Contact
Research Areas
Gender and International Development; Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment Issues in West Africa, India and Ireland; Poverty Eradication
Education
Ph.D., Fletcher School of Law & Diplomacy
M.A., Fletcher School of Law & Diplomacy
B.A., Smith College
Links
Curriculum Vitae (pdf)
Boston University Faculty Web Page
UNITWIN Network: Gender, Culture and Development
Brenda Gael McSweeney
Brenda Gael McSweeney
Dr. Brenda Gael McSweeney is an academic and researcher specializing in Gender and International Development. She headed UN Volunteers and led UN programs in West Africa, India, and the Caribbean for thirty years. See more: go.brandeis.edu/wsrc/mcsweeney
Brenda’s United Nations service began in Burkina Faso, where she oversaw UN Development Programme activities and conducted research on women and development. After three years in policy at UNDP’s Headquarters, Brenda headed the UN System and UNDP in Jamaica and The Bahamas. She led the UN Volunteers with oversight of 4,000 specialists from 130 countries engaged in grassroots development, humanitarian activities and peace-building worldwide. She served as UN Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative until 2003 in India. Brenda was a Fulbright Scholar in Paris, and recipient of prestigious awards from the Governments of Jamaica, Burkina, Germany, and from the Monterey Institute of International Studies and Lackawanna College. She teaches Gender and International Development at Boston University, initiated and co-coordinates the UNESCO/UNITWIN Network on Gender, Culture and Development that partners with Indian universities and non-governmental organizations, and is on the founding Board of the Global Network of UNESCO Chairs on Gender. Brenda launched the Brighton Allston Historical Society’s women’s heritage initiatives.
Current Projects
Brenda is co-editing a volume of gender case studies worldwide by UNESCO Chairholders of the Global Network of UNESCO Chairs on Gender. She continues to research and publish on women and development in Burkina Faso, India, Ireland and Boston, and teach Gender & International Development.
Representative Publications
McSweeney, Brenda Gael, Krishno Dey and Chandana Dey. “Srishaswani - Five Years On: A Gender Case Study Update.” Paris: UNESCO, 2011.
McSweeney, Brenda Gael, ed. “Women’s History Initiatives.” Paris: UNESCO, 2010.