Brenda Gael McSweeney

Areas of Expertise

Gender and International Development; Gender and Development Issues in India, West Africa and the Caribbean; Poverty Eradication

Email: bgm@brandeis.edu

Current Project

Brenda is editing a volume of essays on “Gender, Culture and People-Centered Development in India.”  She is also now analyzing the impact of new technology on workloads and female education in Burkina Faso.  In her community, she is leading a group of Brighton-Allson Historical Society researchers in preparing a first Brighton Women’s Heritage Trail guide.

Biography

Brenda Gael McSweeney served with the United Nations for thirty years in various positions. In Burkina Faso she oversaw UN Development Programme (UNDP) activities and carried out action research on women and development. After three years in policy at UNDP’s New York Headquarters, Dr. McSweeney headed the United Nations in Jamaica and The Bahamas, and UNDP cooperation with the Turks and Caicos Islands, Cayman and Bermuda. She led the United Nations Volunteers (UNV) program as Executive Coordinator with oversight of 4,000 UNV specialists from over 130 countries engaged in grassroots development, humanitarian activities and peace-building worldwide. She served as UN Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative until mid-2003 in India, where the Government designated gender equality as the UN focal theme.

Brenda was a Fulbright Scholar, and the recipient of awards from the Governments of Jamaica and Burkina, also from the Monterey Institute of International Studies. She teaches gender and international development at Brandeis University’s Heller School for Social Policy and Management, Boston University’s Women’s Studies Program, and UNDP’s Virtual Development Academy.  She serves on the Advisory Board of UNDP’s Regional Programme for Africa, and leads a UNESCO/UNITWIN on Gender, Culture and Development. 

Education

Ph.D., Fletcher School of Law & Diplomacy

M.A., Fletcher School of Law & Diplomacy

B.A., Smith College

Representative Publications

McSweeney, Brenda. Development Cooperation: Some Personal Thoughts on Challenges and Direction. New Delhi: UNDP, 2003.

McSweeney, Brenda et al. The Quest for Gender Equality in Burkina Faso: Female Workloads, Education, and Empowerment. Paris: UNESCO, 2007.

Links

Curriculum Vitae

Heller School Faculty Web Page

Boston University Faculty Web Page

Personal Web Page

UNESCO/UNITWIN on Gender, Culture and Development