Building Feminist Movements And Organizations

The struggle for the advancement of women's rights and gender equality globally is impossible without strong women's organizations and movements to provide leadership and momentum. But what does a strong women's organization look like? And what does it take to create effective and sustainable women's movements? This groundbreaking collection of essays by activists from all corners of the globe explores what it means to be an influential women's organization, and what it takes to build the kinds of movements needed to transform women's lives. From how to build successful participatory democratic processes and implement shared leadership models, to lessons on overcoming internal organizational divisions, the case studies in this collection focus not only on the "what" but also the "how" of movement building. Those concerned with how to effect sustainable change will find not only much food for thought, but also an abundance of creative ideas and innovative strategies - served up with a uniquely feminist twist.

This collection of twenty-six original essays looks at contemporary feminist organizations, how they've survived, the effects of their work, the problems they face, the strategies they develop, and where the women's movement is headed. The contributors, leading feminist scholars from nine social science disciplines, examine a wide variety of local feminist organizations, past and preset, illuminating the struggles of feminist organizers and activists. In the series Women in the Political Economy, edited by Ronnie J. Steinberg.

This discussion paper views the whys and hows of feminist engagement with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in a broader context: the key UN-related processes from the time women began getting involved with them in the 1970s. This contextual analysis for the period from the 1970s up to 2010 illuminates a central argument of the paper: namely, that feminist movement building is not a simple volitional act but is enmeshed in the fluxes and changes of its external environment and institutions. This historical background sets the stage for a more in-depth discussion of the recent period of the SDGs. Given the long history and persistence of gender inequality and violations of girls’ and women’s human rights, such a perspective is essential for a more balanced understanding of where we need to go and how to advance more sustainable transformations. The feminist movement is no stranger to adverse economic, social, and political environments. This paper argues that the ability of feminist organizations to hold their own in this fierce world, to defend human rights, and to advance economic, ecological, and gender justice requires not only clarity of vision and a track record of analysis and advocacy, but also stronger communications skills, greater organizational resilience and effectiveness, and the ability to build and nurture effective alliances in which younger people play strong roles.

Feminist Organizing Across the Generations spans almost 60 years of feminist history and traces the evolution of feminist activism from the 1960s until the present. Using the Philadelphia chapter of the National Women's Organization as a starting point, Karen Bojar explores how feminist organizing was unfolding in similar ways across the county. The book examines the enormous energy put into building feminist service organizations such as women's shelters and rape crisis centers which were to have a profound impact on major social institutions, health care delivery and the justice system. The book also looks at the differences between the organizing strategies of "second wave" feminists and those of the 21st century. Much 21st-century feminist organizing is taking place outside of explicitly feminist groups, with young feminists bringing a gender justice perspective to a range of racial, economic and climate justice organizations. This book is suitable for students and scholars in women's and gender history, political history and gender studies.

Scholars of social movements tend to overlook the achievements and political significance of women's movements. Through theoretical discussions and empirical examples, Solidarities Beyond Borders demonstrates the creativity and dynamism of transnational feminist and women's groups around the world. These timely case studies from North America, Latin America, and Southeast Asia explore the benefits and challenges of extending ties beyond national borders and disciplinary boundaries. The contributors not only bring to light the opportunities and challenges that globalization poses for transnationalizing women's movements, they offer important strategic, conceptual, and methodological lessons for all social movements.

The Oxford Handbook of Transnational Feminist Movements explores the historical, political, economic and social contexts in which transnational feminist movements have emerged and spread, and the contributions they have made to global knowledge, power and social change over the past half century. The publication of the handbook in 2015 marks the fortieth anniversary of the United Nations International Women's Year, the thirtieth anniversary of the Third World Conference on Women held in Nairobi, the twentieth anniversary of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, and the fifteenth anniversaries of the Millennium Development Goals and of UN Security Council Resolution 1325 on 'women, peace and security'. The editors and contributors critically interrogate transnational feminist movements from a broad spectrum of locations in the global South and North: feminist organizations and networks at all levels (local, national, regional, global and 'glocal'); wider civil society organizations and networks; governmental and multilateral agencies; and academic and research institutions, among others. The handbook reflects candidly on what we have learned about transnational feminist movements. What are the different spaces from which transnational feminisms have operated and in what ways? How have they contributed to our understanding of the myriad formal and informal ways in which gendered power relations define and inform everyday life? To what extent have they destabilized or transformed the global hegemonic systems that constitute patriarchy? From a position of fifty years of knowledge production, activism, working with institutions, and critical reflection, the handbook recognizes that transnational feminist movements form a key epistemic community that can inspire and provide leadership in shaping political spaces and institutions at all levels, and transforming international political economy, development and peace processes. The handbook is organized into ten sections, each beginning with an introduction by the editors. The sections explore the main themes that have emerged from transnational feminist movements: knowledge, theory and praxis; organizing for change; body politics, health and well-being; human rights and human security; economic and social justice; citizenship and statebuilding; militarism and religious fundamentalisms; peace movements, UNSCR 1325 and postconflict rebuilding; feminist political ecology; and digital-age transformations and future trajectories.

The death of feminism is regularly proclaimed in the West. Yet at the same time feminism has never had such an extensive presence, whether in international norms and institutions, or online in blogs and social networking campaigns. This book argues that the women’s movement is not over; but rather social movement theory has led us to look in the wrong places. This book offers both methodological and theoretical innovations in the study of social movements, and analyses how the trajectories of protest activity and institution-building fit together. The rich empirical study, together with focused research on discursive activism, blogging, popular culture and advocacy networks, provides an extraordinary resource, showing how the women’s movements can survive the highs and lows and adapt in unexpected ways. Expert contributors explore the ways in which the movement is continuing to work its way through institutions, and persists within submerged networks, cultural production and in everyday living, sustaining itself in non-receptive political environments and maintaining a discursive feminist space for generations to come. Set in a transnational perspective, this book trace the legacies of the Australian women’s movement to the present day in protest, non-government organisations, government organisations, popular culture, the Internet and the Slut Walk. The Women’s Movement in Protest, Institutions and the Internet will be of interest to international students and scholars of gender politics, gender studies, social movement studies and comparative politics.