Facilitators/Moderators: Abigail Stewart; Heather Johnston Nicholson; Linda Basch

Issues raised during the morning's Research for Action roundtable and during the session "Perspectives on Feminist Theory: NCRW as an Agent of Transformation" were each written on large sheets of paper which were then pinned on the walls around the room. Facilitator Abby Stewart asked each participant to collect five coloured sticker dots in order to "vote" for their research priorities. Those with seven or more votes were listed and discussed further. Top priorities are summarized below.

The overwhelming research priority (39 votes) was the development of a radical feminist critique of democracy and capitalism, alternatively expressed as redefining democracy and citizenship in a market driven world. Within this, participants sought to emphasize a critique of globalization, privatization, and structural adjustment programs, especially with respect to economic literacy, as well as a more explicit connection between international and domestic contexts. Second in priority (20 votes) was research into women's leadership styles in the political, economic, and civil sectors, both in the United States and internationally. Primary questions were: Are there differences in leadership styles between women and men? What happens to women when they reach positions of power and influence?

Cross-cultural collaborative work -- especially focusing on political participation and representation of women, women's leadership, women's leisure, and immigration and citizenship rights -- was also a significant priority (18 votes), with various caveats. Many expressed concern with respect to the politics of collaboration, asking who sets the agenda in cross-cultural, collaborative work. Caution was also voiced about superficial cross-culturalism, and about the haphazard linking of research and action.

Next in priority were questions about how NCRW can legitimate (and publicize) research on women, particularly with respect to helping develop guidelines for tenure review, and to helping set a research agenda for funding agencies (13 votes). Research on the gendered dimensions of genetic engineering also attracted attention (13 votes).

Balancing privacy about sexuality with state intervention with sexual harassment with a view towards developing more effective policy garnered 12 votes, as did improving NCRW's media relations and visibility with respect to feminist theorizing and policy-making. Research on the impact and effectiveness of affirmative action, and on the implications of welfare reform for women and girls, received 11 votes each.

Research priorities with ten or fewer votes included recognizing that academic research can be a form of activism, and documenting how academic research has enhanced activism and led to policy changes; environmental education and the adverse aspects of "development," particularly as they relate to women; motherhood, women's work (waged and unwaged), and population policies with respect to human and reproductive rights issues; the development of historical archives focused on women; and social security as a feminist issue.

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