Seminar on Gender Equity and Policy Innovation (December 8, 2024)

On December 8, 2024, the Sundar Singh Institute will hold a seminar, Gender Equity in Policy-Making: Lessons for South Asia. Dr. Priya Deshmukh, a gender policy and development studies specialist at the Institute, will bring together a cross-sector group hailing from across the South Asian region as well as India to evaluate and celebrate past successes and failures of gender-equity policies in this geographically and ethnically diverse region. Female grassroots advocates intersect with high-level policymakers to join the academic research community for retrospective analyses of empirically backed success stories of equity policy change, but acknowledged failures in female voice, access to resources, and institutional accountability by country.

The seminar leveraged comparative participation to discuss relative gendered failures in the South Asian region and assessed the role of cultural determinants and policy creation, suggesting that the best legislative developments come from intersectional and localized approaches.

At the end of the seminar, a policy brief will be created to complement ongoing governmental and civil society efforts for sustainable, data-driven policy development in the region that allows empowerment from within with all voices heard.