Shirley Graham
Shirley Graham
Director, Gender Equality Initiative in International Affairs
Full-time Faculty
Contact:
1957 E St. NW, Office #501K
Washington, D.C. 20052
Dr. Shirley Graham is a Research Fellow affiliated with the Institute for InternationalConflict Resolution and Reconstruction at Dublin City University. Her PhD thesis: ‘Equal but Different: Gender Discourses in the Social Relations of Irish Peacekeepers & Possibilities for Transformation’, June 2013 (external examiner Prof. Annica Kronsell, Lund University, Sweden) examined gender discourses within the Irish Defence Forces that create and reinforce power hierarchies between women and men, supporting and/or inhibiting women’s access to peacekeeping missions. Shirley was a Government of Ireland Scholar (IRCHSS) and completed her PhD at the National University of Ireland, Maynooth. In 2004 she completed her Master’s Degree in international affairs at the School of Law & Government, Dublin City University.
Shirley is the Director of the Gender Equality Initiative in International Affairs (GEIA), Program Director for the Global Gender Policy Program, and Associate Professor of Practice in International Affairs at George Washington University, Elliott School of International Affairs in Washington D.C. She teaches two graduate courses: Global Gender Policy and Gender, War & Peace; and an undergraduate course: Women and Global Politics.
Shirley is a member of the U.S. Civil Society Working Group on Women, Peace & Security (WPS) a coalition of experts serving to inform and educate U.S. Congress, the Administration, and civil society on WPS thematic areas and issues. In this role, while serving as a member of the Executive Committee, she created the D.C. Student Consortium on WPS with the aim of bringing together students working on gender in international affairs to raise awareness and develop innovative approaches to expanding and amplifying the WPS agenda. This includes adding LGBTQAI+ issues to the agenda, historical and intergenerational trauma, and engaging men and boys to end violence against women and girls. Today, the Consortium has over 200 student members and they are actively engaged with U.S. government agencies on the issues.
Shirley is the lead convenor of the GW Reproductive Freedom a cross-disciplinary seminar series on the domestic and international implications of the U.S. Supreme Court overturning of Roe V. Wade. The seminar series brings together gender and public health experts from the School of Public Health, GW Law, GW School of Medicine, and the Elliott School of International Affairs.
Shirley has extensive experience as a practitioner including the coordination of the Hanna’s House All-Ireland Feminist Peace Project (2008-2012); the facilitation of a civil society consultation on Ireland’s first National Action Plan on UNSCR 1325 (2010-2011); serving on the Department of Foreign Affairs Monitoring Group of the first Irish National Action Plan on WPS, as the representative for the National Women’s Council of Ireland (2013-2014); and advising the Board of the Glencree Centre for Peace & Reconciliation on its Women’s Peace & Reconciliation Leadership Programme (2014-2017).
Gender and International Peacekeeping; Women's Empowerment; Women, Peace & Security
Government of Ireland Doctoral Scholarship
Shirley is currently on sabbatical during which time she is researching and writing a book on gender and trauma.
Ph.D., National University of Ireland, Maynooth
MA in International Relations, Dublin City University, Ireland
Global Gender Policy
Gender, War & Peace
Women & Global Politics, Gender, Conflict & Security
Recent Publications
Women as War Criminals: Gender, Agency, and Justice by Izabela Steflja and Jessica Trisko Darden. Book review for Political Science Quarterly (Winter 2021).
How a Feminist Foreign Policy would Change the World (9 March 2021) co-authored opinion piece in The Conversation.
How to Advance a Feminist U.S. Foreign Policy (8 March 2021) co-authored opinion piece for the U.S. Institute of Peace.
As a Super Power the World looks to the U.S. for Leadership on Gender Equity and Foreign Policy Matters (7 March 2021) blog for Women Across Frontiers.
Book Review of THE FIRST POLITICAL ORDER: How Sex Shapes Governance and National Security Worldwide, Valerie M. Hudson, Donna Lee Bowen, & Perpetua Lynne Nielsen, Ethics in International Affairs, January 2021.
Ireland’s Path to Legalizing Abortion: at a time when the United States might render it illegal (2018) in ‘American Prospect’, July 2018.
A Gender Paradox: Discourses on Women in UN Peacekeeping, Irish Studies in International Affairs, Vol. 27 (2016), pp.165-187.
Women Peacekeepers: Gender Discourses on “Equal but Different” Amongst Irish Peacekeepers, in ‘Gender & Peacebuilding: All Hands Required’, 2015, Eds. Flaherty, M.P., T. Matyok, J. Senehi, S. Byrne, H. Tuso, Lexington Books, New York.
Recent Peer Reviewed Articles:
The Irish Defence Forces and the Silencing of a Feminist Researcher Critical Military Studies (15 December 2022).
Gender Advisor Perspectives on Women, Peace & Security in U.S. Security Cooperation forthcoming book chapter in ‘The American Way of Women, Peace & Security’, (Autumn 2023) published by the Defense Security Cooperation University, Professional Military Education Publication.
Policy & Conference Papers
Irish Consortium on Gender Based Violence Strategic Plan 2017–2020: Leaving no one behind, tackling gender based violence where the needs are greatest.
Roundtable Report, Department of Foreign Affairs Conference on Ireland’s National Action Plan on Women, Peace & Security, Dublin, October 2014.
Equal but Different: Gender Discourses in the Social Relations of Irish Peacekeepers. PSAI Annual Conference, Galway, October 2014.
Submission to DFAT on Ireland’s Second National Action Plan on UNSCR 1325, Women, Peace & Security, August 2014.
National Women’s Council of Ireland Report on Pre-deployment questionnaires to Irish Troops on gender and UNSCR 1325, February 2014.
Women Peacekeepers & Gender Discourses in the Irish Defence Forces. Department of Foreign Affairs Conference on UNSCR 1325 & the Participation and Representation of Women: the successes, gaps and challenges, November 2013.
Feminist Visions of Peace, Justice & Transformation. Hanna’s House Ezine Series editor, 2012.
Women Count for Peace, Consultation Report for Ireland’s National Action Plan on UNSCR 1325, January 2011.
Uniquely Useful: Women and Stereotypes in Peacekeeping Missions. Limerick University, Women’s Memory Work: Gendered Dilemmas of Social Transformation, August 2010.
Equal but Different: Women in the Irish Defence Forces. International Studies Association Conference, San Francisco, March 2009.
Gender and International Peacekeeping: Narratives, voices and meaning. International Studies Association Conference, Chicago, March 2008.
Gender and International Peacekeeping in the Irish Defence Forces. Trinity College Dublin Post-Graduate Seminar, March 2007.
Gender and International Peacekeeping: A Journey towards a Methodology. University College Dublin Post-Graduate Seminar, January 2007.
Women Peacekeepers: Pioneers of Change or Agents of the Patriarchy? Royal Irish Academy Post-Graduate Seminar, November 2006.
Women Soldiers: Revolutionaries or Cogs in the Military Machine? University College Dublin Seminar ‘From Rhetoric to Reality’, October 2006.
Opinion Pieces:
As a Woman Researcher I experienced the Harassment and Silencing of the Women Soldiers I Interviewed (11 October, 2021) article in Ms Magazine.
How a Feminist Foreign Policy would Change the World (9 March 2021) co-authored opinion piece in The Conversation.
How to Advance a Feminist U.S. Foreign Policy (8 March 2021) co-authored opinion piece for the U.S. Institute of Peace.
As a Super Power the World looks to the U.S. for Leadership on Gender Equity and Foreign Policy Matters (7 March 2021) blog for Women Across Frontiers.
The Fight Continues for Gender Equality in Women Who Win (March 2020).
Ireland’s Path to Legalizing Abortion: at a time when the United States might render it illegal (summer 2018) in American Prospect.
Book Reviews:
Women as War Criminals: Gender, Agency, and Justice by Izabela Steflja and Jessica Trisko Darden (summer 2022) book review for Political Science Quarterly.
The First Political Order: How Sex Shapes Governance and National Security Worldwide by Valerie Hudson, Donna Lee Bowen, and Perpetua Lynne Nielsen (January 2021).
Submissions to Commissions of Inquiry into the Irish Defence Forces:
Submission to the Independent Review into harassment, sexual harassment, bullying, and discrimination in the Irish Defence Forces. 4 April 2022.
Interview with the Independent Review Board about my submission. 10 June 2022.
Submission to the Commission of Inquiry into the Irish Defence Forces. 19 March 2021.
Media Engagement:
RTE Radio One interview with Irish journalist Katie Hannon about sexual harassment and abuse in the Irish Defence Forces titled ‘Women of
Honour'. 18 September 2021.
Quoted in U.S. News & World Report: How Abortion Rights are Linked to Gender Equality by Kaia Hubbard. 25 August 2022.
Quoted in U.S. News World Report “The U.S. Is Poised to Be a Global Outlier on Abortion,’’ by Kaia Hubbard. 9 May 2022.