Sitting here in a country that did not give women the right to vote until 1971 and where today four of the seven member governing body are women, I am struck by the uneven progress and persistent barriers that woman face in specific fields. The International Herald Tribune led with a story today about the wide gender gap at top of the ladder in Europe. On that note I headed into this morning's WEF session titled, "Six Global Challenges, One Solution: Women."
Some of the true leaders pushing gender equity as an issue affecting all aspects of our world were with us. President Michelle Bachelet, who having finished transforming Chile, has now taken the helm of a new effort called UN Women, provided informed insight into the realities of gender inequity. Laura Tyson, long a leader in economic policy for the US, provided guidance to keep the conversation on track. Laura Liswood, from the Council of Women World Leaders and senior adviser to Goldman Sachs, Beth Brooke of Ernst & Young, Tae Yoo of Cisco were among the impressive women in the room who have been at the table for years, fighting for political capital around these issues in very meaningful ways. All of them offered provocative comments that will continue to resonate with me for some time to come. There were even some men in the room (of course not enough) who contributed meaningful ideas and solutions. In general, I was struck by how strong a case the data makes for changing the equation for girls and women.
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