Mapping the State of Women's Economic Justice Organizing

Dear Colleagues:

The Women's International Coalition for Economic Justice, involving 40 organizations from all regions of the globe, is undertaking an effort to assess the current status of women's economic justice organizing. We want to invite you to complete the attached on-line survey, which will take about 15 minutes. We hope this process will enable all of us to reflect on our work in the current political/economic moment, and to consider strategies for the future.

There have been many changes in the context and nature of our activism for economic justice in the past two decades. In the midst of economic reforms, trade and investment liberalization and the growth of fundamentalist movements and militarism, women have been involved in supporting survival strategies, researching and documenting these processes, demanding government accountability, organizing workers, shaping international policy and norms, and taking to the streets in growing numbers. In the process, a vibrant "movement" for women's economic justice has emerged, with multiple agendas and strategies. In the past two years many women activists have been assessing the most strategic venues for advocacy and activism, both at the national and international levels. We hope to capture, and share with you some of the current organizing and thinking.

Please click here to complete the survey online. If you have not been assigned a code for the first line, please enter "1".  In general, we are requesting that you complete the survey as an organization. This might mean one person completes the survey for the organization, or it might provide the opportunity for several of you to talk together to collectively reflect on the organization's work. We hope this can be useful to you in clarifying your own collective thinking. At the same time, if people would like to complete the survey as individuals, feel free to do so. Anyone can access the survey at www.wicej.org/survey.php. Please feel free to circulate this letter to other colleagues, organizations and networks, inviting them to complete the survey as well.

Please respond to the survey by December 15, 2003.

This process will result in a report to all participants, shared via e-mail and the Internet. The process will benefit all participants by:

• Providing an opportunity for individuals and organizations to assess their work
• Receipt of a report on how women globally are organizing for economic justice and what they see as the critical issues and strategies for the future
• If your organization wishes, listing on a WICEJ internet directory
• If you wish, occasional news updates from WICEJ on women's economic justice organizing

The Association for Women's Rights in Development (AWID) has generously supported this survey project.

Thank you for your participation.

Sincerely,

The WICEJ Steering Committee

Peggy Antrobus, DAWN–Caribbean
Cenen Bagon, Vancouver Committee for Domestic Workers and Caregivers Rights, Canada
Laisa Bale, Fiji Women's Rights Movement
Brita Neuhold, Network Women in Development Europe—WIDE
Pam Rajput, South Asia Watch
Genoveva Tisheva, Bulgarian Gender Research Foundation
Nora Wintour, Public Services International
TWN–Africa/Gender & Economic Reforms in Africa