Vital Voices E-Book

Alyse Nelson

• Herausgeber: John Wiley & Sons
• Kategorie: Fachliteratur
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 342

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2012

Beschreibung

How women around the world are leading powerful change Women's progress is global progress. Where there is an increase in women's university enrollment rates, women's earnings, and maternal health, and a reduction in violence against women, we see more prosperous communities, better educated, healthier families, and the preservation of equal human rights. Yet globally, women remain the most consistently under-utilized resource. Vital Voices calls for and makes possible transformative leadership around the world. In Vital Voices, CEO Alyse Nelson shares the stories of remarkable, world-changing women, as well as the story of how Vital Voices was founded, crossing lines that typically divide. For 15 years, Vital Voices has brought together women who want to enable others to become change agents in their governments, advocates for social justice, and supporters of democracy. They equip women with management and business development skills to expand their enterprises and create jobs in their communities. Their voices, stories, and hard-earned lessons--shared here for the first time--are deeply authentic and truly vital. * Features interviews and first-person accounts of global leaders, such as Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, president of Liberia, and Aung San Suu Kyi, Nobel Prize-winning Burmese pro-democracy leader, as well as business leaders * Draws on the work of the Vital Voices, the organization founded by Hillary Clinton in 1997 as a government initiative that transformed into a leading non-profit, which enables a network of 10,000 emerging women leaders in politics, human rights, and economic development in 127 countries. These women have gone on to mentor and train more than 500,000 * Focuses on the key elements of the Vital Voices five-step model of transformational leadership, including how to find a voice, lead with purpose, cross lines that divide, and more Through the firsthand accounts of trail-blazing leaders, Vital Voices introduces unforgettable, inspiring women who are shaping our world.

Leseprobe

Table of Contents

Title Page

Copyright

Dedication

Photo Credits

Foreword

Introduction

Chapter One: A Driving Force or Sense of Mission

Marina Pisklakova

Hafsat Abiola

Anel Townsend Diez-Canseco

Sunitha Krishnan

Hawa Abdi

Chapter Two: Strong Roots in the Community

Lubna Al-Kazi

Maria Pacheco

Mu Sochua

Roshaneh Zafar

Kah Walla

Rosana Schaack

Adimaimalaga Tafuna'i

Chapter Three: An Ability to Connect Across Lines That Divide

Inez McCormack

Asha Hagi Elmi

Noha Khatieb

Latifa Jbabdi

Oda Gasinzigwa

Rita Chaikin

Afnan Al Zayani

Chapter Four: Bold Ideas and Bold Action

Rebecca Lolosoli

Panmela Castro

Carmelita Gopez Nuqui

Laura Alonso

Guo Jianmei

Chouchou Namegabe Dubuisson

Sohini Chakraborty

Chapter Five: Paying It Forward

Danielle Saint-Lot

Noha Khatieb and Liron Peleg-Hadomi

Andeisha Farid

Kakenya Ntaiya

Jaya Arunachalam

Samar Minallah Khan

Conclusion

Afterword

Additional Information on the Women Featured in Vital Voices

Acknowledgments

About the Author

Index

Copyright © 2012 by Vital Voices. All rights reserved.

Published by Jossey-Bass

A Wiley Imprint

One Montgomery Street, Suite 1200, San Francisco, CA 94104-4594—www.josseybass.com

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise, except as permitted under Section 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the prior written permission of the publisher, or authorization through payment of the appropriate per-copy fee to the Copyright Clearance Center, Inc., 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, 978-750-8400, fax [phone], or on the Web at www.copyright.com. Requests to the publisher for permission should be addressed to the Permissions Department, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030, 201-748-6011, fax [phone], or online at www.wiley.com/go/permissions.

Limit of Liability/Disclaimer of Warranty: While the publisher and author have used their best efforts in preparing this book, they make no representations or warranties with respect to the accuracy or completeness of the contents of this book and specifically disclaim any implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. No warranty may be created or extended by sales representatives or written sales materials. The advice and strategies contained herein may not be suitable for your situation. You should consult with a professional where appropriate. Neither the publisher nor author shall be liable for any loss of profit or any other commercial damages, including but not limited to special, incidental, consequential, or other damages. Readers should be aware that Internet Web sites offered as citations and/or sources for further information may have changed or disappeared between the time this was written and when it is read.

Jossey-Bass books and products are available through most bookstores. To contact Jossey-Bass directly call our Customer Care Department within the U.S. at 800-956-7739, outside the U.S. at 317-572-3986, or fax [phone].

Wiley publishes in a variety of print and electronic formats and by print-on-demand. Some material included with standard print versions of this book may not be included in e-books or in print-on-demand. If this book refers to media such as a CD or DVD that is not included in the version you purchased, you may download this material at http://booksupport.wiley.com. For more information about Wiley products, visit www.wiley.com.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Nelson, Alyse, 1974–

Vital voices : the power of women leading change around the world / Alyse Nelson. — 1st ed.

p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 978-1-118-18477-6 (cloth), 978-1-118-22750-3 (ebk), 978-1-118-24053-3 (ebk), 978-1-118-26511-6 (ebk)

1.Women—Political activity.  2.Women social reformers.  3.Leadership in women. 4.Social change.  I. Title.

HQ1236.N45 2012

305.42—dc23

2012010376

For the women whose voices have inspired, humbled, and propelled us forward and to those still struggling to have their voices heard

Photo Credits

Cover (from left to right)

Photo of Afnan Al-Zayani by Aaron Kisner, photo of Rebecca Lolosoli by Kate Cummings, photo of Mu Sochua by Micky Wiswedel, photo of Panmela Castro by Aaron Kisner

Chapter 1

Photo of Marina Pisklakova by Maria Soshenko; photo of Hafsat Abiola by Sharon Farmer; photo of Anel Townsend Diez-Canseco by the Photographic Archive of the Ministry of Women Affairs of Peru; photo of Sunitha Krishnan by Micky Wiswedel; photo of Hawa Abdi by Josh Cogan

Chapter 2

Photo of Lubna Al-Kazi by Josh Cogan, photo of Maria Pacheco by Josh Cogan, photo of Mu Sochua by Micky Wiswedel, photo of Roshaneh Zafar by Josh Cogan, photo of Kah Walla by Micky Wiswedel, photo of Rosana Schaack by Amy Drucker, photo of Adimaimalaga Tafuna'i by Aaron Kisner

Chapter 3

Photo of Inez McCormack by PressEye Photography Northern Ireland, photo of Asha Hagi Elmi by the Clinton Global Initiative, photo of Noha Khatieb by Josh Cogan, photo of Latifa Jbabdi by Sharon Farmer, photo of Oda Gasinzigwa by Sharon Farmer, photo of Rita Chaikin by Alexander Ivshin, photo of Afnan Al Zayani by Josh Cogan

Chapter 4

Photo of Rebecca Lolosoli by Josh Cogan, photo of Panmela Castro by Aaron Kisner, photo of Carmelita Gopez Nuqui by Peace Boat, photo of Laura Alonso by Josh Cogan, photo of Guo Jianmei by Liu Yulin, photo of Chouchou Namegabe Dubuisson by Chris Wright, photo of Sohini Chakraborty by Kolkata Sanved Archive

Chapter 5

Photo of Danielle Saint-Lot by Josh Cogan, photo of Liron Peleg-Hadomi and Noha Khatieb by Josh Cogan, photo of Andeisha Farid by Josh Cogan, photo of Kakenya Ntaiya by Kate Cummings, photo of Jaya Arunachalam by P. Rajeswari, photo of Samar Minallah Khan by Shiza Shahid

Foreword

The Honorable Hillary Rodham Clinton

Founder, Vital Voices

In 1995, delegates from 189 nations met in Beijing for the United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women. I stood before those gathered and said the time had come to break our silence.

No longer would we accept any separation between women's rights and human rights. No longer would discussions about “women's issues” take place unnoticed, in back rooms.

Vital Voices began as a government initiative during the Clinton Administration at a time of great change in the world. Many countries were emerging from conflict and repression, beginning the transition to democracy. Former Secretary and my friend, Madeleine Albright, and I, along with others at the State Department and the White House, believed it was critical that women have a role in shaping the futures that they would inhabit. We believed that if women were brave enough and strong enough to challenge the status quo and participate in politics, civil society, the economy, we should help them.

An idea that began in a small office at the State Department as the Vital Voices Democracy Initiative has grown into Vital Voices Global Partnership, an NGO with more than one thousand staff and partners worldwide, supporting the work of twelve thousand women leaders in 144 countries.

This organization and its mission are very close to my heart. I carry the lessons of Vital Voices with me every day. At the State Department, we are working hard to embed support for women's rights and advancement as a cornerstone of U.S. foreign policy. Melanne Verveer, the co-founder of Vital Voices, is leading that effort as our Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women's Issues. And everywhere I go in the world, somebody from Vital Voices comes to see me. They tell me about a training program or a visit, an opportunity they had to advance their work even further.

Since 1995, it has become very clear that development stalls where women are oppressed, and accelerates where they are empowered.

We know that women make unique and critical contributions. They often see problems that others overlook. They are able to reach populations that others either cannot reach or do not care to do. And even when it seems that no opportunity exists, they still find a way.

The status of the world's women is not only a matter of morality and justice. It is also a political, economic, and social imperative. Put simply, the world cannot make lasting progress if women and girls in the twenty-first century are denied their rights and left behind.

The women leaders you will meet in the pages of this book hail from different cultures and parts of the world, but they share important values and attributes. They each look for ways to make systemic change—to lift the lives of thousands, even millions of people.

These women embody a distinct, transformative model of leadership. After 15 years of experience, we know the multiplying effect we achieve when we invest in women who embody this model. Their actions initiate a positive chain reaction that quickly acquires an energy of its own.

At a time when millions of women worldwide are still denied their rights, still excluded from the public debates in their societies, still subjected to violence inside and outside of the family, still barred from schools, courts, markets, and public squares, it is even more remarkable that these women persevere.

Their courage has inspired others to stand with them despite the risks and the consequences—to believe in the possibility of a better future and their own ability to help build it. We must proclaim to the world, clearly and as one, that these women are heroes, their work is valuable, and their voices are vital.

This is not only an urgent foreign policy challenge. It is not simply a social justice issue, the most important in my view for the twenty-first century. It is a personal mission. And I am deeply honored to recognize and pay gratitude to those women who are on the front lines across the world who make each of us dare a little more, risk a little more, do a little more.

Introduction

In October 2008, when the global economic meltdown was on the front page of every newspaper, a story caught my attention; it was, quite possibly, the first solution-oriented story I'd seen about the crisis. After declaring bankruptcy, the government of Iceland tapped two women to rebuild the financial system. A government official noted that after the banking empire collapsed, “women are taking over…to clean it up.”1 Audur Capital, which is managed solely by women, was the only private equity fund untouched by the crisis2; and in the midst of economic chaos, Icelanders elected Johanna Sigurdardottir—a woman—as prime minister.

As I read on, I thought the solution to the situation in Iceland made perfect sense. Through my work with Vital Voices, I know firsthand countless stories of women leading the charge throughout the world. There are the women of Rwanda, who rose from the ashes of genocide to rebuild their country, which as of 2011 boasted the only female-majority parliament in the world3 and one of Africa's fastest-growing GDPs.4 Or the young congresswoman in Peru, who at the tender age of twenty-eight publicly demanded an account for the increase in poverty and human rights violations perpetrated with impunity during Alberto Fujimori's regime. There are many stories like this in every region, country, and community of the world—stories of women stepping up as leaders in times of crisis, whether financial, humanitarian, or otherwise.

For generations, women around the world have been pleading for equality on grounds of fairness. After all, women make up slightly more than half the global population. While these sentiments and the language of fairness bolster the argument for justice, there are more broadly compelling reasons for women's full participation. As women gain greater access and opportunities, their collective participation generates a kind of societal change unlike anything the world has ever seen. In some of the most difficult times, in many of the most dangerous places, women are taking on and chipping away at the world's most serious problems.