They came from all over the world.
They came to the United Nations headquarters in New York with a single-minded mission: To push women’s empowerment — at last — to the brink of its “goal line”. And to this March 5th-6th confluence they brought new energy, resources and allies to address the task.
As prelude to the March 8th International Women’s Day, some 250 leaders of the global women’s equality movement met at the Sixth Annual Women’s Empowerment Principles Event, an initiative of the UN Global Compact and UN Women. In many diverse panel and plenary sessions — and with awards to CEO champions (there are now almost 700 CEOs who have endorsed the Women’s Empowerment Principles, or “WEPs”) — the delegates zeroed in on recent progress, encouraging prospects and the remaining barriers related to “gender equality and the global jobs challenge.”
Barbara Krumsiek, CEO of Calvert Investments, said she could well see “a tipping point” approaching. Dr. Anne-Marie Slaughter, President of The New America Foundation, spoke of the important role of civil society organizations. And Steve Almond, global chair of Deloitte Touche Tomatsu, challenged uninvolved CEOs to take up the Principles for good business reasons; Deloitte has emphasized how men can and should get involved.
A half-hour Business In Society report on highlights of the Women’s Empowerment Principles Event will be posted on this site on Friday, March 14th and subsequently distributed globally.