Giving Compass' Take:

• The author relays the events of The Gender Equity and Reconciliation International retreat. The event brought together men and women to discuss the impacts of gender identity and equity on different people in order to better understand each other's gendered experiences. 

• How does this retreat help people learn about other issues like intersectionalism and how gender pain can affect us from early childhood? Why are retreats like these beneficial for strengthening communities? 

• Read about how our education system can undermine gender equity. 

The Gender Equity and Reconciliation International (GERI) retreat held in Framingham, MA did indeed involve some hand-holding and song-singing. But it also did much more, traveling into a realm of meaningful communication and understanding where I have never been before.

And yes, the singing and holding hands were a part of that. My favorite song, and the song that has stuck with me since the retreat (I taught it to my children, and now we chant it every so often) was a South African Khosa song with the refrain, “Igama lama kosi kazi Malibongwe,” which translates roughly as, “Let us Praise the Deeds of Women.”

Cynthia Brix set the tone for the three days early on, helping the community of 48 women and men understand that their full participation in the retreat program would help provide a protected environment for everyone.

In a phone interview following the retreat, Cynthia Brix spoke with me about how gender equity and reconciliation facilitates a seemingly simple process, and yet the process reveals deep complexities in human relationships, and gives us the opportunity to shift our perspectives on large categories of thought and behavior. S

On day two, things got a little heavier, as we separated into male and female identifying subgroups. In her own reflections on the retreat, donor-activist Emily Nielsen Jones talks about the power of encircling our gender pain.

The last day was the most celebratory. I don’t want to divulge too much about it, but I’ll just offer a tease by saying it involved both singing and chocolate. Throughout the process, both the men and the women created unique ceremonies to praise each other, and to help each other shed toxic cultural ideas about gender identity.

Read the full article about gender equity and reconciliation by Kiersten Marek at Philanthropy Women