Research & Action Spring/Summer 2014

Research & Action Report Spring/Summer 2014

Wellesley Centers for Women (WCW) maintains a strong legacy of research that can accelerate social change. Building on that, Kates teaches and practices participatory research—which is research that actively involves multiple groups of stakeholders on the issues being examined. Whenever possible, she includes representatives of the low-income women she’s studying.

The Massachusetts Women’s Justice Network mentioned in this interview is comprised of researchers; state legislators and/or their aides; personnel from the Department of Corrections and the Executive Office of Public Safety and Security; representatives of the Department of Public Health (which administers the state’s substance abuse services); the Office of Probation and Community Corrections; women’s commissions; women’s shelters; the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and other advocacy groups; and formerly incarcerated women.

by Layli Maparyan, Ph.D.

The 58th United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (UN CSW) was held this past winter, but the work continues. After two weeks devoted to the assessment of whether the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) are working for women and girls and trying to figure out what the post-2015 development agenda is going to look like, one thing is clear: We aren’t going to make real progress without good data.

Wellesley Centers for Women research and action initiatives are funded primarily by federal, state, and corporate grants and contracts. Several new and continuing projects received funding over the past six months.

Sari Pekkala Kerr, Ph.D., senior research scientist and economist at the Wellesley Centers for Women (WCW) will be in Finland for five weeks this summer to work on the project, "Within and Between Firm Trends in Job Polarization: Role of Globalization and Technology," with Mika Maliranta, Ph.D. and Terhi Maczulskij, Ph.D., from the University of Jyvaskyla. The researchers will use Finnish Employer-Employee panel data that can only be accessed locally. This project is funded by the Academy of Finland.

In April, Peggy McIntosh, Ph.D., WCW associate director and founder of the National SEED Project (Seeking Educational Equity and Diversity) hosted two scholars from Shaanxi Normal University in Xi'an, China. Qu Yajun, professor and curator of the first Women's Cultural Museum, will receive Mcintosh's collection of 7,000 books and journals relating to women's and multicultural studies. These publica tions will join the collection of 2,000 volumes already donated by Li Xiaojiang, professor and founder of the Museum.

Q & A with Erika Kates, Ph.D.: Building a Women's Justice Network in Massachusetts

Commentary: How Research Accelerates Social Change for Women and Girls

Spotlight: New Funding and Projects, Spring/Summer 2014

Global Connections: Sari Pekkala Kerr, Ph.D.

Global Connections: Peggy McIntosh, Ph.D.

Research & Action Report Spring/Summer 2014