Gender

Gender

Girls and Boys Lining Up for School in Berahile, Ethiopia

The advancement of gender equality and LGBTQ rights remains at the forefront of human rights agendas around the globe. These materials examine a broad spectrum of gender issues, focusing in particular on how religion and religious organizations promote or hinder women’s rights, and how women of faith are shaping peacebuilding, democratic movements, and other social and political issues.

Our Experts

José Casanova

Senior Fellow
Professor Emeritus

Jocelyne Cesari

Senior Fellow
Department of Government

Katherine Marshall

Senior Fellow
Walsh School of Foreign Service, Executive Director of the World Faiths Development Dialogue

Gender A-Z Subtopics

Narrow your search for Gender content by selecting from this list of subtopics

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Abortion Subtopic

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Education Subtopic

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Violence Against Women Subtopic

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Women in Peacebuilding Subtopic

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Abortion Subtopic

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Child Marriage Subtopic

Christianity and Gender Subtopic

Civil Rights Subtopic

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Demography Subtopic

Dress Codes Subtopic

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Education Subtopic

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Family Planning and Reproductive Health Subtopic

Female Genital Cutting Subtopic

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Gender and Sexual Identity Subtopic

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Human Rights Subtopic

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Islam and Gender Subtopic

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Marriage Subtopic

Maternal Mortality Subtopic

Military Subtopic

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Politics (Comparative) Subtopic

Politics (Foreign) Subtopic

Politics (U.S.) Subtopic

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Race and Ethnicity Subtopic

Refugees Subtopic

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Violence Against Women Subtopic

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Women in Peacebuilding Subtopic

Project Spotlight

Women, Religion, and Peace: Experience, Perspectives, and Policy Implications

The U.S. Institute of Peace, the Berkley Center, and the World Faiths Development Dialogue conducted a multi-year exploration of the activities and perspectives of women in peacebuilding and their policy implications.

Interviews

Discover the firsthand experiences of faith leaders, activists, and peacebuilding practitioners working on issues ranging from development and education to conflict resolution and foreign policy.

For over a decade, Berkley Center scholars and students have been conducting interviews with individuals working at the intersection of religion and world affairs. These discussions offer unique insights into the inner workings of a wide spectrum of professions touched by religion with interviewees ranging from the highest levels of leadership of international organizations to on-the-ground practitioners. Explore individual interviews here or follow links to our interview collections below:

Recent Interviews

A Discussion with Madame Cissé Hadja Mariama Sow, President of the Group of Religious Leaders for Health, Development, and Peace in Guinea, Co-President of Religions for Peace

December 14, 2018

A Discussion with Fulata L. Moyo, World Council of Churches

May 20, 2016

A Discussion with Betty Reardon, Peace Educator

April 23, 2016

A Discussion with Layli Miller-Muro, Tahirih Justice Center

January 5, 2016

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Blog Posts

May 9, 2022

GBV in Bangladesh: What roles can faith-inspired and secular actors play?

The COVID-19 pandemic and its aftermath have shone a new light on gender-based violence (GBV). This global issue has distinctive facets in Bangladesh, where GBV is a long-standing challenge that…

April 21, 2022

Religion, Women, and Cross-cultural Literacy

Katherine Marshall reflects on Kartini Day, honoring a nineteenth century Indonesian advocate for women’s equality, and the way her ideals, which drew on both religious and non-religious sources, are reflected today in many noble strategies and programs aimed at gender equality.

Pride flag flies outside the U.S. Supreme Court

July 26, 2021

U.S. Religious Freedom and LGBTQ Rights

What might "Fulton v. City of Philadelphia" suggest about the future of religious freedom and LGBTQ rights in the United States? What aspects of moral, philosophical, or legal thought could inform an approach that minimizes conflict between religious freedom and LGBTQ rights?

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Events

Religious building with cross against a starry sky

Jun
7

2022

The Second Interreligious Forum of the Americas

Off Campus

Oct
25

2021

Lifting Up the Voices of Female Survivors of Clergy Sexual Abuse

Aug
11

2021

Girls' Access to Education in Bangladesh During COVID-19

Apr
29

2021

Black Women, Black Love

Apr
8

2021

Faith and Flourishing: Strategies for Preventing and Healing Child Sexual Abuse

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Publications

Article May 25, 2022

Scholars and Practitioners Focused on Women and Peacebuilding Need to Take Religion More Seriously

Katherine Marshall argues that two related fields—peacebuilding and women’s studies—would benefit in countless ways by looking more deliberately and thoughtfully to the very diverse roles that religion plays in understanding conflicts and developing and creating better paths towards positive peace.

Other Publications

White Paper April 28, 2022

Addressing Gender-Based Violence (GBV) in Bangladesh: What Roles for Faith-Inspired Actors?

Policy Brief August 10, 2021

Educating Girls and Countering Child Marriage in Bangladesh: Opportunities for Faith Engagement

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Current and Past Projects

Islam, Gender, and Democracy

The relationship between secularism, democracy, religion, and gender equality remains a complex and contested issue across Western countries. When we turn to Muslim countries, the situation is even more multifaceted. For many Western commentators…

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.

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Videos

June 7, 2022

Ballroom C, 3rd Session, Ensuring Full Engagement of Women and Girls in Religion and Society (EN) (Video)

Duration: 1 hours 34 minutes

October 25, 2021

Lifting Up the Voices of Female Survivors of Clergy Sexual Abuse (Video)

Duration: 1 hours 32 minutes

August 11, 2021

Girls' Access to Education in Bangladesh During COVID-19 (Video)

Duration: 1 hours 0 minutes

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