On my travels to China as a facilitator for the World Academy for the Future of Women on the SIAS International University campus, I met many women leaders. Some were corporate leaders; entrepreneurial leader; educational leaders and also heads of State at the 9th Annual Women’s Symposium. I was delighted to meet all of these remarkable women and men supporters of large corporations such as the VP of Coca Cola-Asia Pacific region. Each one shared their view on leadership and women’s empowerment as a means to change the norm. The student body was really engaged and soaked up the information. Presentations were given in both English and Chinese. Business connections were made and opportunities were viable.
Each leader had the opportunity to speak to over 8,000 students, either as a keynote or a breakout session speaker. It was an honor to lead one of these sessions as well as continue my service with a 5 week stay to continue to share with the students my leadership attributes and business acumen.
The purpose of the symposium was to share with the world the UN’s eight millennium goals which are: to eradicate extreme poverty; achieve universal primary education; promote gender equality and empower women; reduce child mortality; improve maternal health; combat HIV/AIDS -Malaria and other diseases; ensure environmental sustainability and encourage global partnership for development. To help In the 21st Century Women are the catalyst for making moves. solving the problems of the world, the World Academy is looking to address some of these goals through student involvement. The students have selected projects that would address these issues starting right on the campus of SIAS.
In China, women represent only 20% of Chinese entrepreneurs. Despite the dominance of state-owned enterprises in a number of major industries, China’s future prosperity will depend in largely on the growth and innovation generated by entrepreneurs, especially in services. I n the United States and in every economy in APEC, millions of women are still unable to find a meaningful place for themselves in the formal workforce regardless of their success. And many women already in the workforce are confined by restrictions that limit their potential, and ability to reach most senior positions.
The symposium was a tribute to Women Leaders around world that are working to address gender equality and women empowerment. We must leverage the Power of Women’s networks to affect change. The White House Project’s motto is “Add women, change everything.” That’s why we must support each other through organization’s like The Sisterhood Extravaganza; The World Academy for the Future of Women; Women Investing IN Women; and Take the Lead to name a few.