Workshop 6th World Congress on Positive Psychology 2019

Thriving Women Thriving World   (#3)

Caroline A Miller 1 , Diana Whitney 2
  1. Caroline Miller Coaching, Bethesda, MARYLAND, United States
  2. Corporation for Positive Change, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States

Stories and statistics illustrating global gender inequality, sexual abuse, harassment, and women undermining women abound in both professional research and public discourse. Depression is the number one theft of productivity among women globally. White women are dying earlier than their mothers from “diseases of despair”: alcoholism, opioid abuse, eating disorders, suicide and overdoses.  Also, it's estimated that it will now take 217 years for women to achieve economic parity in the workplace. When combined with the #metoo and #timesup movements, it is clear: not only are women not thriving around the world, they are being held down and punished for challenging the patriarchy.  

And yet there is hope; when women thrive, so do children, families, communities and the world. The purpose of this daylong Appreciative Inquiry Summit is for women and men to explore together: What does Positive Psychology have to offer to address the complex challenges facing women today? How can we contribute to a world where thriving women, gender equality and safety are the norms? What specifically can we do in our local communities and organizations to create positive gender equal change? And how can we advance dialogue and research to further thriving women in a thriving world?

  1. U.S. Health in International Perspective: Shorter Lives, Poorer Health (2013). Consensus Study Report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, Medicine
  2. “Losing Ground: Young Women’s Well-Being Across Generations in the United States,” Population Bulletin, June 2017. By Beth Jarosz and Mark Mather.
  3. "The Global Gender Gap Report 2017." World Economic Forum.
  4. "Gender and well-being around the world." Carol Graham, The Brookings Institution, International Journal of Happiness and Development, Volume 1, No. 2, 2013.
  5. "Rising morbidity and mortality in midlife among white non-Hispanic American in the 21st century," Anne Case and Angus Deaton. Proceeding of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. December 8, 2015.