discourages Christian-Muslim dialogue on this critical issue. Needless to say, it is an obstacle to ecumenism (the quest for unity) among the Christian churches. Thank God, some Christian churches have started ordaining women, and paying the price for doing what is right. A notable example is the Episcopal Church in the USA (where a woman, Katharine Jefferts Schori, was recently elected as prime bishop, or primate) and several other provinces of the Anglican Communion.
At the global level, one way to understand the connection between gender balance and human development is to juxtapose maps showing the geography of gender balance and human development indicators. For instance, consider the maps shown in Figure 2 and Figure 3. It should be noted that the maps use the same color coding but are based on independent sets of data: GEI is based on 2004 data, and HDI is based on 2002 data.
Gender Equity Index (GEI)
Figure 2 - GEI Global Geography
Source: Globalis & UNU (2004)
Human Development Index (HDI)
Figure 3 - HDI Global Geography
Source: Globalis & UNU (2002)
Lighter indicates high gender equity index, darker indicates low gender equity index. It is recognized that correlation does not imply causation. But the issue is not why gender equity is distributed as shown. The issue is how to improve both gender equity and human development going forward. If gender equity and human development remain stagnant, investing billions, and even trillions, will be an exercise in futility.
Lighter indicates high human development index, darker indicates low human development index. Again, correlation does not imply causation. Again, the issue is not how we got here. The issue is how to improve both gender equity and human development going forward. If gender equity and human development remain stagnant, investing billions, and even trillions, will be an exercise in futility.
The UN Millennium Development Goals are probably the best option when it comes to improving both gender equality and human development, especially in those regions where the situation is worst. Consider Figure 4:
Figure 4 - GEI Decomposition (Economic, Education, Health, Political) by Country
Source: Human Development Report 2007-2008 (UNDP)
Vertical axis: 0% = inequality, 100% = equality.
Horizontal axis: 128 countries ordered in descending value of GEI.
The message of these trends is simple. Gender equity keeps decreasing in most countries, and especially in those where gender equity is already low. The economic, education, and political empowerment components follow similar declining patterns. The health component is more stable, and this may be due to the increased efforts regarding MDG4 (reduction of infant mortality), MDG5 (reduction of maternal mortality) and MDG6 (mitigation of the HIV/AIDS epidemic). For education, these results compare with the current trends reported by the World Bank on the ratio of girls to boys in primary and secondary education
The criticality of improving gender balance for human development and for all the other MDGs cannot be overemphasized:
UN MDGs 1 TO 8:
PLUS "MDG" 9: Freedom of Conscience
MDG REQUIREMENTS
MDG1 REQUIRES GENDER BALANCE FOR DISTRIBUTIVE JUSTICE
MDG2 REQUIRES GENDER BALANCE FOR HUMAN DEVELOPMENT
MDG3 REQUIRES GENDER BALANCE IN BOTH AUTHORITY AND RESPONSIBILITY
MDG4 REQUIRES BOTH PATERNAL AND MATERNAL CARE
MDG5 REQUIRES NUPTIAL UNITY AND CARE
MDG6 REQUIRES ABSTINENCE BEFORE MARRIAGE AND NUPTIAL MONOGAMY
MDG7 REQUIRES GENDER BALANCE IN ENVIRONMENTAL STEWARDSHIP
MDG8 REQUIRES GENDER BALANCE IN ALL HUMAN PARTNERSHIPS
MDG9 REQUIRES EQUAL GENDER SHARING IN FREEDOM OF CONSCIENCE
It is difficult to find any information that is totally irrelevant to solidarity, sustainability, and nonviolence. This is even more so regarding knowledge and wisdom. Tools like Google and Wikipedia enable the researcher to find much of what is needed in a rather efficient manner. But it is also useful to keep collections of links to knowledge and data sources that are frequently used. SSNV readers are reminded about the following free resources:
Updates of the SSNV-MDG knowledge taxonomy and links database continue as time permits. This is work in progress and will continue to evolve as the research unfolds. The best resource on the web that includes both a knowledge taxonomy and links to URLs with knowledge content is the Knowledge 2008: Map of Human Knowledge
by Chaim Zins. It provides:
Regarding the SSNV Directory of Knowledge Content, there is one more column in the horizon: language. All the websites linked to the current database are in English. A few are translated to other languages, mainly French, German, Portuguese, Italian, Spanish. Even if the websites are different, there are websites in various languages that provide essentially the same content. It would seem that providing links to websites in other languages may be useful for those who are not familiar with English, or who need material in another language. Russian, Chinese, and Japanese would be more difficult due to the differences in alphabets and fonts. If anyone has any suggestion on how to approach the transition from an English-only to a multilingual database, please let us know!
For Christians, during this Easter season, the best "prayer, study, and action" is to meditate on the paschal mystery, repent from sin after a good "examination of conscience," and start looking for concrete ways to follow "the straight and narrow path." This path is one in which we make a radical renunciation of violence. In particular, we renounce using others as scapegoats for our own sins. The following collage is a visualization of some of the divine mysteries revealed to us in Christ, as well as some of the many forms of human collaboration God needs in order to continue "building humanity" and "building the earth." This is a great mystery indeed, that God needs our cooperation in order to continue the mission of Jesus in the world.
Click on the image to see a larger image
Sources for the images of paintings and photos used in the collage include the following:
The icon of the Holy Trinity by Sergei Rublev (Russia, ca. 1420)
Photo of St. Therese of Lisieux (Lisieux, France, 1897)
The Pelican symbol of self-sacrifice for the good of others (Physiologus, 4th century CE)
Photo of Bishop Penelope Jamieson (Dunedin, New Zealand, 1990)
Photo of Rev. Mary Ramerman, Spiritus Christ Community (Rochester, New York, 1996)
Painting of the Last Supper by Bohdan Piasecki (Poland, 1998)
Painting of Mary Magdalene preaching the gospel Emer O'Boyle (Ireland, 2003)
Painting of a woman priest celebrating Mass by Farid de la Ossa (Colombia, 2008)
Photo of Prime Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori and Bishop Suheil Dawani (Jerusalem, 2008)
Painting of the crucifixion of Jesus (Grey Nuns’ chapel, Boston)
The Yin-Yang symbol of masculinity and femininity (Tao tradition, China)
For those who prefer readings, the following are suggested:
Western Michigan University
Department of: Interdisciplinary Evaluation
Principal Investigator: Michael Scriven
Student Investigator: Daniela Schroeter
Dear members of the Solidarity-Sustainability Group:
My name is Daniela Schroeter. I am a doctoral candidate in the Interdisciplinary Ph.D. in Evaluation Program at Western Michigan University. I am writing to invite you to participate in a validation study of my Sustainability Evaluation Checklist as it relates to sustainability evaluation in international contexts. Your knowledge and expertise will be highly valuable in assuring that the checklist is complete, correct, and useful.
The checklist has been developed based on a literature review and provides guidance for general evaluation tasks as well as criteria of specific relevance to sustainability. Specifically, it distinguishes between evaluation OF sustainability (i.e., How well an evaluation object is being sustained?) and evaluation FOR sustainability (i.e., How well does an evaluation object address the larger concerns faced within sustainable development?).
If you agree to participate, I will provide you with the checklist and a survey that asks questions about the checklist and about your professional background. In addition to the time required to read the checklist, the survey will take approximately 20 minutes of your time. Your responses will be treated confidentially. If you know of any person who may be interested in this project and who is not on this listserv, please forward this e-mail respectively.
If you are interested in participating in the study and willing to volunteer some of your valuable time for providing critical feedback on the checklist, please reply favorably to my personal e-mail address: Daniela.Schroeter@gmail.com. I will respond to you with a copy of the checklist and the survey. Please indicate if you prefer taking the survey via a web-based link or a word document in which you can save your answers.
If you decide to participate, you will receive a synthesis of the responses to the survey as well as the improved checklist for use in your organization.
If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Sincerely,
Daniela C. Schroeter
PhD Candidate in Interdisciplinary Evaluation
Western Michigan University Evaluation Center
http://evaluation.wmich.edu/phd/
Associate Editor of the Journal of MultiDisciplinary Evaluation
http://evaluation.wmich.edu/jmde/
The pelican is a legendary symbol of commitment to the service of others, especially those who are weak and most vulnerable to physical and/or psychological violence.
"'Empowering women is not just an end in itself; it is a prerequisite for reaching all of the Millennium Development Goals – our common vision to build a better world in the 21st century,'" she said of the targets, known as MDGs, that aim to slash a host of global ills by 2015."
Rev. Ella Pearson-Mitchell
Ebenezer Baptist Church, Atlanta
"Gracious, gifted and witty, the Reverend Doctor Ella P. Mitchell (89) is a sought-after preacher, lecturer and mentor. A pioneer educator and theologian, she was the first woman Dean of the Sister’s Chapel at Spelman College and is the editor of three of the four volumes of the Those Preaching Women series. She has been married to the Reverend Doctor Henry Mitchell for more than fifty years. In addition to jointly preaching dialogue sermons around the world, they have co-authored a book entitled Together for Good."
Rev. Canon Nangula E. Kathindi
Anglican Church of Southern Africa
"In 1993, Canon Kathindi was one of the first two women to be ordained deacon in the Anglican Diocese of Namibia and a year later was ordained a priest," said the Rev. Dr. Barney Hawkins, executive director of the Center for Anglican Communion Studies at VTS. "Since this time she has had many 'firsts' associated with her life. First woman archdeacon in the Diocese of Namibia [1999], first woman elected General Secretary in the Namibian Council of Churches [1999], first woman dean of St. George's Cathedral [2004], and the first woman Provincial Secretary of the Anglican Church of Southern Africa."
Wife, Mother, Lawyer, Stateswoman
Senator from New York Next President of the USA
Visit the Official Web Site
BRIEF REFLECTION
Senator Hillary Clinton
is the best qualified person to be
both commander in chief
and chief promoter
of peace and justice,
solidarity, sustainability,
and nonviolence
in the USA and worldwide.
She has been tested
in the fire of humiliation;
and this is the best preparation
to become a champion of
human rights and
human development
in the years ahead.
We still don't know much about
Senator Barrack Obama
except perhaps that his fund raisers
are better than Hillary's.
Fund raising can be orchestrated
and driven by rhetoric and infatuation.
Ballistic surges in popularity
are seldom the mark of a leader
who is really committed
to truth, freedom, and care.
Are we going to let money prevail?
Are we going to let rhetoric prevail?
May God help the voters
to vote wisely.
Selected Links
Resources worth visiting:
Wikigender Platform for Sharing Information on Gender Equity
Gender inequality is the greatest obstacle to human development. The following are links to knowledge that is relevant to the gender dimension of the MDGs and sustainable development.
Note: This list of links is recommended for the purpose of reviewing various schools of thought about gender and human sexuality. It does not imply full agreement with everything as stated in the linked documents.
Bishop Katharine & Bishop Suheil
Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori made Anglican history on March 16 becoming the first woman ever to preach at St. George's Cathedral in Jerusalem. Source: Episcopal Life Online
Web for Kids
Announcements
SSNV Call for Papers
Short articles about the impacts of all forms of secular and religious violence on
social solidarity
ecological sustainability
human development
During 2008, articles are especially desired on incentives for solidarity and sustainability and all dimensions of sustainable development. How can people be motivated to collaborate in the transition from patriarchy to solidarity, sustainability, and human development? What is the proper role of secular institutions? What is the proper role of religious institutions?
Accepted papers will be published when time and space allows. Please email your submission to the editor at
WORLD CONSERVATION CONGRESS IUCN World Conservation Congress, Barcelona, Spain, 5-14 October 2008. Ten days with 8,000 of the world’s leading decision makers in sustainable development. See the conference website.
ECREA 2008 CFP, ECREA's 2nd European Communication Conference. Barcelona, Spain, 25-28 November 2008. Hosted by Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB). See the conference website.
CHILD SLAVERY Wilberforce Institute for the study of Slavery and Emancipation (WISE), University of Hull, UK, 27-28 November 2008. Contact: Jane Ellison.
SCARR 2009 Managing the Social Impacts of Change from a Risk Perspective, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 15-17 April 2009. See the SCARR web site. For details contact Jens Zinn or Peter Taylor-Gooby.
The SSNV-MDG knowledge taxonomy and links database can be downloaded as either an HTML web page or an EXCEL spreadsheet with embedded table-building HTML code that can be modified to fit the user needs.
![[ssnvrainbow]](ssnvrainbow.jpg)
![[paschalcollage2008]](http://pelicanweb.org/paschalcollage.jpg)
![[pclogo]](pclogo.gif)
![[rainbow224x7]](rainbow224x7.jpg)
![[manwomanpioneerplaque]](manwomanpioneerplaque.png)
![[worldpop19502050]](worldpop19502050.jpg)
![[religions2]](religions2.jpg)
![[asha-rose-migiro]](asha-rose-migiro.jpg)
![[revella89]](revella89.jpg)
![[revcanonnangulakathindi]](revcanonnangulakathindi.jpg)
![[hillaryapril]](hillaryapril.jpg)
![[hillaryforpresident2008]](hillaryforpresident2008.jpg)
![[groups_medium]](groups_medium.gif)
