Location: McKimmon Center
Cost: $35 ($40 for late registration).

In 2012 Ms. Kathy Johnson visited Bolivian not-for-profit organizations that are dedicated to sheltering, protecting, and empowering women in La Paz and Cochabamba. Furthermore she hosted workshops for these professionals and law enforcement officers. One observation made by Ms. Johnson, which is particularly relevant to the other post, is that Bolivian law enforcement generally attributes infidelity as the root-cause of domestic violence. This observation exposes the difference in culture and gender. It is therefore very important for project teams, regardless of country, to analyze differences in culture and gender roles so that the effective implementation of projects. Hopefully the law passed will become effective very soon and will decrease gender discrimination and resultantly increase the overall quality of life. If you would like to get involved with InterAct of Wake, please visit: InteractOfWake.org/volunteer

Works Cited

Rana, S., (2009). Fulfilling Technology’s Promise: Enforcing the Rights of Women Caught in the Global High-Tech Underclass. In M. Wyer, M. Barbercheck, D. Giesman, H Orun Ozturk, & Marta Wayne (Ed.), Women, Science, and Technology (pp.50-56). New York, NY: Routledge.

Sanchez, M. (Reporter). (2013, April 24). Bolivia’s women protected by new abuse law. Retrieved from http://www.aljazeera.com

Woliver, L. (2009). Reproductive TEchnologies, Surrogacy Arrangements, and the Politics of Motherhood. In M. Wyer, M. Barbercheck, D. Giesman, H Orun Ozturk, & Marta Wayne (Ed.), Women, Science, and Technology (pp.50-56). New York, NY: Routledge.

Engineers Without Borders chapters, within both professional and student chapters, are fortunate to have membership and leadership that 50% female representation, which is disproportionate for the STEM fields. The success of these engineering projects highly depends on the leadership and analyses made by the varied teams. This has been proven in scientific and engineering research. The success and great understanding developed by women in the field of Primatology is one example. Women led the field away from a competitive and androcentric understanding of primate behavior. Female primatologists proved that single-male troop of females are nothing like the traditional term, a harem. The traditional understanding was terribly skewed by the researcher’s societal norms (Fedigan, 2009). Therefore, variety in perspective will improve the ability of EWB teams to understand the partners’ cultures, and to respect them during implementation. Even though the research questions proposed by women and their solutions have progressed their respective fields, they are often ill represented. In a review of the Swedish Institute of Scientific Information, it was found that gender and reputable recommendations were the only statistically significant correlations in the award of post-doctoral fellowships (Wenneras & Wold, 2009). When reviewing the work of peers and their project proposals, gender stereotypes cannot be ignored, and should be eliminated from the process.

Implementation

Save the Children, and many other Not-for-profit organizations, are focused on the empowerment of women in developing communities. The solution is complicated when considered in a foreign culture, and requires long-term and in-person connections built in individual communities. For these, and other, reasons it is not the goal of EWB-USA projects to directly empower women. However it is indirectly accomplished by restricting projects to those that meet the basic needs of a community indiscriminately. Regardless, it is very important for team members to analyze the gender environment of a community and to recognize inequality. There has been a push among organization to improve gender equality in developing nations, formally since the publication of the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). The CEDAW focuses on outlining how women often lead communities out of poverty, which adds pressure to the need to empower. CEDAW proposed three thrusts to eliminate discrimination against women: passing reproductive rights, legalizing the status of married women, and introducing the concept of human rights in the context of other cultures (United Nations, 1979). Beyond poverty women are often leaders in grass roots movements for civil rights and the environment (Perry, 2009).

A review of different analysis frameworks presents that a holistic approach is superior. The activity and control profile of the community’s women, and the men’s perception of gender roles are two crucial components. It is important to visualize the impact of women through data and recording.
While in Bolivia, the EWB-USA, NCSU team noted gender roles as the Bolivian CETHA students working on an open rain and runoff catchment. Two female students were digging/excavating, while the male student was trying to hit birds with his slingshot.
The work disconnect can be quantified by assigning value to the production of goods, services, and human resources by the time allocated, and the location of the activity. Furthermore, an access and control profile of who uses and who controls the amenities is important; see the reference for details on implementation (Overholt et al., 1991). Understanding the view of men in control gives insight to the cause of discrimination. Men and boys should be involved in addressing and education their peers. This is important because patriarchal society and culture are often the root cause, so men should be thoroughly involved in the shift of perception; see the reference for details on implementation (Kaufman, 2003). These frameworks should be implemented on EWB-USA projects to inform the team, even though direct action is not within the scope of projects.

Works Cited

Fedigan, L. M., (2009). The Paradox of Feminist Primatology. In M. Wyer, M. Barbercheck, D. Giesman, H Orun Ozturk, & Marta Wayne (Ed.), Women, Science, and Technology (pp.50-56). New York, NY: Routledge.

Kaufman M. (2003). The Aim Framework: Addressing and Involving Men and Boys to Promote Gender Equality and End Gender Discrimination and Violence. Prepared under a contract with UNICEF.

Overholt, C. A., Cloud, K., Anderson, M. B., & Austin, J. E. (1991). Gender Analysis Framework. In A. Rao, C. A. Overholt, & M. B. Anderson (Ed.), Gender Analysis in Development Planning (pp. 9-22). Hartword, CT: Kumarian Press.

Perry, R., (2009). Engendering Environmental Thinking: A Feminist Analysis of the Present Crisis. In M. Wyer, M. Barbercheck, D. Giesman, H Orun Ozturk, & Marta Wayne (Ed.), Women, Science, and Technology (pp.50-56). New York, NY: Routledge.

United Nations. (1979). The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women Clinical training in serious mental illness. New York, NY: U.N. Division of the Advancement of Women.

Wenneras, C., & Wold, A. (2009). Neoptism and Sexism in Peer-Review. In M. Wyer, M. Barbercheck, D. Giesman, H Orun Ozturk, & Marta Wayne (Ed.), Women, Science, and Technology (pp.50-56). New York, NY: Routledge.

Do you want to make a donation to Engineers Without Borders? Submit a bracket for a suggested donation of $5.

Send a filled out bracket to Wes.

Receive:

1 point in the 1st round

2 points in the 2nd round

4 points in the 3rd round

6 points in the 4th round

10 points in the final game

15 points if you pick the winner

Just to be clear, points for the 1st round are awarded for predicting teams that win in the first round, etc., all the way up to championship points awarded for correctly predicting the championship game. If you have any questions please, email me. For questions about paying, check the EWB website. I do not know how paying works just yet, but go ahead and submit your bracket if it’s not worked out. Also, if you don’t want to spend much time on this, you can tally your scoring at the very end of the tournament. You do not have to follow each round.

The most accurate bracket submitted to Wes will receive a gift of delectable baked goods from the lovely Velvet!

Questions for Conversation:

Why is international aid important?
Do developing communities really need or want outside support?
What makes international aid effective?
What are signs of ineffective aid?

Points for Support:

As a chapter of EWB-USA, members are charged to support:

community-driven development programs worldwide by collaborating with local partners
to design and implement sustainable engineering projects, while creating transformative
experiences and responsible leaders.
- EWB-USA Mission

How we ensure that these projects is a very sensitive task that requires a conscious
understanding of the past.

For example the Bolivia Water Sanitation project is currently implementing a
rainwater harvesting system, that is refurbishing a large water storage tank, that was
previously unused by the community. This storage tank was implemented by another
aid organization in early 2000’s as a septic tank. A septic system is superfluous and
considered bizarre in a community that barely has enough water to drink. So the system
was disconnected. Those resources could have been implemented more efficiently either
in the community or somewhere else.

This website sites examples of poor ideas for international aid:

http://matadornetwork.com/change/7-worst-international-aid-ideas/

The term “volunteerism” has been quite popular in spheres of international development,
as a way for people to visit third world countries, without effectively supporting
communities, and in some cases hurting them.

It is also important to understand that a bad idea is almost always supported by good
energy and enthusiasm. Therefore criticism should always be productive and supportive.