UNCSW Episcopal Church Delegates, Diane Wright

The UNCSW began March 14. The Episcopal Women's Caucus and The Episcopal Church Women have partnered to help support the Episcopal Delegates to the UNCSW. In the comments section are instructions for donating. 

Here is Diane Wright's story:

I spent my formative years living in developing countries where opportunities for women and girls differed from those in the US. This early exposure influenced my academic pursuits in which I focused on international human rights issues both in my undergraduate and legal studies. And in the ensuing years, my interest in issues affecting women and girls has grown and I have pursued these passions through my work in my parish, St. Mary’s Episcopal Church in Arlington, VA, and the Diocese of Virginia. 

Through my faith community, I am involved in various ministries affecting women and girls including as i. a member of the Executive Board of the ECW of the Diocese of Virginia and delegate to the Triennial Meeting of the National ECW in Salt Lake City this past July; ii. a leader of our parish Junior High Girls group where we gather bi-monthly with 15-20 girls for fun, fellowship and prayer; and iii. a thought leader for the “Faith and Females” initiative in the Diocese of Virginia which focuses on topics of interest to younger women. And through my professional work I have consulted on issues affecting women on corporate boards and represent women entrepreneurs. This passion for women and girls has merged with my interest in international outreach. Several years ago, I facilitated the collection of sewing machines to be sent to the women of our sister parish in Honduras to provide them with opportunities to learn a trade and thus contribute to the economic development of their community and their families. And currently, I am building relationships in the Diocese of Central Tanganyika, Tanzania hoping to work with the diocese and our partner parish to help improve sustainability in the local communities by empowering women. 

Through my participation in the UNCSW with a focus on the empowerment of women for sustainable development, I hope to gain knowledge to further our ministry, both at the parish and diocesan level, in Tanzania, and to disseminate information on novel and broader initiatives. We are called through our baptismal covenant to strive for justice and peace among all people and respect the dignity of every human being. Through my ministry and my participation at UNCSW, I pray that God uses me as a catalyst to give greater voice to women and girls within my community and the greater Anglican Communion in order to foster a more just world in which men and women have equal voices and opportunities.

To donate please go here and click on:  EWC Margo Fund

UNCSW 2016: Sarah Watkins

The UNCSW began March 14. The Episcopal Women's Caucus and The Episcopal Church Women have partnered to help support the Episcopal Delegates to the UNCSW. In the comments section are instructions for donating. 

Here is Sarah Watkins' story:

I am a UNCSW delegate from the Diocese of Texas. I am a member of St. James' Episcopal Church, Austin, where I serve on the vestry and worship with an emerging Latino missional community.

For the last decade, I have been heavily involved in local, state, and national efforts to end the warehousing of people with disabilities in nursing homes and other institutions. As a woman with a significant physical disability who depends on the paid support of other women to live my daily life, the fight to end unnecessary institutionalization and extend quality community-based services to anyone who needs them is deeply personal.

I currently serve as president of Community Now!, a grassroots organization working to right-size the system of large, publicly-operated institutions in Texas and expand alternatives to institutionalization for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities and their families. I also volunteer as a legal assistant with a local immigration attorney who represents women and children locked up in detention centers for fleeing violence in their home countries.

I come to UNCSW passionate about the many intersecting injustices faced by women with disabilities and women immigrants, including physical and social isolation; increased risk for sexual and other forms of violence; and economic marginalization. I am particularly excited to use this opportunity to highlight the need for global action to promote the community integration and full potential of women and girls with disabilities. I look forward to encouraging The Episcopal Church and our faith partners to engage more fully in the ongoing work of seeking social justice for women, girls and all people with disabilities.   

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UNCSW: Delegates from the Episcopal Church - Gillian Payne

The UNCSW began March 14. The Episcopal Women's Caucus and The Episcopal Church Women have partnered to help support the Episcopal Delegates to the UNCSW. In the comments section are instructions for donating. Below is Gillian Payne's story.

My name is Gillian Payne, I am a seventeen year old high school senior from Appleton, Wisconsin. I am avidly involved with multiple organizations that support the empowerment of women; including volunteering at the local women’s shelter, working with an organization to end sex trafficking, and starting a Gender Equality Club at my high school aimed towards educating students on issues ranging from gender stereotypes to the rape epidemic in developing countries. I am a delegate for the UNCSW because I hope to create a life based around empowering women through education and economic equality. As I will be attending college next year, I hope to take the information I learn at the UNCSW to cultivate change all over the world, and especially here in Wisconsin. 

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Leland Lee, UNCSW Episcopal delegate in 2015

Why the UN Commission on the Status of Women Matters

Lelanda Lee

My 21st century experience of feminism and women’s issues has evolved as I have gained elder status (soon to be 67 in March) and a deeper awareness of women’s and children’s lives in global communities beyond the USA. I applied to be appointed by then Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori as part of a 20-person delegation to represent the Episcopal Church, which has official status as a member of the UN’s Economic and Social Council, to the UN Commission on the Status of Women’s 59th (UNCSW59) annual gathering in March 2015 in New York City. I hoped to learn the issues, represent my church, and connect with women from around the globe, and I was not disappointed.

It had been 20 years since the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action adopted at the Fourth World Conference on Women in 1995 in Beijing, when then first lady Hilary Clinton said, “. . . human rights are women's rights. . . . And women's rights are human rights.” As I studied the Beijing Declaration, I could see its important elements echoed in the Millennium Development Goals (2000-2015), which were subsequently superseded by the Sustainable Development Goals of September 2015 that also track the work done at UNCSW59. 

My experience as a delegate turned out to be a journey of self-awareness and renewed passion for championing women’s and children’s rights. When I left New York at the end of 12 intense days of participation, I felt humbled and impatient. I was in awe, listening to the stories told by my global sisters of all ages about their heroic stands for gender equality, women’s empowerment, and women and girls victimized in human trafficking and in war-torn villages. Many of my global sisters face considerable social and cultural pressures, including physical abuse and violence, while standing up for the rights of women and girls. Being with UN women from around the world reminded me that I came of age in the mid-1960s as part of the Civil Rights and Women’s Movements. I couldn’t wait to get home to continue the work of sharing our stories and lobbying for gender equality.

I have long felt the sting of rebuke in facts about the USA that point to a mean-spiritedness and gender inequality unbecoming a developed country – facts such as:

• We have fallen into the 74th percentile of gender equity worldwide, ranking 28th behind Iceland, Norway, Finland, Sweden, and Ireland who were the top five, and even behind Rwanda and the Philippines at sixth and seventh, respectively.¹

• The Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (aka CEDAW), adopted by the United Nations in 1979, is an international bill of rights for women, which all but seven member states of the UN have signed. The non-signatories? – Palau, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Tonga, and the United States.² This should not be surprising when considered in the context of the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA), which failed to garner its needed ratification by 38 states after passage in both houses of Congress in 1972.³ We are still waiting.

• Worldwide, 188 countries guarantee paid leave for mothers of newborns, with the exception of nine nations, which include the Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Nauru, Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Suriname, Tonga, and the United States.⁴ It’s not like we can not have children if humanity is to survive!

• The National Committee on Pay Equity reports that based on median earnings of all full-time, year-round workers in the USA, in 2014 women earned $39,621 or 78.6% of the $50,383 that men earned. The statistics for women of color are even more dire: African American women earned $33,533 or 66.6% of men, and Latina women earned $30,293 or 60.1%. The Census Bureau is quoted, “The female-to-male earnings ratio has not shown a statistically significant annual increase since 2007.”⁵

• Women elected to serve in national parliaments placed the USA in 72nd place out of 139 rankings (including almost 50 ties), behind Uganda, Algeria, Afghanistan, Iraq, China, Pakistan, and Saudi Arabia.⁶

Within the very first day of orientation at UNCSW59, I heard named the wide gap between the aspiration of various nations to accord women and girls gender equality with men and boys as evidenced by legislation enacted by the nations, compared to the actuality of how those laws are implemented and enforced. UNCSW is not all flowers and cake, but is about truth and reality, from which the world’s women do not shy away. The Executive Director of UN Women, Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, minced no words when she said, “Implementation has been weak” and that there has been a collective failure among the member states. She pointed out that even in Iceland, considered the most advanced nation democratically and in terms of gender equity, and which has significant laws addressing violence against women, statistics still show that one in three Icelandic women gets beaten by a man. 

Director Phumzile also called out the tokenism that exists in the quest for gender equality, citing the need to overcome stereotypes. Women don’t get hired or are passed over for promotions when there is a stereotype that women will be unreliable workers, because they put their children and families before their work responsibilities. Women are not paid the same wages as men, because there is a stereotype that women aren’t the breadwinners in their families. I, as a long-time anti-racism trainer, could relate to the idea of stereotypes causing impediments to progress in seeking gender equality.

At UNCSW59 I also heard repeatedly how wrong it is to use religion as an excuse for subjugation and violence against women and girls and how that practice must be stopped by all religions. It was striking to hear this admonition from women of many faiths and to be in solidarity with global women fighting the same evils in their country contexts.

In April 2015, I had the opportunity to keynote an interfaith gathering of over a hundred people from numerous faith traditions in Mid-Michigan to urge them to be proactive in holding conversations within and across their faith communities to address issues like stereotypes, inheritance laws, birth registration, and unpaid caretaking, and how these issues foster gender inequities. Each of us can learn to deconstruct and parse issues of equity, and we can raise our consciousness and that of our faith communities. We can enter the public conversations on gender equity, support equity legislation, and hold our elected officials accountable for implementation of equity laws. 

For an individual woman (or man) participation in UNCSW is an exhilarating and cathartic experience. There is something exciting about being in the company of 10-12,000 people who care deeply about gender equality and women’s empowerment and who are doing something about the issues in their own countries. There is something cathartic about hearing and discussing issues of vital importance from people involved directly in finding solutions and seeing how scalable and replicable their work can be in other contexts. There is something personally transformational about the hope and energy that other people’s good works and passionate thoughts engender in one’s self. I especially commend applying to become part of a future UNCSW delegation to anyone who is seeking renewal and new energy after a lifetime of being a faithful disciple and helpful leader. UNCSW will both change and affirm you and your purpose. 

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¹http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2015/11/19/us-falls-28th-global-gender-equality-list/76018174/

²http://www.cnn.com/2015/04/16/us/american-women-world-rankings/

³http://www.equalrightsamendment.org

⁴http://www.cnn.com/2015/04/16/us/american-women-world-rankings/

⁵http://www.pay-equity.org

⁶http://www.cnn.com/2015/04/16/us/american-women-world-rankings/

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Lelanda Lee is a lay leader from the Diocese of Colorado. She served on the Episcopal Church’s Executive Council (2009-2015) and as Chair of the Joint Standing Committee on Advocacy and Networking for Mission (2012-2015). An EfM (Education for Ministry) 1999 graduate, she blogs for Emerging Voices on Patheos.com and at her blog What a Cup of Tea. 


The Margo Fund

UNCSW Cynthia Katsarelis

The Episcopal Women's Caucus and the Episcopal Church Women have partnered to raise funds to support the Episcopal delegates to the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women, which begins this Saturday.

Here is Cynthia Katsarelis' story:

I’ve been going to Haiti to teach and make music at Holy Trinity School of Music in Port-au-Prince since 2004. There, I have seen the power of education to lift up all children, but especially girls. In 2004, several of my teen aged students are now the faculty at the school. It gives them a good job as they build excellence and opportunity for the next generation. Of course, I have also seen extreme poverty and women and children carrying buckets of water impossible distances. In the wake of the earthquake, one hears of terrible abuses against women and girls. But at the school I see engaged young people and this gives me hope.

At my parish, I served as chair of the Outreach Committee for two years, and I have also volunteered with the interfaith Women’s Homeless Initiative. Locally, we see women in dire straights for all the typical causes, domestic violence, drug abuse with no access to treatment, issues of livable wage, affordable housing, childcare, and lack of access to health care. On the committee, we partnered with Project Education South Sudan and helped fund projects on feminine hygiene and education. In a country where only .01 percent of girls get education, girls in this village have a high rate of graduation. 

Personally, I am an orchestra conductor. I’ve suffered discrimination for my gender and sexual orientation. I’m keenly aware that living in the West, I have had great opportunities that mitigate against economic ruin from the discrimination. But there’s something deeply painful about being rejected for my very being, a being created in the Image of God too. The hateful rhetoric I suffer from religious leaders and politicians wears on the soul, it is the anti-Baptismal Covenant. I live in a state that is simultaneously very privileged and very vulnerable. I feel compassion for vulnerable women and girls who can’t pass as privileged. Thus, I feel called to strive for justice and peace and dignity for women and girls.

To contribute please go to the EWC website and clink on EWC "Margo Fund"

Victoria Bell, Episcopal Delegate to the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women

The Episcopal Women's Caucus and The Episcopal Church Women are partnering in an effort to raise funds to support the Episcopal Delegates to the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women, which begins in ten days. Here is Victoria Bell's story:

"Violence against women and girls has always been my passion both in feminism and in the church. After focusing on this topic in my research at the University of Michigan, I was delighted to accept a position as a shelter advocate and case manager at a Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault shelter - working with survivors and their families daily. I am thrilled to have been selected to be a part of this delegation to continue this important work. I look forward to gaining input from the Episcopal community as I contribute to our platform, learning from my fellow delegates during preparations, creating a network and being inspired by the work of conference attendees, and returning from New York with rich and exciting experiences to share! Thank you for your prayers and support"

A huge thank you to the Episcopal Church Women's Board of Directors who donated $1000.00 toward this effort. If you would like to donate please go to the Episcopal Women's Caucus website and make a donation through the "EWC Margo Fund" so that it can be designated appropriately: http://www.episcopalwomenscaucus.org/join.htm

Jennifer Allen, Episcopal Church delegate to the UNCSW

The Episcopal Women’s Caucus and The Episcopal Church Women are pleased to announce a joint initiative to support our Episcopal Delegates to the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women to be held this year, March 14-24. Each week we will post the story of a delegate that we are supporting and invite you to contribute as you are able by going to the EWC website and clicking on the  EWC "Margo Fund"

Here is Jennifer Allen's story. See other stories in older posts.

I am from the Diocese of Kansas and I live on the Kansas side of the Kansas City metropolitan area. I have attended St. Michael and All Angels Church for almost 40 years. I've been involved in a variety of ministries, but my experience with Kansas to Kenya has been the most transformative. Kansas to Kenya is a mission initiative which provides community and medical support to communities in and around the Kenyan Diocese of Nakuru, based on the UN's Sustainable Development Goals. I have helped to support the Agatha Amani House, a shelter for victims of domestic violence, and coordinate Women's Seminars for the past 4 years. I will be going to Kenya for the 5th time this year, which is the 10th anniversary of K2K.

Through my work in Kenya, I have become acutely aware of the connection between the status of women and the success of a country. Women who are denied education, health care, safety, and dignity are unable to significantly improve their economic condition. Women who are empowered members of their communities are able to effectively work for sustainable, long-term change. The lessons I have learned in Kenya, are applicable in the United States as well, as we continue to work for equal education, equity of pay, and domestic safety here at home.

It is the interconnectedness of women's issues globally that makes me so excited and thankful to have the opportunity to meet with women from around the country and the world, to debate, pray, work, and craft language that will impact the future of women around the world. Although we are just getting to know each other, I can tell that the chance to work with the Episcopal Delegation to the UNCSW will be life changing for me, and will enhance my own ministry. I am hopeful that I will gain new resources to help my work with the women of Kenya and to assist with new mission opportunities working with women in and around Kansas City who are victims of human trafficking. The work to improve the status of women is immense and it takes each of us, one day at a time, one mission at a time, to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.

Thank you for whatever support you are able to provide. Please feel free to share my story however you feel is appropriate. Don't hesitate to reach out to me if you have any questions. I have also attached an article published in The Harvest, our diocesan magazine.

UNCSW Delegate story: Erin Morey

The Episcopal Women’s Caucus and The Episcopal Church Women are pleased to announce a joint initiative to support our Episcopal Delegates to the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women to be held this year, March 14-24. Of the eighteen delegates selected by then Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori, seven have responded to our invitation to assist them in raising the funds needed to attend, each anticipates needing about $4000.00 to attend the two weeks event. 

We invite you to send in donations, in any amount, the “EWC Margo” Fund found on the Episcopal Women’s Caucus Website: EWC Margo Fund

Over the next several weeks we will post stories from previous delegates to the UNCSW and the stories of our delegates this year.  Here is Erin Morey's story:

I represented a lot of people during my time as a criminal defense attorney in the Office of the Public Defender in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, but I was most moved by the women I represented.  They told me about their lives, the violence they had suffered, their love for their children.  When I left the office, I knew I wanted to work with women who were surviving trauma.  I started representing women seeking court orders to help them stay safe from abusive partners.  Eventually, I started working directly with survivors outside of the courtroom.  I now serve as a hotline advocate for Pittsburgh Action Against Rape (PAAR), and the Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network (RAINN), groups that serve survivors of sexual violence.  I also serve as a shelter and hotline advocate and support group facilitator for the Women's Center & Shelter of Greater Pittsburgh, which serves survivors of intimate partner violence.

Last year, I had the honor of being selected by Katharine Jefferts Schori, the first woman to serve as Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church, to be a member of the Church's inaugural delegation to the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women.  Having spent so much time working one-on-one with people in Pittsburgh, I was honored to have been selected to amplify the voices of women in global advocacy.  I was also honored to be representing the Church, because my faith deeply informs the work I do, and helps me find the grace to persevere in times of challenge.  

Serving as a delegate was a profoundly transformative experience.  Our delegation represented a diversity of people doing great work from all over the Church, and we joyfully, prayerfully bonded together.   We watched presentations from a broad array of human rights experts and grassroots activists from all over the world.  We met with leaders, to talk about our hopes for the world, and find out how the Church could support ongoing efforts to help women and girls.

Upon returning home, I continued to serve survivors directly, but also began to engage in advocacy to change systems and institutions.  I serve on the vestry of my parish, St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Mt. Lebanon, Pennsylvania, and we worked to create a new Social Justice Committee.  The committee works to help parishioners learn about issues of concern, and how they can help.  Recently, we joined the Pittsburgh Interfaith Impact Network, and are working with other congregations to organize our community and advocate for an even better world.  I engaged in legislative advocacy with local elected officials, and continued to seek out advocacy training opportunities.

I am very excited to be returning to UNCSW on behalf of the Church in 2016.  Each year, the session focuses on particular themes, and one of this year's themes is ending violence against women.  I cannot wait to attend and learn from other women working with survivors all around the world.  Most of all, I can't wait to meet my fellow delegates and work to share Christ's peace with everyone on Earth.

Support the Episcopal Delegates to the UNCSW

The Episcopal Women’s Caucus and The Episcopal Church Women are pleased to announce a joint initiative to support our Episcopal Delegates to the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women to be held this year, March 14-24. Of the eighteen delegates selected by then Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori, seven have responded to our invitation to assist them in raising the funds needed to attend, each anticipates needing about $4000.00 to attend the two weeks event. 

Over the next several weeks we will post stories from previous delegates to the UNCSW and the stories of our delegates this year. 

We invite you to send in donations, in any amount, the “EWC Margo” Fund found on the Episcopal Women’s Caucus Website: EWC Margo Fund

What is the UNCSW?

The United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (UNCSW) is held every year for two weeks in late February or early March. The Commission on the Status of Women was formalized in 1946. “The CSW is instrumental in promoting women’s rights, documenting the reality of women’s lives throughout the world, and shaping global standards on gender equality and the empowerment of women.” UN Women

Representatives of UN Member States, civil society organizations and UN entities gather at UN headquarters in New York for the two week session. “They discuss progress and gaps in the implementation of the 1995 Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, the key global policy document on gender equality, and the 23rd special session of the General Assembly held in 2000 (Beijing+5), as well as emerging issues that affect gender equality and the empowerment of women. Member States agree on further actions to accelerate progress and promote women’s enjoyment of their rights in political, economic and social fields.” UN Women CSW 

One does not need to be a delegate from a member state or an NGO in order to attend the UNCSW because there are many parallel events that take place during the two weeks the commission meets. Here are some guidelines for preparing for the conference:

• Acquire the NGO event and workshop schedule, available on line at the UNCSW website approximately a week before the event begins. Review the schedule and preplan the workshops and events you want to attend. 

• Be sure to pre-register for the Ecumenical Women’s Orientation (usually held on the Saturday before the opening session) and the NGO orientation (usually held on the Sunday before the opening session). 

• Workshops begin at 8:00am and end at 7:30pm, running for 90 minutes with 30 minutes in between. Workshops are offered in two or three primary locations including the United Nations Church Center on 44^th Street and 1^st Avenue (across from the UN).You will find the locations listed in the NGO workshop guide. Attending workshops is free of charge. 

• Wear comfortable clothing that can be layered to adjust to NYC weather, which can change quickly. Remember to bring an umbrella.

• Bring several pairs of shoes as you will walk a lot and your feet will need the variety.

• If you are ordained wear your clerical collar, it helps to make the statement that ordained people care about this event and these issues, and are willing to be present. 

• Take the time to watch the opening session of the UNCSW, usually on Monday morning of the first week. Viewing is available via webcam at the UN Church Center Chapel and at various NGO sites.

The Episcopal Church is considered an NGO and in 2015 received NGO delegate status for the UN. This means that the Episcopal Church is be able to send 20 delegates to the UN to lobby our UN representatives on issues we are concerned with.