The Reason I'm Here

The Reason I’m Here

New York is a great place; I can see why so many people love it. In fact, a month into my life here and I’m starting to really like it. However, I didn’t just move to NYC for the adventure. I came here with a specific purpose: to complete a 5-month internship with the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) that will hopefully teach me things, give me relevant work experience, and look great on my resume so I can finally find a job and kick start my career. I want my line of work to be internationally focused, be empowering to others and myself, and hopefully make even the tiniest difference in any field (gender, democracy, Latin America, development, peace, education, IDP, refugees…). So I am here, ready to learn and anxious to see where this will lead me next.

The UN has a mixed reputation, to say the least, but I find it to be an organization that, at its very essence, is trying to make the world a bit less chaotic through international cooperation/coordination. True, it is a lot of talking, diplomacy, bureaucracy, and its efficiency/effectiveness has been questioned. Yet, it encompasses the whole world -in one building -and allows for discussion and negotiation. That is pretty amazing to me. Many  (read: USA) see it as a “world government” trying to impose on sovereignty, or an “old boys club” but I disagree. For better or worse, the UN is not any kind of government at all; it simply attempts to facilitate and reach agreement on how to deal with global problems so large and pervasive that we (governments, communities, individuals) are all affected by, but cannot tackle alone: It’s not possible to mitigate climate change if one country is completely ‘green’ but others are burning fossil fuels like there’s no tomorrow; or end the HIV/AIDS epidemic if one country doesn’t have the resources to educate, raise awareness, and treat, but another does; or limit and regulate the trading of weapons if one country alone can covertly supply thousands of violent insurgencies; or even stop narco-trafficking, human trafficking, violence against women, etc. Virtually nothing can be accomplished unilaterally, thus an organization like the UN is necessary to coordinate dialogue and sharing of ideas to find solutions grounded in coordinated cooperation. What I’m saying is, it would awesome to work here!

So, the paragraph above really has nothing to do with what I’m doing, other than the fact that UNDP is a UN agency, and that I get to be a part of a huge organization that I have been studying for years; it is exciting and a little surreal. My job as an intern is to support the UNDP Gender Team. UNDP is the official United Nations “development” agency; meaning they work to reduce poverty, and help the ‘developing world’, well, develop. The  Gender Team is in charge of ensuring a gender perspective is incorporated into all UNDP programs and policies, and I am there to ‘support’ the gender team’s work, specifically in the areas of ‘democratic governance’ and ‘crisis prevention and recovery’. My supervisor does all sorts of things related to publications, giving talks and presentations, editing/reviewing documents, etc. and I help her do all that. So basically I read and read and read; then I edit, analyze, and summarize. And occasionally attend a meeting and discuss.

I am learning a great deal about development, gender and women’s issues, and how large agencies function; but mostly I am learning how much I do not know. Most days I am inspired and motivated to keep supporting the work that will hopefully lead to greater gender equity and a reduction or elimination of violence against women, but other days the rabbit hole seemingly goes on forever and I get a feeling of helplessness, like nothing I do will actually matter. This is yet another emotional rollercoaster I experience on the regular.

The majority of the time, however, I am inspired to be working in gender. I am an empowered woman blessed to have been born into a place and family where I am valued and have not encountered obstacles. Consequently, however, I am so far removed from the realities of the severity and poignancy of gender inequality that it is nearly impossible to understand, let alone relate to. It is because of this, though, that I feel so strongly about wanting to make a difference, a positive contribution. I have had every opportunity to become educated, to become empowered (thanks to my amazing parents and family support) and I believe all should have those opportunities; thus I ought to do what I can in order to facilitate that.

The awareness of how little I actually knew about the state of gender inequality in the world helped me realize how little everyone else must also know, and how this tremendous lack of knowledge truly contributes to the perpetuation of such inequalities, whether subtle or egregious. Across the developing world, girls are killed at birth because they are less valuable; if they make it through infancy they are likely not given education, are subject to physical and sexual abuse, and forced to carry all household responsibilities, many of which place them in greater danger (rape, kidnapping, physical violence when going 3 hours into town to get water, for example); many are forced to marry at unreasonably young ages, and become the property of the husband and family in law; girls who manage to receive an education are often subject to sexual abuse in order to acquire school supplies or books; they are allowed to be beaten, or worse, by their husbands and other men for disobeying or dishonoring the family; and the list continues. These are not isolated incidents used to exaggerate the severity, this is what a large proportion of women and girls live everyday. Everyday. Only by virtue of being born a GIRL.

We live in a patriarchal society where men are at the forefront of everything, all decision-making, all places of power, and women are considered subordinate. What’s worse is that it is so socially accepted that we don’t even realize it, and we even perpetuate the harmful stereotypes (jokes, tv, magazines, movies, etc.). I thought I lived in a fairly equal society, but if you take a good look, where are the women in politics? Why do women still earn significantly less than men? Why are there fewer women CEOs?  There is a multiplicity of answers to these questions, but the fundamental answer is that women are born into a disadvantaged place in society and it is nearly impossible to undo it; at least not without achieving a level of awareness persuasive enough to foment a fundamental change.

It is complicated, convoluted, and at times seemingly futile, but with a heightened awareness of these issues, it is impossible for me not to work towards change. UNDP has a large array of programs dedicated to empowering women, changing societal attitudes, raising awareness, and responding to victims’ needs; I am happy to be a part of such an ambitious organization. I would love to continue this work with UNDP or any of the large number of other organizations focusing on women’s empowerment and gender equity. 

Like I said, I don’t know where this will lead to next, but I am enjoying the journey (and the adventure, of course). Hopefully I can pass on my knowledge to those around me and create a tiny ripple effect of change...