Blog
Contributor Guidelines
Submitting guest blogs is open to Global Washington’s members of the Atlas level and above. We value a diversity of opinions on a broad range of subjects of interest to the global health and development community.
Blog article submissions should be 500-1500 words. Photos, graphs, videos, and other art that supports the main themes are strongly encouraged.
You may not be the best writer, and that’s okay. We can help you shape and edit your contribution. The most important thing is that it furthers an important conversation in your field, and that it is relatively jargon-free. Anyone without a background in global development should still be able to engage with your ideas.
If you include statistics or reference current research, please hyperlink your sources in the text, wherever possible.
Have an idea of what you’d like to write about? Let’s continue the conversation! Email comms@globalWA.org and put “Blog Idea” in the subject line.
Posted on February 11, 2025
By Randi Hedin, Board Member, buildOn
Men and women mixing concrete to build a school; Malawi. Photo: buildOn
On the surface, the fight for gender equity seems to be making tremendous strides. Women are graduating from college in record numbers—as many as 46 percent of women aged 25-34 in the U.S. currently hold bachelor’s degrees (up from only 8 percent in 1970.) Across the world, 41 percent of women hold post-secondary degrees. Here in Seattle, at the University of Washington, 56.7% of all undergraduate and graduate degrees were awarded to women. Women wield considerable economic clout, too. Within the next five years, women are expected to control as much as 75 percent of all discretionary spending worldwide.
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Posted on February 10, 2025
Summary prepared by Janet Pearson on behalf of the site visit team that also included Betsy Hale and Diane Logan.
Pangea site visits are unique opportunities to further a core element of our mission, which is to engage in trust-based partnerships with grassroots organizations. Our recent visit to Guatemala provided the opportunity for careful listening and deep conversations.
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Posted on February 10, 2025
By Irene Nyambura and Julia Boharski, World Concern
Women leaders in OVT Azanga, DRC. Photo: World Concern
In the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), gender inequality is deeply rooted in cultural norms and further exacerbated by over thirty years of conflict. DRC ranks 140th out of 146 countries on the Global Gender Gap Index 2024, which assesses economic participation, educational attainment, health and survival, and political empowerment.[1] Recent research shows that over 50% of women are survivors of domestic violence, nearly 40% marry before the age of 18, and only 7% of women occupy high level positions in the national government and parliament in DRC.[2] To reduce the outcomes of gender disparity, World Concern, in partnership with local communities and the Diocese of Aru, is implementing holistic programming that addresses the root causes of gender inequality. Through these initiatives, World Concern is witnessing transformative change in the lives of women, their families, and their communities.
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