"Women Enhancing Democracy" Conference at the Office of the President (Lithuania)

This past week was our big week!  The Office of the President hosted the “Women Enhancing Democracy: Best Practices” conference, a high-level, high-profile summit on women’s leadership.  It was hosted by Lithuania’s President Dalia Grybauskaite, and featured many female leaders from around the world, including Hillary Clinton, Tarja Halonen (President of Finland), Atifete Jahjaga (President of Kosovo), Solvita Aboltina (Speaker of the Parliament of Latvia), and others—as well as two CWWL staff members, Patricia Deyton and Heather McAuliffe, who were in town for the conference (CWWL was a sponsor of the event). 

I have been working on this conference since I arrived in Lithuania, and to see it finally come together was very rewarding.  When you’re spending hours late at the office printing badges or editing programs, it can feel quite mundane; it’s hard to feel like you’re working towards something bigger.  But to hear Hillary Clinton speak in person, to meet President Grybauskaite, and to hear from women from around the world who represent NGOs, academia and the UN, was an incredible opportunity.

“Women Enhancing Democracy” was one piece of a three-day conference of the Community of Democracies, an intergovernmental organization of the world’s democracies. For the past two years, Lithuania has been the Chair of CoD. It was interesting and also a little disturbing to see that although the attendance at “Women Enhancing Democracy” was about 80% women and 20% men, the inverse was true for the rest of the Community of Democracy forums.  Why were women present in so few numbers in the overall conference?  Our event was a clear indicator that women in leadership most certainly do exist.  But do they only show up if gender is an explicit component?  Or are they not being included in the other conversations?

An interesting observation that I heard at the conference was: “We can’t fully achieve gender equality unless men are speaking to men about these issues.  And not just any men – men who have power.  Without their advocacy, we can only get halfway.”  I noticed that Ria also wrote about this in one of her blog postings, “Men as Allies.”  To me, this rings quite true. Without men as allies, how far can gender issues progress?  I think this conference was an important step in the right direction, but there's still a long journey ahead.

Men as Allies

When I consider that my fellowship incorporates gender and public policy, it is only appropriate that I take some time to reflect on my experiences as a young woman in another country.

I had an opportunity to meet the Director of Public Policy at my internship, and soon learn that we’ll be sharing an office space. He introduced himself and explained that he’s been anticipating my arrival for some time. I explain that I recently graduated from Columbia while we are shaking hands and he begins to shake my hand even harder. “Wow, Columbia! We’re very lucky to have you with us.” I smile and say thanks (Go, Lions!).

My department (and future project) focuses on the prevention of domestic violence and sexual assault. While talking to the Director, we casually run through our CV’s. He asks himself out loud “What else is there to say? Well, why did I go into this work?” and I reply “Probably the same reason I did”. We laugh and agree there is satisfaction in work when it helps others.

Later during an afternoon meeting, the topic of discussion is Guyana’s new public policy regarding sexual assault. One member explains why he believes the new legislation is “bad policy” and “doesn’t reflect the culture of Guyana”. He further explains that on the ground, this policy would put every other man in jail. I take time to realize the conversation has been dominated by men. The Director explains why he disagrees. His words echoed with me all day: “We always treat sexual assault as a women’s issue. But if the majority of abuse is committed by men, then it’s our issue too. It’s up to us, men, to end it.”

I wanted to yell “Amen, brethren!” I wanted to hug him for acknowledging his power and privilege; hi-five him for his commitment to being an ally to the women of his homeland…
I sat in my seat and nodded my head.

I want to take you home Mr. Director. I want you to use your dedication to rally men in the USA for this cause. But, there’s work to be done here- and by my impressions, you’re mighty good at it.