Communications, Culture & Society
Popular culture and communications have a powerful influence on how gender roles are perceived and stereotypes perpetuated across society. NCRW and its members uncover and counter misinformation providing context and analysis about the accuracy of how the daily lives, responsibilities and realities of women and girls are represented and interpreted in the media. Efforts are also focused on increasing opportunities for women commentators and opinion leaders to influence public perceptions and debate.
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We asked advocates and scholars working on issues affecting girls’ lives to address the national conversation on girl’s needs, desires, and rights. What would they like to see changed? Below is the first response in this week’s forum: Health is not just the absence of disease or risk. It is the ability to live in a healthy body, with a healthy mind and spirit. Girls need more than the elimination of risks and dangers in their lives, environments, schools, neighborhoods, homes. They need the encouragement and information that can enable them to live in the positive. Most government funded research focuses on what, how and sometimes why negative practices, forces, impacts can be eradicated. How about some effort, energy and resources getting behind what works for diverse girls? What girls need to enhance their resilience not just to minimize their risks?
I wanted to share with you an exciting victory that came across my desk during the holidays. After bringing forward sexual harassment charges at Chili’s in August, a server named Rachel Spicuglia was fired two weeks before Christmas. As a direct result of a quick and passionate response made by her sister, Rebekah Spicuglia,who wrote about the case on the Huffington Post and launched a petition, Brinker International re-hired Rachel. 
Sadly, Osama bin Laden might have won. He launched an attack against the United States based on our gross materialism. Certainly his tactics countered his message (or at least made them untenable), but with the current US structure faltering, our obsession with capitalism is being challenged. It's easy to blame the Madoffs and the investment bankers of the world, but if we believe that change trickles up, problems do, too. I am resolving to want less (which is entirely different from wanting nothing, I am far from a martyr) -- but more so to stop believing that my things are what define me. 
The turn of a new year generally offers us a moment to reflect. This year, with the U.S. 
What We Do
NCRW is a network of leading university and community based research, policy, and advocacy centers with a growing global reach dedicated to advancing rights and opportunities for women and girls. We also have a Corporate Circle comprised of senior diversity professionals from leading U.S. and global member companies and a Presidents Circle of college and university leaders who share our commitment. NCRW harnesses the collective power of its network to provide knowledge, analysis, and thought leadership on issues ranging from reducing women’s poverty to building a critical mass of women’s leadership across sectors.
