It’s 2013. Scientists believe humans will build cities on the moon within a couple of generations, but equality for women seems like a distant, almost science-fiction fantasy. The statistics tell it all:
-Women make up half of the world's population and yet represent a staggering 70% of the world's poor.
-Only 3% of Fortune 500 CEOs are women.
-Women make less than men in 99% of occupations.
-In the US, Women comprised just 9% of the directors of the top 250 domestic grossing films of 2012.
These are just some examples of the inequality women experience compared to men around the world, in almost every sector. That’s after countless researchers have shown that full inclusion of women and women in leadership positions benefit society tremendously. For example, Catalyst has found that on average, companies with the highest percentages of women board directors outperformed those with the least in returns on sales by 42 percent. And the “girl effect” has been cited endlessly, which explains how investment in girls education and development can produce significant improvements in national GDPs.
It’s time to wake up, show women they can be leaders (even if they’ve been told they can’t), and build a movement that demands change to the status quo. The Women’s Leadership Summit is a series of events globally that aims to do just that. On June 26 in NYC, join Frances Hesselbein, Carole Hyatt and Christine Comaford along with 500 other pioneering women and see how we can do more to break that glass ceiling. For more information: http://summit062613.eventbrite.com/.