FLAS Fellow Megan McCloskey

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Megan McCloskey
What is your department and degree? 
I am pursuing a Ph.D. in the UW School of Law.

What do you focus on in your research/studies?
My research is focused on the implementation of women’s rights as a component of sustainable development.

How are your research/studies related to Europe?
The European Union has been a leader in requiring corporations to submit annual sustainability reports that provide detailed information regarding their efforts to promote sustainable development, including information relating to labor practices, anti-discrimination initiatives, and compliance with the Sustainable Development Goals.  I am working on an analysis that evaluates corporate commitment to women’s empowerment and performance indicators captured by the sustainability reports, and relates these to national measures of women’s empowerment.

How has the FLAS impacted your research/studies and career goals?
I am so thrilled to have received a FLAS for the summer of 2016.  I studied French extensively in college but my skills had become very rusty.  I am working hard to improve my speaking skills so that I can interview corporate executives and political actors working in and with the EU on these issues, and the FLAS has made it possible for me to do so through an immersion program in France this summer.  I very much appreciate the opportunity and support!

Do you have a favorite word or phrase in the language you study? 
One of my favorite expressions in French is “les carottes sont cuites”, which means (roughly) what’s done is done (the carrots have been cut).  It makes perfect sense to me!

Anything else?
I absolutely love French food, especially pastries, so am dreading what six weeks there will do to my waistline!