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Research Team

Report Team and Acknowledgments

The index and this report were conceived and led by Jeni Klugman, Managing Director, Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security (GIWPS). The GIWPS report team comprised Elena Ortiz, who provided extensive research analysis, writing, and support throughout; Turkan Mukhtarova, Jiaqi Zhao, and Vidhi Gandotra, who worked on construction of the index, statistical analysis, and graphics; and Agathe Christien and Kate Fin who provided research inputs. The work was enabled by the excellent administrative and communications support of Luis Mancilla and Sarah Rutherford. Tresa Undem at PerryUndem played an extraordinary role.

On a pro bono basis, Tresa and her team at PerryUndem— Adriana Bustillo, Duncan Gans, and Naomi Kolb—helped conceptualize and organize the survey of 2,598 Americans in August 2020 to inform our understanding of current challenges and people’s opinions. We are grateful to Caitlin Collins and Marissa Shih of YouGov for their collaborative and efficient work in fielding the survey. Special thanks to Divya Chowbey of Duke University, who undertook qualitative analysis of the survey results.

Our appreciation also goes to colleagues at partner institutions, in particular to Milorad Kovacevic (Human Development Report Office, United Nations Development Programme) for timely advice on statistical questions.

For their expertise and inputs and timely collaboration, we are grateful to Elyse Shaw, Chandra Childers, and Jeff Hayes at the Institute for Women’s Policy Research. We would also like to thank the following colleagues for sharing their invaluable expertise and feedback: Sarah Gonzalez Bocinski and Kiersten Stewart of Futures Without Violence; Lisalyn Jacobs of Just Solutions; Stephen Morgan of Johns Hopkins University; and Ben Williams and Mandy Zoch of the National Conference of State Legislatures.

We are also grateful to Prof. Anita Raj and Dr. Jennifer Yore of the University of California San Diego’s Center on Gender Equity and Health for careful review and feedback; Jocelyn Kelly of the Harvard Humanitarian Initiative for advice on gender-based violence; and Bill Wasserman of M+R for strategic advice.

We benefited from collaboration with Irene BermanVaporis, Lawson Parker, and Rosemary Wardley at National Geographic Magazine in the context of their December 2020 issue.

A great team at Communications Development Inc.— led by Meta de Coquereaumont and Bruce Ross-Larson and including Joe Caponio, Mike Crumplar, Debra Naylor, Christopher Trott, and Elaine Wilson—edited, designed, and laid out the report.

Finally, we would like to acknowledge the generosity of the Bank of America Charitable Foundation for their ongoing support of the Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security, without whom this work would not have been possible.

Georgetown University’s Institute for Women, Peace and Security

GIWPS seeks to promote a more stable, peaceful, and just world by focusing on the important role women play in preventing conflict and building peace, growing economies, and addressing global threats like climate change and violent extremism. The institute pursues this mission by conducting research that is accessible to practitioners and policymakers, convening global events, establishing strategic partnerships, and nurturing the next generation of leaders. Melanne Verveer, the first U.S. ambassador for global women’s issues, is the Institute’s executive director. Hillary Rodham Clinton is the Institute’s honorary founding chair.