Gender and Policy Network

The Gender and Policy Network is composed of Princeton University students, faculty and alumni whose experiences, research and careers have convinced them of the salience of gender as a critical variable in the design, evaluation and implementation of policies. Recognizing the significance of gender to public and international affairs, the Network aims to promote the integration of gender into the curriculum of the Woodrow Wilson School and to promote engagement of these issues in the Princeton University community.

We do so by fostering dialogues and supplementing the curriculum at the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs (WWS) at Princeton University. GPN's goals are to:

• Expand student learning about gender as a variable in public policies;
• Develop personal and professional contacts for sharing information and guidance among students, staff, faculty, and alumni; and
• Provide a forum for dialogue on contemporary issues about gender and policy.

In June 2002, Professor Sara Curran, Professor Karen McGuinness and WWS graduate Bindiya Patel submitted a proposal to the Wilson School to restore the Gender and Development Policy Network. The Network was originally initiated by Professor Curran and an MPA student in 1998 through the Gender and Development course. The new proposal reflected new student interest in and knowledge of gender and development. The WWS and the Network set out to fill an important need in the WWS curriculum and community.

In January 2004, the student leaders of the Network proposed the Network change its name to the Gender and Policy Network. This name change is intended to be more reflective of our international and domestic focus, as well as our interest in mainstreaming an analysis of gender into a variety of policy areas.

In 2008 -2009, the Network will continue to:

1. Bring guest lecturers to campus to discuss issues of gender and policy;
2. Host a website which includes: profiles of practitioners, links to organizations in the field, links to conference announcements, book reviews, and a space for Network members to share their thoughts and work (called perspectives from the field);
3. Stimulate dialogue through brown-bag lunch discussions and the website; and
4. Facilitate professional networking with alumni and other practitioners through career panels and site visits;

In addition, the Network is working on:

5. Website improvements;
6. Exploring community-based partnerships and service;
7. A student conference;
8. A faculty research presentation series; and
9. Mainstreaming gender into the WWS curriculum.
10. Broadening the vision of what gender means.

Woodrow Wilson School graduate students contribute time to write literature reviews, interview practitioners and alumni, organize lunchtime student panel series and other lectures, and provide online memoirs about their field experiences. We welcome all Woodrow Wilson School and Princeton University students and alumni and practitioners to become members and participate and contribute as they see fit. An advisory board, consisting of alumni, administration, faculty, and the Network coordinators, provides feedback, guidance and sustainability. Dean Karen McGuinness of the Wilson School, an experienced practitioner in the field of gender and development policy, guide the Network effort on a more frequent basis. Please see our advisory board list and our organizational chart for more information.