New UNESCO Chair in Gender Research Launched at Lancaster University

L to R: Gülser Corat (Director, UNESCO's Division of Gender Equality), Professor Sylvia Walby (Chairholder, Lancaster University), Professor Paul Wellings Vice Chancellor, Lancaster University)

On 2 June 2008 Lancaster University officially launched the new UNESCO Chair in Gender Research with a high level seminar. Professor Sylvia Walby has been appointed as Chairholder.

This is the tenth UNESCO Chair to be established in the UK.

The new UNESCO Chair will build capacity for and facilitate the development of research which is directly relevant to the global policy debate on gender inequalities. This will make a strong contribution to UNESCO’s focus on gender equality as a top priority area.

“Targeting inequalities in gender globally is a way in to relieving huge issues such as violence against women, and poverty, and boosting human and economic development”, explains Professor Walby. “But we need to know the extent of the problems and get usable figures so we can monitor whether policy developments are effective.”

In a statement issued on the occasion of the Chair’s launch, Mr Pierre Sané, Assistant Director General for Social and Human Sciences, highlighted the relevance of the new Chair, “for as a discipline, women’s studies and gender research has played a significant role in making visible women’s social contributions while also uncovering discrimination against women”.

The high level seminar launch brought together leading international experts in gender and equality to discuss ‘what is gender equality in a global era’. The seminar debated the different ways in which the meaning of ‘gender equality’ has been constructed and its implications for the development of indicators to monitor the impact of policy innovation at transnational levels. Speakers joining Professor Walby included Gülser Corat, Director of UNESCO’s Division of Gender Equality, members of the UNESCO Women’s/Gender Studies Network, individuals from the ILO and the CEDAW (UN Convention for the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women), and academics involved in UN and EU expert and research networks and initiatives.

Sylvia Walby has been a Professor in the Department of Sociology at Lancaster University since 2005. She has previously held Chairs at the Universities of Bristol and Leeds and a Readership at the LSE. She has been a research consultant for the United Nations Division for the Advancement of Women (UNDAW) and the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) on the development of indicators of gender-based violence. Previous research, funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC) and the Government’s Women and Equality Unit has focused on gender, productivity and employment. Current research funded by the European Union Commission, and also by the UK Equality and Human Rights Commission, concerns the meaning and measurement of gender equality. She is the author of many books: including her forthcoming work Globalization and Inequalities: Complexity and Contested Modernities (Sage 2008).

For more information on the UNITWIN UNESCO Chairs Programme in the UK click here.