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GEM24: Breaking Barriers for Women and Girls will explore what works to advance gender equity, with a particular lens on both the challenges and opportunities emerging from developing countries and the role society needs to play.

May 1, 2024

All times are shown in Eastern Daylight Time.

5:00pm - Optional Guided Tour of "Hum Sab Ek (We Are One)" exhibit (Tsai Auditorium, 1730 Cambridge Street, Cambridge, MA)

Enjoy a guided tour by , SEWA Secretary General , and a team of Harvard graduate students of a multi-media art exhibition inspired by the actions of women working in the informal sector with the Self Employed Women’s Association (SEWA) in India during the COVID-19 pandemic.  

The exhibition is open for self-guided tours any time at the CGIS South Concourse, 1730 Cambridge Street and co-sponsored by the Lakshmi Mittal and Family South Asia Institute and Office of the Provost at Harvard.

GEM24 Opening Dinner and Welcome Reception at Harvard Art Museums

6:30pm - "Looking for Hidden Gems" welcome reception  

Official kickoff for GEM24 begins with cocktails and a treasure hunt at the stunning  where we will look for clues among the paintings and exhibits of the first-floor galleries of how women and girls are reflected in art.

Registration and check-in for GEM24 at entrance. 

7:30pm - "Women and Girls in the Arts"

Dinner & Discussion: "Shattering Gender Norms in Global Film"

Fireside Chat with actors and activists H.E. Dr. Fatima Maada Bio, first lady of Sierra Leone, Ashley Judd, social justice humanitarian, and creator and producer Smriti Kiran who will discuss their journeys fighting for women and girls in the global film industry and through their advocacy work around the world.

May 2, 2024: Global Empowerment Meeting at Harvard Kennedy School

8:15am - Breakfast and Registration (Nye ABC)

9:00am - Opening Reflections from Harvard Leadership (NYE ABC)

9:15am - Innovative Interventions in Advancing Gender Equity (NYE ABC)

This panel discussion will explore groundbreaking research, practices, and policies that have been shown to materially impact gender equality, justice, and economic opportunity for women and girls in diverse contexts. It will focus on successful interventions with evidence-based results and what they teach the development community about what success and impact looks like.  

11:15am - Fireside Chat: "The Politics of Centering Women and Girls in Policy and Practice" (NYE ABC)

Prioritizing gender equity in policy and practice is key to reshaping societies and creating inclusive economies but the political will to do so can be challenging. This interview with former prime ministers from West Africa and the Middle East will reflect on their time in office and consider how they advocated for women and girls, barriers and obstacles they faced in advancing gender equity, and what, if anything, they would do differently if they had a chance to lead again.

12:00pm - Lunch with Grandmother (NYE ABC)

Grandmothers around the world play a critical role in caring for their extended families and communities so that future generations can grow up with more opportunities to fulfill their potential. We will hear from one grandmother whose work through local Ugandan NGO in fostering girls so they can safely go to school reveals the many barriers women and girls still face and the opportunities to build a new model for economic empowerment, education, and home-based care.

1:00pm - The Next Frontiers for Women and Girls (NYE ABC)

This panel will highlight perspectives from practitioners and researchers working at the grassroots level and the cutting edge of equality for women and girls in international development. It will focus on uncovering areas where the need to focus on gender justice and equality has been historically underrecognized and discuss how to move forward in the knowledge of how much more there is to be done.  

2:45pm - GEM Incubation Rooms

The Incubation Rooms during GEM24 will generate and explore early-stage collaborations between researchers and practitioners working on gender in developing economies. 

Following the keynote address and panel sessions, GEM24 will divide participants into smaller groups that will participate in GEM Incubation Rooms focused on one of several pressing topics. These “research-meets-practice" working sessions will explore early-stage ideas, encouraging participants to consider how cutting-edge research can address pressing problems and reimagine the boundaries of knowledge and action. Participants will be encouraged to develop collaborations they would subsequently submit to the GEM Incubation Fund for seed funding.

Incubation Room 1: Enabling Women's Skilling Journeys (Wexner 436)

Inequitable access to education, skill building, and labor market opportunities plays a large role in contributing to gender gaps. These access barriers are driven by a range of factors including social norms and biases, household and environmental factors, as well as mobility constraints. This Incubation Room will explore strategies to bridge educational, skilling and labor market gender gaps and explore how technology and related innovations can be harnessed to promote gender equality, from closing the digital divide to leveraging innovative solutions that benefit all.

GEM Student Lead: , Harvard Graduate School of Education