IFUW Candidate Biographical Data: Board of Officers
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| Marianne
Haslegrave
Deal,
England
Age: 60-69 |
Nominated as:
Nominated by: |
President
British Federation of Women Graduates |
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| Professional
Field and/or present occupation |
Consultant on sexual and reproductive health and women's health working with
international organizations. Semi-retired |
| Skills
and experience (volunteer and professional) that have prepared you to be an IFUW Board Member |
Both my professional and volunteer experience have provided me with the necessary
vision and expertise to allow me to undertake the duties of the President of the
International Federation of University Women.
From the time I first represented IFUW at the United Nations in 1974 I have both been
active in its work at the local, national and international levels as a volunteer and with
and other NGOs and various parts of the UN system.
While my involvement with the University/Graduate Women started in the American
Association of University Women, I have been a member of the British Federation since
1982, serving as a national Vice President, CIR, Treasurer and most recently as
President. I have also been a Member and subsequently Convener of the Membership
Committee, before being elected in 2004 as a Vice-President. As a Vice-President my responsibilities have included convening the Projects Committee and the Working
Group on the Advocacy Handbook on the Right to Education, scheduled to be available
for the IFUW Conference in Mexico.
Now semi-retied, my professional career over the past 35 years has been in the
international environment, working with NGOs or with parts of the UN system or other
international bodies such as the Commonwealth Secretariat. I have served as the Chief
Executive Officer of the International Federation of Business and Professional Women
(1988-1991); the Commonwealth Medical Association; (1991-2001) and the
Commonwealth Medical Trust (1995-2010). In addition I have undertaken
consultancies, particularly on reproductive health, womenʼs health and the Convention
on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women for the United Nations
Population Fund, the World Health Organization and the Commonwealth Secretariat.
I have travelled extensively in
developing countries, particularly in Africa, Asia and the
Pacific and in the Caribbean, as well as to other parts
of the world. I have been responsible for organizing national
and international Conferences and workshops and have worked
on areas such as capacity-building, fund-raising for national
level NGOs and other groups. In addition to working with
NGOs , I have also worked with national Governments, including
Ministries of Health and Population as well as Representatives
of UN agencies in some countries. In recent years, I have
been responsible for raising the funds necessary to carry
out the activities of the organizations for which I have
been working. |
| Experience or knowledge of the United Nations, its specialized agencies and their national commissions |
I represented the British
Government at the International Conference on Population
and Development in 1994 and at the 10th Anniversary Conference
for the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the
Pacific in 2003. At the Beijing Conference I was a member
of the WHO delegation. I have also attended a wide range
of meetings as an NGO representative, including the Commission
on the Status of Women, CEDAW, the Committee on Economic,
Social and Cultural Rights, the Commission on Population
and Development, the World Health Assembly and the Economic
Commission for Europe.
I have prepared statements and made oral interventions on issues including womenʼs
and reproductive health and have prepared the official background documents and
reports for UN various meetings.
I have met regularly with members of the UN Secretariat on issues of mutual concern
and have arranged consultations between the Secretariat and officials of the
organizations with which I have worked.
I have also arranged similar meetings at the
country level and have met with members of national level Human Rights Commissions, and assisted relevant bodies in preparing reports on the implementation of the MDGs
and have been involved in the monitoring of UN programmes at the national level. |
| Other relevant skills and experience from the last 10 years relevant to this position |
In order to provide leadership for an organization such as IFUW, it is important to have experience in supporting the administrative running of the organization; to have a sound
background and understanding of the required budgeting and finances of the
organization; to have background knowledge of the strengths and obstacles being faced
by its national level members; to have the ability to be able to work with policy-makers; to
have good advocacy skills.
My responsibilities
in running a small NGO on a limited budget and having to
raise the necessary funds to do so, combined with my experiences
as Treasurer and President of BFWG in working to put the
organization on a sound financial and administrative footing
within its limited resources have provided me with the necessary
experience to lead the organization in these areas. In addition,
I have had the opportunity to meet members of other IFUW
affiliates during my travels, who are facing similar challenges.
I have worked with Ministers of Health, Parliamentarians and Senior Officials, as well as
with NGOs and have organized various advocacy campaigns both nationally and
internationally. These are very useful skills to contribute to the success of an organization
such as IFUW. |
| Goals for this position and the contribution you believe you can personally make if elected or appointed |
My goal is to:
begin the process of change that is necessary for the future
success of IFUW as an NGO that is effective in promoting
the advancement of women, particularly in the area of education
The achievement of this goal requires the successful fulfillment of the following objectives to:
Strengthen the infrastructure of the Federation including
its administration, financial basis and communications including
its website;
Support and strengthen links with NFAs through programmes
and activities based on the PfA;
Develop a meaningful dialogue with relevant parts of the
UN system at international, regional and national levels;
Initiate strong advocacy activities on priority issues within
the IFUW PfA
Foster and encourage innovation to promote new ways of working
as we move towards 2015 and beyond.
To achieve these objectives, it will be necessary to re-energise the organization to
develop new skills, new ways of working, new partners and new resources. My past experience both as a volunteer and in my professional life has allowed me to develop
many of these skills, often as an expediency. I therefore believe that I am able to not only
provide the necessary leadership but to work with the administration to provide a strong
base for future activities. I have the contacts and the confidence to be able to take the
lead in strengthening our relations with those parts of the UN system which are
necessary to our activities, but with which we have not worked closely in the past. I have
also considerable experience in advocacy and in finding innovative ways of working. And,
last but by no means least, I have experience in raising funds from inter-governmental bodies, national governments, foundations and other sources, which is critically important
in the current economic climate. |
| What do you see as the role of the Board? |
The role of the Board is multi-faceted.
First and foremost the Board should be the Team that implements the policy that has been determined by the membership through decisions taken at IFUW Conferences and
Council Meetings. Decisions taken by the Board should therefore be guided by, and in
line with those of the Conferences and Council.
The Board should also be the conduit that allows the other elected bodies of the
Federation ie the Committees to carry out their work effectively.
The Board should be the liaison between the staff and the membership, both of which are our most valuable resources. As such the Board should be responsive to both.
The Board should be the strong, outward face of the Federation and be able and ready to promote the work of the Federation, not only with other NGOs, but also with key decision
and policy-makers at all levels.
The Board should be innovative and creative, building on the information its members
receive and their experiences to develop ʻnew ways of working to increase its
effectiveness.
Finally, but most import, the role of the Board is to listen and to hear, before it acts and take decisions. |
Board members serve as committee liaisons or have special responsibilities in the following areas: international advocacy, programme, projects, membership, communications, finance, resolutions, fellowshis and assistance to displaced women graduates.
For which of these roles are you most suited and why? |
My experience is as follows:
International advocacy – as referred to above, I have worked with members of the UN Secretariat, Ministers and Government Officials as well as other NGOs and also with media;
Programme – I have developed, implemented, monitored and evaluated successful programmes at all levels;
Projects – as Convener of BRPID, I led the changes to the criteria for funding projects
and strengthening the capacity of applicants to develop proposals for which they could
also seek outside funding;
Membership – I have served as a member and Convener of the IFUW Membership
Committee;
Communications – in my professional work I have developed websites and within BFWG
have assisted in developing list-serves and strengthening communications;
Finance – In addition to managing the finances of organizations for which I work, I served
four years as Treasurer of BFWG during which time its investments were rationalized and
finances streamlined;
Resolutions – Over time I have been involved in framing, reviewing and implementing
resolutions and recommendations in my professional work;
Fellowships – While I have not sat on committees to award Fellowships, I have been
involved in their financial administration through the BFWG Scholarship Funds Trust.
I could therefore be used ʻas requiredʼ |
| Education: |
MA History, Queens College City University of New York 1997; BA History, Ancient History and Swedish |
| Mother
tongue: |
English |
| Ability
to speak English: |
Excellent |
| Ability
to understand spoken English: |
Excellent |
| Ability
to read English: |
Excellent |
| Ability
to write English: |
Excellent |
| Other
languages: |
French -- conversational
Swedish -- conversational, limited writing skills |
| Computer
skills: |
Considerable experience sending e-mail and using the Internet |
| Internet
Access: |
Regular access to e-mail at home or the office |
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