When women participate in the economy and politics, the positive effects ripple across entire societies. Imagine a world where women make up half of CEOs, executives, government officials, and landowners, and whose salaries equal men’s. What if this world also ensured that girls and women were as educated and as healthy as men, and were free from violence, trafficking, and abuse? While tremendous progress has been made over the last 20 years in achieving equality for girls and women around the world, the pace of change needs to be significantly accelerated. For example, with current projections, women will not comprise half of the world’s elected representatives until 2065 or half the world’s leaders until 2134. In this session, key leaders across sectors will reimagine how CGI members can:
• examine the progress that has been made since the 1995 Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing, and what challenges remain
• build the foundation for women’s equality and societies’ prosperity through increased access to finance and land, while addressing socio-cultural norms
• utilize transformative levers, such as social media and data, to accelerate progress
REMARKS:
Shinzō Abe, Prime Minister of Japan
Opening Conversation:
MODERATOR:
David Leonhardt, Editor, The Upshot, The New York Times
PARTICIPANTS:
Hillary Rodham Clinton, Former U.S. Secretary of State and U.S. Senator from New York
Melinda Gates, Co-chair and Trustee, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
Panel Discussion:
MODERATOR:
Katie Couric, Global Anchor, Yahoo News
PARTICIPANTS:
Chelsea Clinton, Vice Chair, Clinton Foundation
Hikmet Ersek, President, CEO and Director, The Western Union Company
Leymah Gbowee, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, 2011, President, Gbowee Peace Foundation Africa
Nilofar Sakhi, Chief Executive Officer, American University of Afghanistan
