Guide to Advocacy and Action
Advocacy is an important aspect of our work and defines us as graduate women who care deeply about women’s rights to social and economic justice and are willing to act on behalf of all women.
We believe in the power of advocacy to change women’s lives for the better. In fact, advocacy has been an essential tool for social change and most gains in human rights and gender equality both here and abroad have been the result of persistent and focused advocacy efforts.
Our Advocacy efforts include:
letters and emails to our elected and appointed officials, the UN and occasionally to heads of country governments urging them to act on behalf of women on a range of issues related to our organizational priorities;
development and adoption of resolutions current and emerging women’s issues; research and development of information and resources;
timely alerts to our membership to take action to influence legislation.
Importantly, also provide trainings to women who are interested in developing a competence in advocacy. This is because we believe that when women begin to advocate for themselves and others, they grow personally and professionally, developing a wide range of portable skills as they discover their voices.
In fact, we categorically believe that the practice of advocacy empowers women like little else.
Getting Started
If you are new to advocacy, explore our “Getting Started” training module. It provides a basic understanding of advocacy; what it means; why it is important; how it can affect you; and some examples of simple but effective advocacy.
Taking it to the Next Level
If you have been exposed to advocacy but haven’t yet practiced it, explore our “Taking it to the Next Level” training module. It defines “success” in terms of advocacy; provides insights on the essentials of successful advocacy; suggests informal ways in which to raise issues to create awareness; suggests ways to find your own advocacy community; reviews tools that you can use; provides templates for taking action.
Strategic Advocacy
If you have been an advocate for a while and would like to become more knowledgeable about issue-focused advocacy, explore our “Strategic Advocacy” module. It breaks down the advocacy planning process; reviews some common mistakes; provides examples of the advocacy planning process.