Janet Chernela holds a PhD in anthropology from Columbia University and is Professor Emerita of Anthropology at the University of Maryland. She has conducted fieldwork and consulting work in Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru and is author of numerous articles and a book, A Sense of Space: The Wanano Indians of the Brazilian Amazon. She has worked with the Indigenous peoples of the Upper Rio Negro basin in Brazil for over four decades and, together with its members, particip

IWAC held its first networking event/roundtable discussion on December 4, 2025. Four IWAC members led the discussion, with IWAC Co-President Dr Suzanna Hanchett starting the conversation with her reflections and recollections of the critical topics raised by participants at the World Anthropological Union Congress in Antigua, Guatemala, in November 2025. This was followed by Dr Bidyut Mohanty's fascinating discussion on women's participation in Odisha's rice culture and subse

IWAC is excited to announce our first quarterly newsletter, to be released later this year.  In line with our first quarterly talk ( also coming up in the coming months – stay tuned! ) and the programming of the United Nations, we’ve curated a list of topics in which you are invited to submit your work for a chance to be highlighted in our newsletter. The topics are as follows: The Funding Crisis in Women and Development Women in Rural Spaces The Care Economy & Healthcare Wom

This year's CSW meetings reviewed progress of the Beijing Declaration and the Beijing Platform for Action, both agreed upon 30 years ago. On March 20, 2025, at 10:30 a.m. (U.S. Eastern Time), IWAC hosted a virtual panel, Beijing+30 Grassroots Responses and Challenges"