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Gender

Women's and girls' empowerment is a central theme in the field of development, but the role of religion in shaping gender roles is often viewed with suspicion or contention. Patriarchy exists within some religious traditions, alongside many women and men, however, who work actively for gender equality within religious traditions. Faith resources also serve as a reference point for gender norms and expectations.

Programs and Projects

Faith and International Family Planning

Faith and International Family Planning

The birth of a baby can be life’s most exciting miracle; the death of a mother or child, a chilling tragedy. Ensuring that families have access to reproductive health information and services and can achieve the healthy timing and spacing of…
White Woman Hugging Daughter

Women, Religion, and the Family

During 2014 and 2015 the Berkley Center and the World Faiths Development Dialogue asked women and men from various faith traditions to share their experiences and opinions about religion's impact on the family in the form of blogs and interviews.

Events

Publications

January 30, 2024

Catholic Sisters: Their Work and Focus on Building Peace

This report shines a light on a distinctive category of women peacebuilders, Catholic sisters, who share many challenges and assets of both religious peacebuilders and women and work with specific identities and organizational setups that merit a closer look.

Book December 1, 2023

Religious Argumentation for the Promotion of Adolescent and Youth Health

The Religious Argumentation for the Promotion of Adolescent and Youth Health was created in partnership between the le Cadre des Religieux pour la Santé et le Développement (CRSD) in Senegal and the Department of Mother and Child Health (DSME) within the Ministry of Health. This argumentation was created by religious leaders committed to the promotion of maternal and child health, complementing…

Essays

Blog Posts

Sisters at Work: A Special Global Cohort

February 23, 2024

Sisters at Work: A Special Global Cohort

What is too little known and understood is the frontline support Catholic sisters provide in communities facing poverty, armed conflict, and natural disasters. A new report begins to address this gap by exploring, through a global lens, the peacebuilding and development work of Catholic sisters.
COVID-19’s “Shadow Pandemic” Driving Early Marriage

July 29, 2020

COVID-19’s “Shadow Pandemic” Driving Early Marriage

As COVID-19 disrupts and destabilizes on a global scale, reports from very different societies point to increasing violence against women. Unfortunately, the analysis of the problem often lacks a faith dimension or actionable ways faith communities can help.

Interviews

People