It has perhaps never been clearer that we need to pursue new strategies to ensure that economic growth is equitable and sustainable. If we want to move from recovery to resurgence, I believe we need new thinking and new partners. We need leaders who leverage power, skills, and expertise to inspire collective empowerment. We need to look to women—proven catalysts for growth—as an opportunity and solution.
Our world is waking up to the fact that women’s full participation in society delivers equality, development and peace. Women—educated, employed, empowered—are making waves as engines of growth. We are seeing an increasing recognition of the positive impact that women’s economic engagement can have around the world.
As more women participate in the labor force, economies are strengthened and expanded. The World Bank’s 2012 World Development Report endorses this view, and studies from the World Economic Forum further confirm a strong correlation between an increase in gender equality and an increase in gross domestic product per capita. Investing in women has become a new standard; from international development agencies to multinational corporations, those in leadership and policymaking positions are devoting time and resources to advance women, enhance their skills, and leverage their unique contribution.
While women are often well positioned to enter the workforce, create enterprises, or ascend the corporate ladder, we continue to see that their success in business is limited. I think the various barriers holding women back essentially stem from a lack of access to opportunity.
If we want to effectively address women’s restricted access, we need to focus on practical strategies which maximize women’s potential and create opportunities for growth. As companies around the world increasingly invest in professional development for women, we need to reinforce and extend these investments by providing essential tools to increase women’s engagement and advancement—connections that widen access to markets and global supply chains, mentoring and leadership development opportunities.
Our organization, Vital Voices, was founded more than 15 years ago on a very simple but powerful idea: no country can move forward if half its population is left behind. We train and mentor women to enhance their leadership because we believe that women’s leadership is a force that can be harnessed for the global good. We have built an expansive and diverse global network of 12,000 leaders in 144 countries—they are entrepreneurs, human rights lawyers, civil society organizers—and each invests in others as she has been invested in, creating a multiplier effect in her community and beyond.
We have found that mentorship is critical to catalyzing future leadership, securing improved development outcomes, and spurring economic growth. Mentorship offers emerging women leaders in business an important opportunity to forge strong relationships that enable them to advance in companies, board rooms, and their community at large. In our experience, we’ve seen that women, often excluded from traditional power structures, are adept at innovating networks to achieve shared goals. With networked access and power, women are better positioned to realize breakthrough change and thrive in leadership positions.
If we want to see equitable growth and spark economic progress, we need to commit resources and effort to cultivate women’s leadership. Ultimately, investing in women is about much more than women. The benefits of women’s economic empowerment transcend economic indicators—they enhance societal and political moves for progress. If we mobilize women’s leadership as a force for economic growth, political and social returns will follow. In our work internationally, we’ve seen that women’s leadership accelerates development. In the coming year, we need to build upon the considerable momentum towards women’s advancement in recent years. When we enhance and harness women’s power as economic agents, we will see shared progress for all.
Alyse Nelson is president and chief executive officer of Vital Voices Global Partnership. A cofounder of Vital Voices, Alyse has worked for the organization for 15 years, serving as vice president and senior director of programs before assuming her current role in 2009.
This article was originally published in the Diplomatic Courier's March/April 2013 print edition.
Photo: Krista Kennell/Fortune Most Powerful Women Summit (cc).
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Shared Progress: Mentoring Women Leaders
March 15, 2013
It has perhaps never been clearer that we need to pursue new strategies to ensure that economic growth is equitable and sustainable. If we want to move from recovery to resurgence, I believe we need new thinking and new partners. We need leaders who leverage power, skills, and expertise to inspire collective empowerment. We need to look to women—proven catalysts for growth—as an opportunity and solution.
Our world is waking up to the fact that women’s full participation in society delivers equality, development and peace. Women—educated, employed, empowered—are making waves as engines of growth. We are seeing an increasing recognition of the positive impact that women’s economic engagement can have around the world.
As more women participate in the labor force, economies are strengthened and expanded. The World Bank’s 2012 World Development Report endorses this view, and studies from the World Economic Forum further confirm a strong correlation between an increase in gender equality and an increase in gross domestic product per capita. Investing in women has become a new standard; from international development agencies to multinational corporations, those in leadership and policymaking positions are devoting time and resources to advance women, enhance their skills, and leverage their unique contribution.
While women are often well positioned to enter the workforce, create enterprises, or ascend the corporate ladder, we continue to see that their success in business is limited. I think the various barriers holding women back essentially stem from a lack of access to opportunity.
If we want to effectively address women’s restricted access, we need to focus on practical strategies which maximize women’s potential and create opportunities for growth. As companies around the world increasingly invest in professional development for women, we need to reinforce and extend these investments by providing essential tools to increase women’s engagement and advancement—connections that widen access to markets and global supply chains, mentoring and leadership development opportunities.
Our organization, Vital Voices, was founded more than 15 years ago on a very simple but powerful idea: no country can move forward if half its population is left behind. We train and mentor women to enhance their leadership because we believe that women’s leadership is a force that can be harnessed for the global good. We have built an expansive and diverse global network of 12,000 leaders in 144 countries—they are entrepreneurs, human rights lawyers, civil society organizers—and each invests in others as she has been invested in, creating a multiplier effect in her community and beyond.
We have found that mentorship is critical to catalyzing future leadership, securing improved development outcomes, and spurring economic growth. Mentorship offers emerging women leaders in business an important opportunity to forge strong relationships that enable them to advance in companies, board rooms, and their community at large. In our experience, we’ve seen that women, often excluded from traditional power structures, are adept at innovating networks to achieve shared goals. With networked access and power, women are better positioned to realize breakthrough change and thrive in leadership positions.
If we want to see equitable growth and spark economic progress, we need to commit resources and effort to cultivate women’s leadership. Ultimately, investing in women is about much more than women. The benefits of women’s economic empowerment transcend economic indicators—they enhance societal and political moves for progress. If we mobilize women’s leadership as a force for economic growth, political and social returns will follow. In our work internationally, we’ve seen that women’s leadership accelerates development. In the coming year, we need to build upon the considerable momentum towards women’s advancement in recent years. When we enhance and harness women’s power as economic agents, we will see shared progress for all.
Alyse Nelson is president and chief executive officer of Vital Voices Global Partnership. A cofounder of Vital Voices, Alyse has worked for the organization for 15 years, serving as vice president and senior director of programs before assuming her current role in 2009.
This article was originally published in the Diplomatic Courier's March/April 2013 print edition.
Photo: Krista Kennell/Fortune Most Powerful Women Summit (cc).
