Women's Studies resources - themed

Academic Liaison Librarian: Sue Cumberpatch

What useful websites and reference sources there are for my subject

General Regional
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  • Feminist studies/Women's studies
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    • Feminist methodology
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Rights, citizenship and activism

  • BBC: Women's history - the BBC's education site has essays on the ideals of Victorian womanhood, women in the 20th century and the suffrage campaign, and includes a useful historic figures section.
  • Centre For the Advancement of Women in Politics - based at Queens University, Belfast. It conducts research into the participation of women in political life and the inclusion of women's perspectives in government policy. Its website provides access to information about the purpose of the Centre and its current activities. It includes details of ongoing research and lists of publications. There is also a large 'Observatory section' which contains statistics on women's political participation.
  • Ecofem - from the Institute for Environment, Philosophy, and Public Policy Lancaster University, UK. Includes an electronic journal, and a Yahoo group.
  • Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization(UNESCO) - This is UNESCO's main site with information on current events; publications; information services; UNESCO products; programmes; statistics; legal instruments; UNESCO partners. UNESCO was founded in 1945 with the ambitious aim to "build peace in the minds of men". UNESCO currently "functions as a laboratory of ideas and a standard-setter to forge universal agreements on emerging ethical issues. The Organization also serves as a clearinghouse - for the dissemination and sharing of information and knowledge - while helping Member States to build their human and institutional capacities in diverse fields". Further information on the organisation is on the website, including its strategy, activities and a list of the 192 member states.
  • EVE: Ecofeminist Visions Emerging - "grassroots ecofeminist thinking" includes essays, Web links, book and video lists.
  • Fawcett Society - "The UK's leading organisation campaigning for equality between women and men." Site includes links to internal and external information on all aspects of women's rights. NB: See the separate link to Fawcett's archives at the Women's Library in the History section of this site.
  • Feminist Majority Foundation- a US-based (but globally-focused) organisation working "to eliminate social and economic injustice", and maintaining a number of different services including research and public policy development, public education programs, grassroots organizing projects, and leadership training and development programs. See the Feminist Internet Gateway for a comprehensive collection of links to other resources, arranged by subject.
  • Gender and political participation - Part of the set of regional and thematic 'democracy information' portals of the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (International IDEA). This site area "provides up-to-date information on the status of women's political participation world-wide, and acts as a means of encouraging partnerships and networks between organizations dedicated to enhancing the political participation of women. In addition to International Idea's Handbook Women in Parliament: Beyond Numbers, the gender site also offers information on topics such as the issue of quotas, gender-desegregated voter turnout statistics and web links on world-wide gender legislation."
  • Gender Equality - maintained by the European Commission's Unit for Equal Opportunities for Women and Men, DG Employment and Social Affairs (formerly know as "Information for women"). Provides links to EC strategy documents, legislation, funding programmes, work programmes, publications, links to sites related to gender equality issues and institutions, and an overview of the relevant institutional policy structures.
  • Gender toolkit, Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) - The "Gender Tool Kit" contains several sheets and a reference list and covers the following topics: definitions, gender strategies, gender analysis, analytical framework, gender in household and community analysis, gender in country, policy and sector analysis, gender in country programme, gender in programmes and projects, gender in PCM and logical frameworks, gender in organisations, SDC example on equal opportunities, gender and partners, gender and monitoring, gender and evaluation, eender in multilateral cooperation, relevant websites.
  • Gender training courses, Siyanda - Siyanda is an online database of international gender information and materials. It is searchable by broad category and keyword. Documents are abstracted, and key documents have a long summaries including findings and recommendations for implementation. Siyanda is a tool for practitioners involved in mainstreaming gender equality concerns into all programmes and projects. The database has been developed and is maintained by Institute of Development Studies, Brighton, UK (incorporates the old GENIE database). The website also provides a networking facility.
  • Gender training, directory of United Nations resources on gender and women's issues, WomenWatch - WomenWatch is a joint initiative of three entities in the UN system specifically devoted to women's issues: the Division for the Advancement of Women,DAW; the United Nations Development Fund for Women, UNIFEM and the International Research and Training Institute for the Advancement of Women, INSTRAW. WomenWatch is a gateway to UN information and data on women world wide, and an evolving forum on global women's issues. The WomenWatch Internet site provides up to date information on the UN's work on behalf of the women of the world, and constitutes an electronic space for exchange of information and ideas on women's issues.
  • Gender training dossier, Royal Tropical Institute (KIT) - The dossier 'Gender training' presents information resources on gender training. It is linked to a wider KIT initiative to critically examine the thinking and practice of gender training and education. The initiative is coordinated by Franz Wong and Maitrayee Mukhopadhyay, KIT Development, Policy and Practice.
  • Gender training kit, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) - On October 24-26, 2001, a joint UNDP / UNIFEM workshop on tools for gender mainstreaming was held in Quito, Ecuador. This workshop brought together fourteen participants from eleven countries to discuss gender mainstreaming tools for UNDP/UNIFEM.
  • Genre en Action - Genre in Action: Portal of information and resources on genre and development (in French.
  • Gender training wiki, United Nations International Research and Training Institute for the Advancement of Women (INSTRAW) - Wiki showing gender training institutions around the world.
  • Global Alliance Against Traffic in Women - a "movement of members consisting of both organisations and individuals worldwide, and has coordinated, organised and facilitated work on issues related to trafficking in persons and women's labour migration in virtually every region of the world." Its mission is to "facilitate on-going development of discourse and action on issues related to what has conventionally been described as 'trafficking in persons'." The site includes purchasing information about the organisation's publications.
  • Global Database of Quotas for Women - This is a joint project of International IDEA and Stockholm University. It is collecting data on quota systems being used to increase women's political participation worldwide. The site includes a searchable database of information about different types of quota and where they are being used. This includes coverage of political parties, national, parliament and election law quota regulations. The site also provides free access to conference papers, Stockholm University Working Papers and articles relating to women, political representation and quota systems.
  • International Knowledge Network of Women in Politics (iKNOW Politics) - The International Knowledge Network of Women in Politics (iKNOW Politics) is a joint project of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM), the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs (NDI), the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) and the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (IDEA).It aims to create a website where researchers, students and other practitioners interested in advancing women in politics can get free access to information and share experiences. The website contains news on conferences and forthcoming events; fact files on womens political involvement in specific countries and online discussion forums. It also contains a large online library of full text reports, papers and handbooks. These include advocacy and campaign materials; information on political quotas; statistics on womens political participation.
  • Kameny Papers - The homesite of Dr. Franklin Kameny an influential American gay rights campaigner. In 2006 his archives were officially donated to the American nation to form part of the Library of Congress manuscripts collection. The website provides some biographical information on Dr Kameny, plus free access to a digitised selection of his archive. This includes a small number of photographs, digitised letters and other activist materials relating to the history of the gay civil rights movement in the USA from the 1950s until the current day. The online images include photographs of homosexuals picketing the white House in the 1950s.
  • Machreq/Maghreb Gender Linking Information Project (MACMAG GLIP) - The core purpose of MACMAG GLIP is to build and sustain a forum to provide opportunities for analysis, learning and exchange on women, gender and development amongst local groups, grassroots NGOs and networks at all levels in order to strengthen and sustain institutional capacity and dialogue on women, gender and development within the Middle East/Maghreb Region.
  • National Organization for Women (USA) - "the largest women's rights organization in the United States, with a membership of over 500,000 contributing women and men." Large searchable site includes information about events and campaigns (covering issues such as economic equity, reproductive health, sexuality, ethnic diversity, violence against women etc), plus reports and press releases.
  • Network for European Women's Rights: The NEWR Database - a database of NGOs, governmental bodies, academic institutions and individuals who are involved in women's rights issues. Based at the University of Birmingham UK.
  • Mary Wollstonecraft: A 'Speculative and Dissenting Spirit' - biographer Janet Todd analyses Wollstonecraft's contribution to women's rights and recognises an enduring spirit. Part of a comprehensive set of links and papers about Wollstonecraft on the BBC's History site.
  • OnlineWomeninPolitics.org - a "digital working space for Asian and Pacific women leaders wherein they can share and exchange knowledge and information." The project is managed by the Center for Asia-Pacific Women in Politics (CAPWIP) with support from the Asia Pacific Gender and Equality Network (APGEN) Program of the United Nations Development Programme. The site includes online learning materials, and details of training and grants.
  • Research Network on Gender Politics and the State - a network of researchers whose aim is to study late 20th century women's movements and the way governments have responded to these movements. It seeks to document and explain instances of state feminism including the creation of women's policy departments within governments. The website provides information on the aims of the network and it's activities. It includes access to press releases, full text working papers and some research findings. The network is also seeking to create a Virtual Institute for Women's Empowerment Worldwide (VIWEW) which will act as a clearing house for accessing resources on women, politics and policy.
  • 75 Years On: equality for women and men today [PDF]- draws on recent research commissioned by the Equal Opportunities Commission and takes stock of where we are now in relation to equality for women and men, focusing particularly on how different people talk and think about it.
    Users should note that this paper is in PDF format and therefore requires access to Adobe Acrobat Reader for viewing.
  • Shevolution - "develops systems, services and media for women and men to work together as equals in work, life and politics." UK organisation which includes articles, links, a newsletter, and details of training programmes. Has links with other countries where training has been done by the organisation.
  • Sisterhood is Global Institute - "an international non-government, non-profit organization dedicated to the support and promotion of women's rights at the local, national, regional, and global levels". Site includes online texts plus information about campaigns and events.
  • The Sophia Smith Collection - " New resources on 20th century women's activism." Maintained by the Sophia Smith Collection, Smith College, Northampton, MA. Provides online access to a number of primary source documents relating to the women's feminist and civil rights movement in the United States from the 1930s to the 1980s.
  • The United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) - an expert body established in 1982, composed of 23 experts on women's issues from around the world.
  • United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights: Women's Issues - searchable site including full text of commissioned reports and documents on women's rights, including the report of the Special Rapporteur on violence against women.
  • Winning Women's Votes: Labour's Key to the Next General Election  [PDF]- a report by Laura Turquet, which was based on research by MORI, and published by the Fawcett Society in May 2004. Additional material was added by Jessica Elgood and Dr Roger Mortimore. It traces women's level of support for the British Labour Party from the 1950s until 2004, revealing high levels of dissatisfaction with current policies and the leadership of Tony Blair.
    Users should note that this paper is in PDF format and therefore requires access to Adobe Acrobat Reader for viewing.
  • Women Against Fundamentalisms - a revival of the London-based organization which became inactive in 1997. Among the founders and activists have been women from across the world and from a wide range of backgrounds. "We are individually involved in many different political campaigns. By fundamentalism we do not mean religious observance, which we see as a matter of individual choice. We mean rather modern political movements which use religion as a basis for their attempt to win or consolidate power and extend social control." Includes an e-mail discussion forum, called 'WAF-L'.
  • Women and the Criminal Justice System 2003  [PDF] - the official statistics for England and Wales which were published by the Home Office in March 2004. They provide a wealth of data relating to the treatment of women in the criminal justice system. This includes: total number of female offenders and details of their crimes; the number of arrests and types of sentences passed on women; data on the total number of women prisoners and their treatment in the prison and probation system in comparison to men; the total number of women victims of crime with data relating to particular crimes such as rape, homicide and stalking; and the numbers and levels of female practitioners in the court, prison and probation services.
    Users should note that this paper is in PDF format and therefore requires access to Adobe Acrobat Reader for viewing.
  • Women and Equality Unit (UK) - "our priorities are - developing policies which support flexible working and enable women to juggle their busy lives; delivering high quality services in health and education that respond to women's needs; enabling women to play a greater part in public life; working to close the pay gap between men and women." Ministerial biographies, texts of speeches, press releases, policy etc, plus Publications and Research - Publications by the unit and other bodies, and its Gender Research Forum, some downloadable, are also listed.
  • Women and Human Rights - list of websites with descriptions, from the University of Minnesota Human Rights Library.
  • Women and Politics Mona Lee Krook, an expert on women and politics at Columbia University. The Resource section includes a comprehensive set of links on the subject.
  • Women In Power - Using exclusive material from recent interviews and the BBC archive, eleven women politicians from around the world talk about how they achieved success.
  • Women in Prison - a UK registered charity which provides welfare and education to women in prison. "Women in Prison believes that prison should be reserved for a small number of violent and serious offenders who the public should be protected from. Most women are in prison for non-violent offences often related to other problems such as mental illness, drug dependency, poverty and disadvantage. We believe that these women can be dealt with most effectively in the community. ..We are committed to campaigning to raise awareness of these issues and to reducing the number of women being sent to prison." Site includes useful links.
  • Women's Human Rights (WHRNET) - "Engage in dialogue with activists from all over the world." Useful resources and links.
  • Women's Human Rights - reports and background papers from Human Rights Watch, a non-governmental organisation which "stands with victims and activists to prevent discrimination, to uphold political freedom, to protect people from inhumane conduct in wartime, and to bring offenders to justice".
  • Women's Human Rights Resources - on-line texts, bibliographies and links to other websites, from the Bora Laskin Law Library, University of Toronto. Forms part of the DIANA International Human Rights Database: "a collaborative venture of a consortium of law librarians, university based human rights centres, and other non-governmental human rights organizations".
  • Women's Learning Partnership for Rights Development and Peace - "an international, non-governmental organization (NGO) that empowers women and girls in the Global South to re-imagine and re-structure their roles in their families, communities, and societies." Includes a bibliography and a list of organisations.
  • Women's National Commission (UK) - "the official, independent advisory body giving the views of women to the Government... It ensures that women's views are taken into account by the Government and are heard in public debate." Information about activities and publications, plus links to partner organisations in the UK. Includes Women's Organisations in the United Kingdom 2003, a downloadable directory of organisations that promote the interests and welfare of women at all levels, from grassroots to national sections of international bodies.
  • Women of Protest: Photographs from the Records of the National Woman's Party - part of the library of Congress American Memory Project. It provides free access to a collection of digitised images and photographs of the National Woman's Party, who represented the militant wing of the American suffrage movement. The site contains over 400 photographs from 1875-1938 which document the struggle for the vote in the USA. The site also includes a timeline of key events, some biographical sketches of key figures and academic essays about the movement. It is possible to browse the site or search by subject keyword. Copyright information is provided.
  • Women's World Organization for Rights, Literature, and Development - an international free speech network of feminist writers, activists and historians. Started in 1994 "at a time when the great worldwide contradiction between globalisation and anti-modern backlash movements was first becoming clear." Includes a moderated discussion group, data on gender and censorship, and messages from women in crisis regions. Part funded by the Rockefeller Foundation and the Ford Foundation.
  • Your Greenham -Greenham was the name of a piece of common land near the town of Newbury in Berkshire which became home to a United States Air Force base. It was announced in 1980 that the base would house 96 Cruise missiles and in 1981 a protest was initiated by a group of women who opposed the siting of Cruise missiles on British soil. A permanent peace camp remained outside the perimeter fence of the base from 1981 until after the missiles were removed in 1987. Further resources about Greenham Common can be found below:
    Greenham Songbook
    Camp Photographs by Sigfrid Moller & Gertha Andersen

See also Politics information sources: human rights, ethnic relations and migration.

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Development

  • BRIDGE online reports on Development and Gender - from the Institute for Development Studies. This recently-updated site has been set up as a 'virtual bookcase' where you can download copies of all BRIDGE publications - Cutting Edge Packs, Reports, Bibliographies and Gender and Development In Brief issues. The documents are listed by type and by theme, and there is also a new search function. There is a a page dedicated to non-English language resources, including the Cutting Edge Pack on Gender and Participation in Arabic, the Gender and Conflict and the Gender and Citizenship packs in French and Spanish and reports on gender and economics in French, Russian and Albanian. There are also details of the current programme, team members and details of how to subscribe to the mailing list.
  • Centre for Women's Development Studies (CWDS) - "established in 1980 by a group of men and women involved in the preparation of the first ever comprehensive government report on the status of women in India (Towards Equality: Report of the Committee on the Status of Women in India, (CSWI), Government of India). CWDS works to promote research into women's development studies, training programmes and collaboration between academics and grassroots activists. The website provides details of CWDS's activities, publication and their library." Includes CWDS-BOL - A Discussion List on Gender Issues in South Asia
  • Gender and Water Alliance - a network of 133 organisations and individuals from around the world with an independent steering committee. It is an Associated Programme of the Global Water Partnership (GWP) funded by the governments of the Netherlands and United Kingdom. Because of the pooled experience and skills contained in this network, the GWA offers a mix of information and knowledge sharing activities such as electronic conferencing, a website, advocacy leaflets and video, annual reports, capacity building and pilot programmes.
  • Gender and Water Resources - part of the IIAV's Mapping the World site.
  • Gender, Citizenship and Governance (GCG) - "The Gender, Citizenship and Governance programme is a partnership between KIT (Koninklijk Instituut voor de Tropen - Royal Tropical Institute - based in the Netherlands) and 15 organizations from Southern Africa (Namibia, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe) and South Asia (Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka). The participating organizations represent women's activists groups, non governmental organizations, research centres and cooperatives." Includes an electronic discussion group. Also includes:
    • Muslim Women and Development which presents findings from the Muslim Women and Development action research project. This explored the complex links between women's perceptions of Islam and their rights to reproductive health and education among Muslim communities in Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Mali, the Netherlands, Senegal and Yemen.
  • Gender issues in contemporary industrialization: an annotated bibliography - "The criterion of relevance was that the item should contribute to our understanding of the relationship between issues of gender and issues of industrial restructuring in the South and the North. In consequence, the majority of references cover the period from the early 1970s to the mid-1990s. The criterion of accessibility was that the item should be in the English language and that we should have obtained a copy of it. " From the Universities of Warwick and Manchester, UK.
  • Gender Mainstreaming: Learning and Information packs - Produced by the UNDP's Gender in Development Programme. Six information packs originally designed for capacity building specialists and staff members with substantive responsibility for gender mainstreaming. They have broad relevance for many applied policy and organisational change purposes, and cover: Gender Mainstreaming; Gender Analysis; Thematic Entry Points; Strategies; Knowledge Management; Process Management.
  • Gender Resources: Eldis - Institute of Development Studies - at the University of Sussex. Searchable site describes the Institute's activities, and hosts a number of valuable information services such as: Eldis - a searchable "gateway to online information on development or the environment, focusing on countries of the South. Eldis makes a qualitative selection of materials and structures it for easy access". Resources are described in detail; id21 ("Information for Development in the 21st Century"), publicising and summarising new research reports in the area of development studies, and providing information on how to obtain them; and several others.
  • GENDEV (Gender Research) Network - offers an email discussion list, an electronic conference, and a newsletter "on intrahousehold and gender aspects of food and agricultural research". Hosted by the International Food Policy Research Institute.
  • Siyanda - "Siyanda is about participation in and adding our voices to a growing network of those committed to supporting and reflecting the gender mainstreaming needs of policy workers, gender activists, programme and project workers, field workers and researchers alike. We invite you to share your work and ideas in this space." Supported by donor agencies from several countries. Since 2003, the Genie website has been merged into the Siyanda Website. Genie has gender mainstreaming resources produced and/or funded by donor agencies including bilaterals (government agencies and ministries) and multilaterals (inter-governmental organisations).
  • United Nations - large searchable site in English, French and Spanish, incorporating a number of useful sections:
  • Water Aid Gender Links - this charity works in both rural and urban areas, and currently has programmes in 15 countries in Africa and Asia.
  • WIDE: Network Women in Development Europe - "works to influence European and International policies and to raise awareness on gender and development issues among important sectors of opinion in Europe, with the objective of empowering women worldwide". Coordinating office in Brussels, but network comprises representatives from affiliated groups Europe-wide. Site provides newsletters, *ins, reports and policy documents.
  • WIDNET: Women in Development Network - in French and English. Searchable database of information and statistics, arranged by subject and region. Edited by Sylvie Proulx and Gilbert Oloko of Focus International, a Canadian consultancy. Includes WIDstat: Women In Development - Statistics
  • Womankind Worldwide - "the only UK development agency that has at its heart support for women's economic, social and political equality". Site includes information about campaigns and events, plus links to other related organisations.
  • Women and International Development Program - at Michigan State University (USA). Site includes a newsletter, bibliographies and online texts, plus an Internet Resource Guide with substantial collections of links, described and categorised by region.
  • Women, Ink - "a project of the International Women's Tribune Centre to market and distribute books on women and development worldwide". Catalogue, news, and links to related sites.
  • Women's Environment and Development Organization - aim to "foster women's leadership and advocacy skills to transform women's concerns about the environment, development, population and gender equity into actions, programs and policies in countries around the world". Hosted by Women's Net/IGC (Institute of Global Communications), a U.S.-based charitable organisation.
  • Women's Issues: 3rd World - extensive list of links, with descriptions, classified by topic and country/region. Hosted by About.com, a U.S.-based educational collective with an international focus.
  • World Bank: GenderNet - "The Bank seeks to improve gender equality through its programs and projects, and to enhance the efficiency and sustainability of its operations by considering gender aspects". Site includes policy documents, research reports, practical guidelines and country profile statistics, plus links to other related sites.

See also Social science information sources: Development studies, for sites which are not specifically concerned with women and gender but which may cover related issues.

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Sexualities

  • European Sexuality Resource Center - based in the International Information Centre and Archives for the Women's Movement in Amsterdam, this is an association of partner organizations both in The Netherlands and in the European Union (EU) working within the field of sexual well-being and sexual health in Europe and outside the region, and individual members with a particular expertise in these fields. "Promotes a dialogue and provides support to a wide community of researchers, policy makers and activists both within the European Union and outside."
  • Gender Recognition Panel - set up under the Gender Recognition Act 2004 to assess applications from transsexual people for legal recognition of their acquired gender. The site provides application forms (downloadable in PDF), a selection of FAQs and guidance to the process of applying to the Panel for gender recognition. There is also information and guidelines for medical practitioners and psychologists providing medical evidence for patients applying for gender recognition. Legislation relating to transsexual people is available on the site in full text along with key legal judgements and links to related organisations.
  • Lesbian Information Service - based in Todmorden, Lancashire. Has a research library, and produces many publications on "challenging homophobia."
  • GLB on Google - Google's directory section on gay, lesbian and bisexual issues.
  • The Human Sexuality Collection - "seeks to preserve and make accessible primary sources that document historical shifts in the social construction of sexuality, with a focus on U.S. lesbian and gay history and the politics of pornography." Based at Cornell University. Contains details of rare and manuscript collections.
  • Stonewall - a British based group which "works to achieve legal equality and social justice for lesbians, gay men and bisexual people."

See also Sociology information resources: LGBT Studies

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Health

  • AGEHI: Advocates of Gender, Education and Health Information - part of the Society for the Advancement of Community Health Education and Training, a gender sensitive, welfare oriented and development driven non-governmental organization formed to work in the health, education and training sector, and based in Pakistan.The objective of AGEHI is to advocate for gender sensitisation, education and health promotion by disseminating information.
  • The Canadian Women's Health Network / Le Réseau canadien pour la santé des femmes - "Valuable on-line resources on illness, prevention, chronic pain, disabilities, or other health topics. We post new research information coming out of the Centres of Excellence for Women's Health and we offer to post articles, press releases, or information sheets from organizations that may not have their own website, but are actively involved in women's health."
  • Center for Health and Gender Equity (CHANGE) - a U.S.-based international reproductive health and rights organization. "We seek to make reproductive health and rights objectives integral to all relevant U.S. international population and health policies and programs and to find effective means of applying public health and human rights principles to health programs. Our main goal is to enhance from a rights perspective the practices of those institutional actors, such as the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the World Bank, and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA)."
  • A Century of Women's Health 1900 - 2000 - from the U.S. Office on Women's Health.
  • Department of Women, Gender and Health - started as a result of the World Health Organization's Gender Policy adopted in March 2002, the Department of Gender and Women's Health "is charged with helping WHO's various programs and departments undertake the challenge of integrating gender considerations into their work. It is also responsible for researching and disseminating information on neglected topics directly pertaining to women's health, such as gender-based violence against women."
  • The DfID Health Systems Resource Centre - includes a Gender and health equity resource guide and other recommended readings on gender and health.
  • European Institute of Women's Health - "a non-governmental organisation working to make the health and well being of women a priority for the European Commission and Member States of the European Union." Based in Ireland, open to subscribers.
  • 4Woman.gov - from the National Women's Health Information Center (US). Statistical resources on the NWHIC website include general resources on women's health issues and statistics, including women's health statistics by category and women with disabilities statistical information.
  • Gender and Health - from the Women, Health and Development Program at the Pan-American Health Organization.
  • Healthy Woman Project - from the National Center for Health Statistics (US). Contains tables that describe the health of people in each State by sex, race, and age. Currently, mortality tables and health behaviour and risk factor tables can be accessed by downloading a free data dissemination software.
  • HealthyWomen - From the National Women's Health Resource Center, which is the US national clearinghouse for women's health information. "Provides women with the information they need to make informed decisions on the health topics most important to them."
  • Office of Research on Women's Health (ORWH) - "The US Office of Research on Women's Health (ORWH) serves as a focal point for women's health research at the NIH, and promotes, stimulates, and supports efforts to improve the health of women through biomedical and behavioural research. " Includes research reports, details of meetings and conferences, and discussion.
  • Office on Women's Health - In the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) "coordinates women's health efforts in HHS to eliminate disparities in health status and supports culturally sensitive educational programs that encourage women to take personal responsibility for their own health and wellness." Links to various organisations and publications.
  • Physicians for Human Rights - PHR Research: Women - "Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) promotes health by protecting human rights." Their research on the particular vulnerability of women has included investigations in Kashmir, Liberia, Bosnia, Sierra Leone and Afghanistan. The site includes links to PHR reports on topics such as rape and war, genital mutilation and trafficking of women.
  • Q Web Sweden - site in English and Swedish aims "to document projects on women's empowerment and health in Sweden and world-wide with a focus on developing countries, and to disseminate information on ongoing local and global activities on gender and health". Links to other related sites worldwide, with descriptions.
  • The University of York Department of Health Sciences - web resources
  • Women and Disability Websites - a directory compiled by Alexa Schriempf and first published in Feminist Collections, vol.21, no.4 (Summer 2000). Sites are described in detail.
  • Yahoo: Health: Women's Health - U.S.-based searchable directory of web resources, covering popular and academic sites.

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Reproductive and sexual health

  • Campaign for Normal Birth - based at the Royal College of Midwives, the Campaign "aims to inspire and support normal birth practice."
  • Center for Reproductive Rights - (formerly Center for Reproductive Law and Policy) a non-profit legal advocacy organization dedicated to promoting and defending women's reproductive rights worldwide. "holding governments - including the U.S. government - accountable for violating the reproductive rights of women."
  • Ethics Updates: Bioethics, Cloning and Reproductive Technologies - searchable collection of websites and bibliographies arranged by subject, plus links to discussion groups, edited by Lawrence Hinman at the University of San Diego.
  • ID21 health - communicating development research.- "a fast-track research reporting service backed by the UK Department for International Development. It aims to make policymakers and on-the-ground development managers aware of the latest and best in British development research findings." Particularly strong on sexual and reproductive health, maternal and child health.
  • IPPF News - International News on sexual & reproductive health and rights. - From the International Planned Parenthood Federation "The largest voluntary organisation in the field of sexual and reproductive health including family planning, represented in over 180 countries worldwide." Updated daily. Searchable.
  • Jacob's Institute for Womens Health - aims to: identify and study women's health care issues involving the interaction of medical and social systems; facilitate informed dialogue and foster awareness among consumers and providers alike; promote problem resolution, interdisciplinary coordination and information dissemination at the regional, national and international levels. Site includes the Women's health data book
  • Museum of Menstruation and Women's Health - A website devoted to women's experiences of menstruation in different cultures and historical eras. Contains numerous images of historical sources associated with women's health. The factual data should be used with caution.
  • OMNI (Organising Medical Networked Information): Gynaecology - alphabetical list of links to web resources for health/medical professionals, from a searchable, UK-based subject gateway. See also Obstetrics, or browse the subject headings for other relevant areas.
  • Reproductive Health and Research - publications and other resources from this department of the World Health Organization.
  • Reproductive Health Gateway - searchable database of web resources from the Health area of the US Agency for International Development.
  • Reproductive Health Outlook - the reproductive health website produced by Program for Appropriate Technology in Health (PATH). RHO is especially designed for reproductive health program managers and decision-makers working in developing countries and low-resource settings.

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Family and motherhood

  • The Centre for Research on Mothering  - at York University, Toronto. Houses the Association for Research on Mothering, and the Journal of the Association for Research on Mothering. The Centre's mandate is to promote feminist maternal scholarship by building and sustaining a community of researchers -- academics and grassroots -- interested in the topic of mothering-motherhood.
  • Feminist.com: parenting / family links - Feminist.com "promotes women's business development, supports women-friendly organizations, expands civic participation and encourages women's self-sufficiency. Feminist.com is a responsive community that offers resources for all women and provides a safe space for diverse dialogues."
  • Lifestyle, Family and Gender Resources - maintained by academics at the Sociology Institute of the University of Zurich in Switzerland. Contained on the site are a number of on-line articles which are mostly in German but contain some English versions.
  • National Partnership for Women and Families - "uses public education and advocacy to promote fairness in the workplace, quality health care, and policies that help women and men meet the dual demands of work and family." Based in Washington.

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Ageing

  • Centre for Research on Aging and Gender - an established research centre within the Sociology Department at the University of Surrey, UK.
  • The Older Feminists' Network - " formed in 1982 and has met regularly in central London ever since in order to give voice to the the concerns of older women which we felt were being ignored in feminist circles and in society generally."
  • Older Women's Network, Europe - an EU-funded"inclusive and open network reflecting our similarities and diversities, working together to influence policy development and change within our local communities as well as at European level". Information in five languages.

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Religion

  • Canadian Council of Muslim Women - "a national non- profit voluntary organization established to assist Muslim women in participating effectively in Canadian society and to promote mutual understanding between Canadian Muslim women and women of other faiths."
  • Women Living Under Muslim Laws - "an international Network that provides information, solidarity and support for all women whose lives are shaped, conditioned or governed by laws and customs said to derive from Islam. " for all women whose lives are shaped, conditioned or governed by laws and customs said to derive from Islam." The Network aims create an awareness of Muslim laws and how they vary between cultures and build bridges between women living in different Muslim communities. WLUML works to increase women's autonomy by supporting their struggles and linking them with feminist and progressive groups at large. The website provides access to news updates, calls for action, publications and links to other organisations. The website is also available in French.
  • al-Islam.org: Women - brief directory of resources and texts "helping to remove misconceptions about women and Islam which are prevalent in the western media, such as women being oppressed, not having any freedoms, etc." Compiled as part of the Ahlul Bayat Digital Islamic Library Project (also in Arabic and Kiswahili).

See also Near and Middle East and Central Asia

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War, conflict and peace

  • Child Soldiers Global Report - produced every three years by the Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers. Its website provides free access to the most recent report. It contains statistical data by region, nation and conflict. Each entry includes information on the status of ratification of international treaties. In addition to the report which is offered in PDF format for downloading, the site also contains a research guide for students which explains the methodology used.
  • European Campaign on Women Asylum Seekers - Launched in 2000 with help from the Heinrich Böll foundation and the European Commission Daphne programme. The main aim of the campaign "was to draw attention to and call for the recognition of gender-based persecution as a legitimate cause for the granting of asylum to women in all of the EU Member States." The site includes full details of the campaign, including final reports and conclusions.
  • Forced Migration Online - Forced Migration Online provides access to a wealth of resources relating to forced migration worldwide. It is maintained by the Refugee Studies Centre at Queen Elizabeth House, University of Oxford. The site includes a digital library of full-text reports and journal articles, research guides which can be browsed by country or thematic topic, news headlines, a catalogue of links to useful websites and a directory of organisations with useful contact addresses. It is also building a database of multimedia materials including photographs, online digital images and videos relating to all aspects of the refugee expereince. The database covers the full range of economic, political, social and legal issues relating to forced migration, asylum seekers and refugees.
  • Gender and Armed Conflict Cutting Edge Pack, BRIDGE- Mainstream approaches to conflict and reconstruction fail to recognise how armed conflict exacerbates gender inequality. This pack looks at this question and ways to address these concerns.
  • Human Rights Watch World Report 2004: Human Rights and Armed Conflict [PDF] - the 2003 annual report from the Human Rights Watch organisation, detailing the state of human rights across the world. It also contains a number of essays on themes relating to war and human rights. These include women and sexual violence. Users should note that this paper is in PDF format and therefore requires access to Adobe Acrobat Reader for viewing.
  • International Organization for Migration, Working Group on Gender Issues - includes ejournal Gender and Migration News, and full text of IOM publications.
  • Peace Women - a project of the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom, inspired by the process that led to the UN Security Council debating and passing Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security. It is a centralised repository of information that collects women's peace activities in the field, data bases of contacts and campaign and outreach material.
  • The Refugee Women's Legal Group (RWLG) - "was established at the beginning of 1996 by individuals and organisations concerned about the impact of changes in immigration law on women seeking asylum in the UK. Central among its aims is the development of a gendered perspective on refugee law and policy." Provides practitioners and others working with refugee women access to appropriate sources of information and support to assist in the presentation of individual cases. It also has a noticeboard which is updated regularly.
  • Watchlist on Children and Armed Conflict - a US based NGO which works to ensure that the security and rights of children in armed conflicts around the world are protected. It compiles information about the impact of wars, civil war and armed conflict on childrens rights and well-being in individual nations. The website provides information on the aims and structure of the organisation. It provides free access to its recent press releases and full text country reports. Each report covers health, human rights, use of child soldiers, measures of gender violence, human trafficking and abuses against children. Reports are generally available from about 2000 onwards. Counties covered include: Iraq, Nepal, Sudan, Angola, Democratic Republic of the Congo.
  • Women 2000: Sexual Violence and Armed Conflict; United Nations Response - Women 2000 is a journal published by the United Nations Division for the Advancement of Women. Each issue deals with a single subject raised by the 1997 Beijing Declaration on the Rights of Women. This issue examines steps taken by the UN to address the situation of women subjected to sexual violence since the Second World War.
  • Women, Conflict and Peace Building - a searchable bibliographic database on women and conflict worldwide from the Women Waging Peace Organisation, an initiative of the Women and Public Policy Programme of the John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University. Topics covered include: women in war, refugees, violence against women, gender roles and warfare, womens activist movements,conflict resolution, peace making, foreign policy and gender issues.
  • Women Veterans - A history of their past...information for the present.
  • WomenWarPeace.org - A UNIFEM site aiming to further the organisation's framework for action on Women, Peace and Security. "As soldiers, as refugees, as survivors of landmine incidents and sexual violence, women experience conflict differently than men. For almost ten years, the United National Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM), in co-operation with governments, other United Nations bodies, international and national organizations and non-governmental partners, has assisted women in conflict situations and supported their participation in peace processes."
  • United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees: Women's issues - a selection of articles and official documents.

See also Politics information sources: Post-war reconstruction, peace studies

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Gender-related violence

  • Abused Women's Perspectives: Responsiveness and Accountability of Domestic Violence and Inter-Agency Initiatives [PDF] - a research paper published in 2002 as part of the ESRC's Violence research programme. The paper describes a two year study by staff from the Universities of Warwick and Bristol which listened to the voices of abused women as a source of innovatory theory and policy development. Users should note that this paper is in PDF format and therefore requires access to Adobe Acrobat Reader for viewing.
  • Arab Regional Resource Center on Violence Against Women (Arabic site - English version is under construction)
  • CHANGE : Men Learning to End Their Violence to Women Ltd. - "CHANGE was the first project in Europe to set up a programme of re-education for violent men which aims to take full account of the interests of women and children." Based at Stirling University, with funding from Government.
  • Child and Woman Abuse Studies Unit - an independent research unit, based at Leeds Metropolitan University. The Unit is designed as Centre for Independent Research, Evaluation, Training, Consultancy and Networking from a Feminist perspective. The site contains information about the research of the Unit, as well as access to journal and conference papers.
  • Coalition Against Trafficking - a non-governmental organization that promotes women's human rights and works internationally to combat sexual exploitation in all its forms. "CATW researches and documents the situation of women who have been trafficked and are in prostitution; educates the public about the extent of harm sustained by women and girls in prostitution; and galvanizes change through legislation and working with governments and international agencies to create/change/amend policy and legislation that support the right of every woman and girls to be free of sexual exploitation; and helps create and support alternatives for women and girls who have been sexually exploited. " Site includes The Factbook on Global Sexual Exploitation containing facts, statistics and known cases on global sexual exploitation. The site is in English, French and Spanish.
  • Domestic Violence Institute - a non-profit organisation based in the United States. The mission of the DVI is to "educate and train professionals and lay people, conduct research, and impact public policy about violence against women, children, men, the elderly, and promote survival of the nonabusive family." The site includes information about the research of the DVI as well as a number of questionnaires which can be completed online.
  • End Violence Against Women (ENDVAW) - A collection of full text and bibliographical materials on violence against women compiled from the resources of Population Reports, POPLINE Digital Services and Media/Materials Clearinghouse.
  • EuroWRC Resource Center - Men Working to End Men's Violence Against Women. A multilingual site. "Our goal is to sensitise and mobilise men and institutions against violence against women, understand more about male identity and educate young people."
  • FaithTrust Institute - formerly the Center for the Prevention of Sexual and Domestic Violence, this site houses a large range of information in a number of sub-categories including, child abuse, domestic violence and religion and abuse. Also on the site is information on how to purchase publications about the Center as well as links to related organisations.
  • The FREDA Centre for Research on Violence against Women and Children - one of five violence research centres across Canada that were established in 1992 through a five year grant from Health Canada and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC). Since its inception, the Centre's mandate has been to facilitate and conduct research on violence against women and children, in order to raise awareness and effect policy.
  • History of Rape - a Bibliography - "Contains literature about the history of rape, sexual child abuse and sexual violence in general. Articles, books and other tools are listed dealing exclusively or in parts with the topic." At the moment the bibliography contains mainly English and German titles, but also French, Italian, Norwegian, Spanish and Swedish literature. There are no chronological or geographical limitations. The compiler of the bibliography is writing a dissertation about rape in Germany during the Weimar Republic. The bibliography is a by-product of this work. It aims to give a survey of the number of publications and to help researchers, students and librarians to find literature.
  • Home Office: Domestic Violence and Violence Against Women - texts on UK Government policy and programmes, plus links to related sites.
  • INSTRAW - United Nations International Research and Training Institute for the Advancement of Women (INSTRAW). The United Nations Institute devoted to serve as a vehicle at the international level to promote and undertake research and training programmes to contribute to the advancement of women and gender equality worldwide. In particular Violence against women and Women and armed conflict
  • MINCAVA Electronic Clearinghouse - The mission of the Minnesota Center Against Violence and Abuse (MINCAVA) is to support research, education, and access to violence related resources. This Electronic Clearinghouse provides resources for professionals, researchers, and survivors. "We post bibliographies, syllabi, links to resources on a variety of violence-related topics, scholarly papers and reports, and education and training resources."
  • The Sexual Violence Research Initiative (SVRI) - launched "to address the issue of sexual violence and aims to create a network of experienced and committed researchers, policy makers, activists and donors". The SVRI builds on the experience of the World Health Organisation's (WHO) Multi-country Study on Women's Health and Domestic Violence Against Women and on the various initiatives supported by the Global Forum. it is funded by Global Forum for Health research and hosted by the WHO.
  • Toolkit to End Violence Against Women - from the National Advisory Council on Violence Against Women, which is chaired by the US Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Each of the Toolkit's sixteen chapters is geared toward a specific audience (e.g., Native Women, the US Military, the entertainment industry, health and mental care systems, etc.) and stresses ways in which these audience can increase prevention efforts and better services for victims. Clicking on a chapter title brings up a *-pointed list of things that particular audience can do to make a difference and links to the .pdf version of the chapter and an "action card" (a .pdf version of the * points with explanation).
  • Truth About Rape - meets in small groups throughout the United Kingdom. The organisation "are committed to making a difference to how society understands rape" and they believe "we should be encouraging arrests for domestic violence, requiring better reporting and giving it more weight in custody disputes." Truth About Rape campaign to try and bring these issues to public attention. The site contains information about legislation, news reports and the activities of the organisation.
  • Violence against Women statistics - from the Department of Justice (US).
  • WAVE: Women Against Violence Europe - "the European network of non-governmental women's organisations working to combat violence against women and children". Site includes a database of policy documents, reports and statistics from national and international organisations, searchable by country or topic. Funded by the European Union.
  • Women's Aid (UK): Survivors' handbook - Women's Aid is the UK's national charity working to end domestic violence against women and children.
  • Working to Halt Online Abuse (WHOA) - a volunteer organisation, founded in 1997 in the United States. The purpose of WHOA is to "educate the Internet community about online harassment, empower victims of harassment, and formulate voluntary policies that systems administrators can adopt in order to create harassment-free environments." The site contains information about cyber stalking, statistics on internet abuse and links to further resources.
  • World report on violence and health - downloadable PDF file of the full report from the World Health Organization. "The first comprehensive summary of the problem on a global scale," Contains chapters on sexual violence, violence by intimate partners and child abuse.

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Work, labour and employment

  • The Bag Lady - a directory of women-owned businesses, including a trade mall and a useful funding section with information on over 2,500 UK and EU Grants with a comprehensive list of Venture Capital Sources worldwide. You have to pay for this service but you're provided with detailed and definitive descriptions of how to apply, requirements for eligibility etc. There's also a discussion forum.
  • Business Women's Network - "Since its founding in 1993, the Business Women's Network has been a premier place for thousands of professional women around the globe in their search for solutions. Whether you're starting a business, climbing the corporate ladder, working towards career satisfaction and work life effectiveness, or running a leading organization, BWN has the resources and contacts you need to succeed. " Run by iVillage, Inc in New York. Includes links to organizations, events, conferences and training.
  • Centre for Developing Women Business Leaders - at Cranfield School of Management, UK. "Through research, consultancy and management development activities, the Cranfield Centre for Developing Women Business Leaders is committed to helping organisations and women managers world-wide to take positive steps towards redressing the current gender imbalance at middle and senior managerial levels."
  • Center for Gender in Organizations - at Simmons Graduate School of Management, USA " a unique school dedicated to the education of women for positions of power and leadership." Includes some useful background material on women and organisations, but some links are flaky.
  • e.quality@work - An Information Base on Equal Employment Opportunities for Women and Men. This site has been produced by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) to provide governments, organisations, policy makers and researchers with comparable, basic information about equal employment opportunity practices around the world. The data provided includes international labour standards, national legislation, policies, practices and institutional arrangements introduced by a range of governments, trade unions and public and private sector enterprises. Country employment statistics are also available.
  • Glass ceiling: a selected bibliography - compiled by Melba Jesudason and Janet Rother-Harris, University of Wisconsin. Includes internet resources as well as books and journals.
  • International Labour Organization: Gender Website - "The ILO will continue to work with governments, employers' and workers' organizations, and other actors of civil society to... pursue new and creative initiatives for gender equality, development and peace." Site in English, French and Spanish provides background information, press releases and other documentation (including summary statistical data) on women's participation in the workforce. Includes links to other relevant reports and sites.
  • PROWESS: The UK association of Organisations and Individuals who Support Women to Start and Grow Businesses - a network of organisations and individuals who support the growth of women's business ownership, raising awareness, sharing of best practice, advocacy and information. "Prowess has over 180 members who support 100,000 women each year to start 10,000 new businesses which contribute an additional £1.5 billion to the economy." The website provides an archive and e-zine.
  • ScottishBusinesswomen.com - "the online business community for enterprising Scottish women, which aims to inspire and prepare more women to start their own business."
  • Unheard Voices - American Women in the Emerging Industrial and Business Age. The survey of its manuscript collections, begun in May 1999, by the Historical Collections Department at the Harvard Business School's Baker Library, revealed records of women employed in a wide range of business activities. This site provides a detailed description of the various collections, a sample selection of digitised manuscripts and an extensive bibliography of secondary resources - both printed and online. The description of the collection is broken down into four main areas; women at work, women in business, women as professionals and women's personal lives.
  • Sex and Power: Who Runs Britain? [PDF]- provides access to some data published by the Equal Opportunities Commission in January 2004. It provides statistics on British women's representation in senior positions in politics, public life and business. This is compared with male representation. Comments are made about the glass ceiling faced by women.
    Users should note that this paper is in PDF format and therefore requires access to Adobe Acrobat Reader for viewing.
  • Women and Work Commission - established in July 2004. Chaired by Baroness Prosser it is investigating issues relating to equal opportunities and women's employment in the UK. It includes coverage of the gender pay gap, glass ceilings, problems in women's employment, work life balance relating to women and the employment market and UK government employment policies and women's rights. Its website provides information on the aims and remit of the commission. It includes access to its press releases and reports. The site links to official statistical information on women's employment and salaries and related legislation on equal rights.
  • Women Working 1870 - 1930 - from the Open Collections Program, set up with a grant from the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation in November 2002. The collection mainly concerns the experience of working women during this period in Boston. Over 450 documents are available presently - once the project is completed, this figure will rise to over 3000. The site hosts a great diversity of information - for example, users may browse the regularly updated New Additions section, scan materials by topic (e.g., science and medicine, business, home labour, industrial or agricultural), or perform a full text search.
  • Women Working in the Criminal Justice System [PDF] - Interim Report of the Commission on Women and the Criminal Justice System which was published by the Fawcett Society in March 2004. It examines the employment patterns of women in the British criminal justice system (the police forces, prison service, court system, legal profession and judiciary). It is argued that women continue to face sex discrimination and a 'glass ceiling' prevents them from reaching the top of the professions.
    Users should note that this paper is in PDF format and therefore requires access to Adobe Acrobat Reader for viewing.
  • Women's World Banking network - The Women's World Banking network "aims to have a major impact on expanding the economic assets, participation and power of low income women as entrepreneurs and economic agents by opening their access to finance, knowledge and markets." The global team of WWB is based in New York. The team is comprised of 49 members from 27 countries of Africa, Asia, Latin America, Europe and North America.
  • WWW .December18.net International Migrant Workers portal - "for the promotion and protection of the rights of migrants." Funded by Oxfam Netherlands and Inter Pares, a Canadian organization promoting international social justice. Site contains legislation, news, contacts and resources, including information on the trafficking of workers.

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Media and Arts

  • Annotated bibliography of feminist aesthetics in the literary, performing and visual arts 1970-1990. - U.S. site, compiled by Linda Krumholz and Estella Lauter.
  • Artwomen.org - "A place for dynamic exchanges of views on visual art and feminist cultural production across and between disciplines and geographical boundaries." A non-commercial, non-profit, voluntary project on the web, originated by MaryRoss Taylor and Mary Jo Aagerstoun. Includes an online gallery. There is a special issue covering Cyberfeminism and art.
  • Friends of Lulu - a national (USA) nonprofit organization whose purpose is to promote and encourage female readership and participation in the comic book industry. FoL provides input to publishers, retailers, and the public on the kinds of comics that appeal to a female readership and on how to reach that readership. "A hoped-for outgrowth of that expanded female reader base will be an increase in the number of females at all levels of the industry - in retailing, distribution, and publishing, as well as creating."
  • Genderads - "A website dedicated to understanding the contexts of sexism and advertising, gender and advertising, women and advertising, men and advertising, advertising and violence, advertising and racism, as well as social change and advertising (gender and ads, sexism and ads, sexist ads, race and ads, violence and ads, social change and ads, gender and popular culture, sexism and popular culture)."
  • WAVE: Women's AudioVisuals in English - a free database of information on documentary, experimental, and feature film and video productions by and about women, maintained by the University of Wisconsin Women's Studies Librarian's Office.
  • Women and Film in Europe - a working group of the European Coordination of Film Festivals, who aim "to research the history of women and film in Europe and to make this research available to others". Includes festival listings.
  • Women in cinema: a reference guide - classified bibliography and research guide from Philip McEldowney, University of Virginia (USA).
  • Women Make Movies - "a national non-profit feminist media arts organization" (USA). Site includes news of events, a film and video catalogue, and links to related resources e.g. bibliographies, full texts of articles.

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Computing and cyberculture

  • APC Women's Networking Support Programme - a global network of women who support women networking for social change and women's empowerment, through the use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs). Site includes a section on gender and ICT policy, plus news and reports form worldwide conferences and activities.
  • Asian Pacific Women's Information Network Centre (APWINC) - Asian Pacific Women's Information Network Centre (APWINC) Description: APWINC founded in November 1996 at Sookmyung Women's University, South Korea to promote "women's informatization and women-related communication technologies in the Asia Pacific region, focusing on South Korea and North Korea." APWINC is in the process of constructing regional and global ICT centers for women with AWORC and WomenAction. APWINC cooperates with UNESCO, UNESCAP, UNIFEM, UN WomenWatch and other international bodies in developing ICT-related projects for women. The website provides statistics, information about its training programmes and related links.
  • Association for Studies in Innovation, Science and Technology (AsSIST) - The Association for Studies in Innovation, Science and Technology (AsSIST) is a broad-based professional organisation with a strong representation of UK research and teaching centres in this field. It aims are to improve the representation of this inter-disciplinary field to our external audiences (including education and research policymakers, funding bodies, users and beneficiaries our research) and to undertake activity of mutual interest to its members.
  • Border Crossings - "an experiment in hypertextual relationships by Karla Tonella of the University of Iowa that explores the common ground between Cyborgs, Gender, LesBiGay, Diaspora, La Frontera, Border Incidents and Other Borders". Eclectic collection of links to websites and on-line texts.
  • Center for Women and Information Technology - at University of Maryland Baltimore County (USA). The Center's mission is "to encourage more women and girls to study computer science and/or information systems and to pursue careers in IT, to encourage more women and girls to use IT... and to encourage and support research concerning the relationship between gender and IT". Background information plus links to related sites.
  • Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility: Gender Pages: Women and Computing - "links to the most current information and scholarship on gender and computing available online", plus job listings and more general on-line resources for women, maintained by Julie Albright of the University of Southern California.
  • Courses/research departments covering Feminist Science & Technology Studies:
    Lancaster University - PhD at the Centre for Science Studies
    Nordic Institute for Women's Studies and Gender Research (NIKK) - PhD in Feminist Science and Technology Studies: Theories & Methodologies
  • Dotcomdivas.net - "a supportive, open forum for women Internet entrepreneurs." Based on the book by Elizabeth Carlassare.
  • Gender, Science and Technology Gateway - The Gender, Science and Technology Gateway (GST Gateway) has been relaunched. The gateway 'is a resource for researchers, policy makers, and NGOs [non-governmental organisations]. It provides key links and information on research, practice, policy and partners in sustainable development which focuses on gender equality to promote sustainable and equitable science and technology for development. The site is organised according to the "Seven Transformative Action Areas" identified by the Gender Working Group of the UN Commission on S&T for Development: Education, Careers, Needs of Society, S&T Decision Making, Local Knowledge Systems, Ethical Issues, and Collecting Gender Disaggregated Data. Each of these areas encompasses a wide range of women's scientific and technological activities, both formal and informal, from university research to food production and local knowledge.' The gateway is produced by the UN Gender Advisory Board.
  • GirlGeeks - GirlGeeks is an online community for women and girls interested in technology and computing. GirlGeeks is provided by the Bay Area Video Coalition, a non-profit 501(c)3 organization focused on new media education and training for underserved groups.
  • News related to women in ICT - Useful links to ICT related resources created by, or for, women.
  • PlanetGrrl - "a resource by women and grrls from the UK in or interested in new media and technology". Articles and networking opportunities.
  • The Pulling Moon, by Heidi Wyss- "Existential grrl lit, set 7000 years into a scientifically plausible future, free to read online."
  • Rants of a Feminist Engineer - Interesting Blog, that considers the relative standings of women scientists and engineers in feminist discourse.
  • Royal Tropical Institute (KIT) - the use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) as a tool for development, rural development in particular, in developing countries. The focus is on the use of traditional and new ICTs by resource-poor women, and men as well, to improve their situation and livelihood.
  • Science Technology & Society Wiki - A wiki charting the history and development of STS as a discipline. It links to several STS professional Associations and addresses the probable future of the discipline.
  • Strategies of inclusion: gender and the information society (SIGIS) - For a long time, there has been a concern that women were excluded from computers and thus from the information society. However, there are important changes going on. In many European countries, one finds public as well as private initiatives to include women. The aim of the SIGIS project is to analyse such initiatives and related processes of inclusion, partly to study the strategic features, partly to learn from relative successes, and partly to provide a knowledge base to support and encourage development of new inclusion efforts. SIGIS is a project funded by the EU Information Society Technologies Programme.
  • TAP: The Ada Project - "tapping internet resources for women in computer science". Developed by Elisabeth Freeman and Suzanne Hupfer at Yale University. Texts, information and links to other sites of general interest to women in professional life.
  • UK Resource Centre for Women in Science, Engineering and Technology - The UK Resource Centre for Women in Science, Engineering and Technology (UKRC) was established in 2004 to deliver a substantial part of the Government's Strategy for Women in SET (2003). Funded from the science budget of the Department for Innovation, Universities & Skills, the UKRC reports into the Science and Innovation Group. A high level Implementation Group has been selected by the Government to monitor progress of the Government's Strategy reporting to the Chief Scientific Officer. The UKRC has also established its own National Advisory Group.
  • Women Connect - "supports women's organisations in England with online resources, organisational development and some equipment. In this way the capacity of women's groups is strengthened to form new partnerships and influence policy and decision-making on issues concerning gender equality and ICT."
  • Women in computer science - large classified collection of on-line documents, compiled by Ellen Spertus of MIT, listing on-line articles and links to other resources.
  • Women-Focused Cyberculture and Internet Information - Joan Korenmann's comprehensive listing of women-related information about the Internet and/or cyberculture.
  • Women-Related e-mail lists for Cyberculture or Internet Information
  • WomensHub - still under construction. Gender equality and ICT.
  • WWWomen! The Premier Search Directory for Women Online! - "offers the largest collection of exclusively female-oriented web links online." Includes chat rooms, a cyber advice page, help with writing web pages, interactive stories, and a weekly newsletter.

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Statistics

  • Childstats.gov - official site of the Federal Interagency Forum on Child and Family Statistics (US). Includes international comparisons.
  • Department of Labor (US) Women's Bureau - includes statistics such as 20 Leading Occupations of Employed Women, and Nontraditional Occupations for Women.
  • Genderstats - from the World Bank
  • Radstats publications on gender issues - The Radical Statistics group publish the Radical Statistics journal which is available free of charge and in full online. The UK-based group was formed in 1975 by a collection of researchers and statisticians concerned about the political implications of their work and having an awareness of the actual and potential misuse of statistics generally. There is an e-mail discussion list available from this site as well as details of publications by the group.
  • UNIFEM - publications include Progress of the World's Women. Also freely available online in PDF format are brochures like "Targets and indicators, selections from progress and the world's women," opens with the quote "Statistics in the hands of activists have power." -Ela Bhatt (SEWA).
  • Women Watch - from the UN has statistical country reports focusing on gender. You can browse the full text of The World's Women 2000: Trends and Statistics online.