Increasing the Number of Women Mediators in Peacemaking Initiatives
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University of Cincinnati; University of Johannesburg
United States
Abstract
Mediation refers to one or more individuals facilitating a negotiation among disputants to help them try to resolve, to their satisfaction, an issue or issues of concern. There is increasing interest in using mediation in a wide variety of circumstances (e.g., divorce, child custody, family disagreements, small claims issues, business matters, community problems, environmental issues and intrastate violent conflicts). Although professional women mediators in many countries are often involved in certain kinds of mediations as mediators or as members of mediation teams, this is not always the case. Examined here is the fact that few women mediators are involved as lead mediators or members of mediation teams in conflict zones - areas that are often large, involve complex issues and have been, or continue to be, violent. This article first discusses the concepts of inclusive peacebuilding and inclusive peacemaking. This is followed by a short discussion about mediation, and then further information is provided about women mediators. Finally, suggestions are made to increase the number of women mediators in complex, large-scale conflicts.
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Author Biography
Jan Marie Fritz, Ph.D., C.C.S. is a Professor in the School of Planning at the University of Cincinnati (USA) and a Distinguished Visiting Professor at the University of Johannesburg (South Africa). She previously was a Distinguished Visiting Professor with the Honors College at the University of South Florida (USA). She is the editor and co-editor of two books that have won international book awards and is the editor of Springer’s Clinical Sociology book series. She has received a number of awards and honors including having been the Fulbright Distinguished Chair in Human Rights and International Studies at the Danish Institute for Human Rights, the Fulbright US Senior Scholar at the Hungarian Academy of Sciences and the recipient of the American Sociological Association’s Distinguished Career Award for the Practice of Sociology. She currently is a member of two US Environmental Protection Agency Advisory Councils and a member of the Mayor of Cincinnati’s Gender Equality Task Force. Her areas of expertise include the national action plans (NAPs) based on UN Security Council Resolution 1325, environmental justice, clinical sociology and conflict intervention. She has been a practicing mediator and facilitator for over 20 years.