WILIG

Jane Addams and Belva Ann Lockwood, et al., the newest members of ASIL

/ Diane Marie Amann / Leave a comment

A warm welcoming of new members highlighted the recent annual meeting of the American Society of International Law.

Those welcomed included two luminaries – a Nobel Peace Prizewinner and a U.S. Presidential candidate – plus untold others, as reflected in this resolution, adopted by ASIL’s General Assembly:

RESOLVED,

That the American Society of International Law, wishing to provide recognition and posthumous redress to women who were excluded from membership in the Society during its early years, hereby confers membership on JANE ADDAMS, BELVA ANN LOCKWOOD, and any other women whose applications for membership were denied from 1906-1921.

FURTHER RESOLVED,

That the Society should undertake additional research to determine which members of other groups also were excluded from membership over the course of the Society’s history, and merit similar redress.

ASIL President Lucinda A. Low (left) introduced the resolutions, one of her last acts before handing the presidency to Professor Sean D. Murphy. Low, a partner at Steptoe & Johnson LLP, acted in response to a member inquiry – an inquiry prompted, as Low told ASIL members, by “International Law and the Future of Peace,” the speech I gave upon receiving the 2013 Prominent Woman in International Law award of ASIL’s Women in International Law Interest Group. As I indicated in that speech, original credit is owed to yet another ASIL President: Professor Alona Evans (below left), the 1st woman elected to lead the Society, in 1980, her tenure cut short by her death at age 63 that same year.

Six years earlier, Evans and Carol Per Lee Plumb had published “Women and the American Society of International Law” in the American Journal of International Law. They reported that ASIL, founded in 1906, had refused women’s applications for membership until 1921, the year after the U.S. Constitution was amended to give women the right to vote. Applicants before that time included:

► Lockwood (1830-1917) (top, middle), an attorney-activist who gained admittance to the District of Columbia bar in 1873 thanks to the intervention of U.S. President Ulysses Grant. Thereafter, she became the 1st woman to appear on an official ballot as a candidate for U.S. President, and also the 1st to argue a case before the U.S. Supreme Court.

► Addams (1860-1935) (top, right), the Chicago settlement house leader whose achievements including chairing the 1915 International Congress of Women at The Hague and serving and the 1st President of the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom. She would earn the Peace Prize in 1931.

According to Evans’ co-authored article, when Addams sought ASIL membership, she was sent a letter in which she was “invited, instead, to subscribe to the Journal ‘for the same amount as the annual dues ….’” That letter constitutes one of the few remaining records of such applications; it is for this reason that the 2018 Resolution refers to all women, known and unknown, who were denied membership.

Similarly lacking is evidence of how members of other groups fared in ASIL. (The sole African-American person elected ASIL President, C. Clyde Ferguson Jr., served just before Evans.) The Society has further resolved to seek this information and grant redress.

As for Evans, President Low indicated that the Society is considering how best to honor her legacy. These resolutions surely constitute a superb 1st step.

(Cross-posted from Diane Marie Amann)

WILIG honored to co-sponsor March 3 IntLawGrrls! 10th Birthday conference

/ Shana Tabak / Leave a comment

As one of the co-chairs of WILIG – the Women in International Law Interest Group of the American Society of International Law – my excitement about the March 3, 2017 10th birthday conference in honor of IntLawGrrls should be obvious. I’m thrilled to celebrate this infusion of ILGrrl energy into the state of Georgia.vanilla-party-cake

For WILIG, co-sponsoring this event is a natural fit. ILG, since its inception, has featured women’s “voices in international law, policy, and practice.” Both WILIG and ILG share the goal of amplifying women’s voices and opportunities in the sphere of international law.

Let me highlight just a few of my favorite aspects of the ILG blog. Over the past ten years, it has: 1) debunked the myth that there is a dearth of women experts in international law;  2) shared opportunities for women (and men) to apply for opportunities to engage in the writing, practice, and research of international law; and 3) lauded the accomplishments of women, giving props to leaders and experts in international law. A recent article profiling amplification strategies such as those advanced by the blog (repeating, highlighting, and crediting the accomplishments of women) demonstrate that amplification of women’s voices can have critical impact, not least of all, at the highest levels of government.

No wonder in 2012, when the blog briefly went on hiatus, I, along with thousands in the blogosphere, felt a blow to the gut. We needed the ILGrrls community, and the ILGrrls community needed us. Thanks to the new editors, a resurgence was born.

Last, but certainly not least, WILIG and IntLawGrrls interests aligned when the visionary behind the blog, Diane Marie Amann, accepted WILIG’s prestigious Prominent Woman in International Law Award in 2013.

WILIG is eager to see many WILIG members and ILGrrls in Athens, GA in March. Don’t forget to submit your proposal  to participate by January 1.   Proposals are welcome on topics including “any issue of international, comparative, foreign, or transnational law or policy. We especially welcome contributions from subfields traditionally dominated by men. Academics and practitioners, students and professors, advocates and policymakers alike are most welcome to submit.”

Looking forward to the celebration!

Travel grants will help students and very-early-career persons to take part in IntLawGrrls! 10th Birthday Conference

/ Diane Marie Amann / Leave a comment
1029_3

A scene from IntLawGrrls’ last conference, “Women in International Criminal Law,” October 29, 2010, at the American Society of International Law

Delighted to announce that we will be able to make it easier for some students or very-early-career persons whose papers are accepted for “IntLawGrrls! 10th Birthday Conference” to take part in this daylong celebration.

Thanks to the generosity of the Planethood Foundation, we have established a fund that will provide small grants to help defray the costs of travel to and accommodation at our conference, to be held March 3, 2017, at the Dean Rusk International Law Center, University of Georgia School of Law, Athens, Georgia USA. The law school is hosting as part of its Georgia Women in Law Lead initiative.

We’re pleased too to announce two additional conference cosponsors: the American Society of International Law and ASIL’s Women in International Law Interest Group (WILIG).

As detailed in our call for papers/conference webpage and prior posts, organizers Diane Marie Amann, Beth Van Schaack, Jaya Ramji-Nogales, and Kathleen A. Doty welcome paper proposals from academics, students, policymakers, and advocates, in English, French, or Spanish, on all topics in international, comparative, foreign, and transnational law and policy.

In addition to paper workshops, there will be at least one plenary panel, on “strategies to promote women’s participation in shaping international law and policy amid the global emergence of antiglobalism.”

The deadline for submissions will be January 1, 2017. Students or very-early-career person who would like to be considered for one of these grants to help defray travel costs are asked to indicate this in their submissions. Papers will be accepted on a rolling basis – indeed, we’ve already received several – so we encourage all to submit as soon as they are able.

For more information, see the call for papers or e-mail doty@uga.edu.

Go On! Women in International Law Networking Breakfast in DC (deadline TOMORROW)

/ Karen Hoffmann / Leave a comment

This Thursday, August 6, 2015, the Women in International Law Interest Group (WILIG) of ASIL will sponsor a breakfast featuring accomplished professionals in various practices of international law, who will discuss their career paths and offer professional advice and insights for women interested in pursuing careers in international law. The panel presentations will be followed by a Q&A and networking opportunities among the panelists and participants.

SPEAKERS:

  • Catherine Amirfar, U.S. Department of State
  • Lamia Matta, Miller Chevalier
  • Andrea Prasow, Human Rights Watch
  • [IntLawGrrl] Christie Edwards (moderator), American Red Cross

Registration is open through August 4, 2015, and is limited to the first 75 participants. This event will be recorded and posted on ASIL’s website following the event.

Date and Location

Date:
Thursday, August 6, 2015 – 8:00am to 10:00am
Location:
ASIL Headquarters
Address :
2223 Massachusetts Ave NW, Washington, DC
For more information and to register, visit http://www.asil.org/event/women-international-law-networking-breakfast-0.

Go On! ASIL Women in International Law Networking breakfast July 31

/ Karen Hoffmann / Leave a comment

The Women in International Law Interest Group (WILIG) of ASIL will be hosting the Annual Women in International Law Networking Breakfast  on Thursday, July 31, 2014, from 8-10 am, at ASIL Headquarters, 2223 Massachusetts Ave., NW, Washington, DC 20008.

The event features accomplished professionals in various practices of international law, who will discuss their career paths and offer professional advice and insights for women interested in pursuing careers in international law. The panel presentations will be followed by a Q&A and networking opportunities among the panelists and participants.

SPEAKERS:

·        Elizabeth Andersen: Director, Rule of Law Initiative, American Bar Association

·        Pamela Fierst: Senior Program Officer, International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, U.S. Department of State

·        Sandra Hodgkinson: Vice President, Planning and Chief of Staff, Finmeccanica North America and DRS Technologies

·        Marcia Wiss: Of Counsel, Project Finance & Business Transactions, Hogan Lovells LLP

 
 

Register here: http://www.asil.org/event/women-international-law-networking-breakfast.

ASIL Women in International Law Mentoring Program: Call for Mentors and Mentees

/ Christie Edwards / 1 Comment

The American Society of International Law’s Women in International Law Interest Group is excited to announce the launch of the second year of the Women in International Law Mentoring Program.

Photo courtesy of ASIL

Photo courtesy of ASIL

Last year’s launch was extremely successful with over 47 groups across the United States and 5 countries worldwide. We look forward to expanding the program even further this year.

The Women in International Law Mentoring Program (WMP) links experienced female international law professionals with female law students and new attorneys interested in professional development in the field of international law. Mentoring takes place in a group setting, with a maximum of four mentees for every mentor. Mentors and mentees meet in person every other month during the course of an academic year to discuss topics and engage in activities designed to help junior women enter and be successful in the beginning years of practicing international law. Upon finishing the requirements of the one-year program, all participants receive a certificate of completion.

We are currently accepting applications for mentees and mentors. We particularly encourage potential mentors to join the Program. If you are considering it, please do sign up. It is the mentors who make this program possible, and we do all that we can to make it fulfilling and hassle-free.

To sign up, please fill out the attached mentor or mentee application form and send to ilfellow1@asil.org.

The deadline for mentee applications is June 15, 2014  and for mentor applications is July 1, 2014.

You go, ‘Grrl! Diane Marie Amann to be honored at ASIL

/ Jaya Ramji-Nogales / 2 Comments

hi_res_amann2Simply thrilled to announce that the American Society of International Law’s Women in International Law Interest Group (WILIG) will honor IntLawGrrls founder and Editor Emerita, Diane Marie Amann, with this year’s Prominent Woman in International Law Award.   As part of the ASIL Annual Meeting, Diane will speak on “International Law and the Future of Peace” at this year’s WILIG luncheon on Thursday, April 4 from 1 to 3 pm in the Mt. Vernon Room.  Hope to see many IntLawGrrls contributors and readers there to celebrate Diane and her immense contributions to this space for female voices in international law.

As many of you know, Diane’s scholarship focuses on the interaction of national, regional, and international legal regimes in efforts to combat atrocity and cross-border crime. She’s written recently on legal responses to U.S. policies respecting executive detention at Guantánamo and elsewhere, and on the use of foreign and international law in U.S. constitutional decisionmaking. Her article “Abu Ghraib,” 153 University of Pennsylvania Law Review 2085 (2005), was named the Article of the Year in International Criminal Law by the American National Section of the International Association of Penal Law. Her publications have appeared in English, French, and Italian, in books and in journals including the Georgetown Law Journal, UCLA Law Review, American Journal of International Law, American Journal of Comparative Law, International Journal of Constitutional Law, Columbia Journal of Transnational Law, Revue de science criminelle de droit pénal comparé, and International Criminal Law Review.

Heartfelt congratulations!