It is basically the
creation of an environment where women can make independent decisions on their
personal development as well as shine as equals in society.
Women
want to be treated as equals so much so that if a woman rises to the top of her
field it should be a commonplace occurrence that draws nothing more than a
raised eyebrow at the gender. This can only happen if there is a channelized
route for the empowerment of women.
Our
future depends on women. All around the world, women entrepreneurs, women
innovators, and women leaders in business, politics, academia, and culture are
transforming societies and the global economy. And they will continue to do so.
Why? For starters, women
represent the fastest-growing, most dynamic economic force in the world today.
Women now control more than $20 trillion in
global spending. That means women have an economic impact 50 percent larger
than that of the United States and more than twice the size of China and
India’s economies combined.
In the United States alone, women-owned businesses account for
nearly $3 trillion of the gross domestic product. In fact, if American women
were measured as a separate country, they would have the fifth-largest economy
in the world!
Of course, women’s entrepreneurship extends far beyond our
shores. The truth is, it’s soaring around the globe. Worldwide, 1 in 11
working-age women is involved in entrepreneurship. And the highest percentages
of women business owners are in markets you might not expect.
In Thailand, nearly 20 percent of working women are
entrepreneurs. In India, the number is 14 percent. In Argentina, it’s 12
percent; Brazil, 11 percent; Mexico and Chile, 10 percent. And these numbers
continue to increase.
We have also seen that when women rise in their communities, the
communities themselves rise to new heights of prosperity and health. Over and
over, studies have found a direct correlation between women’s empowerment and
GDP growth, business growth, environmental sustainability, improved human
health, and other positive impacts.
So as the world seeks ways to accelerate growth across a global
economy that is struggling to emerge from recession, the solution is right in
front of us: Empower women, and you recharge the world.
Creating a climate of success for women is smart business—and
not just for consumer-products companies. Today, it’s smart business for every
company and every country.
In the years ahead, women’s economic participation and
entrepreneurial growth will drive the world’s economy. It’s no longer a matter
of “if” but of “to what heights.” All of the exciting growth projections for
various countries and regions will hinge on greater empowerment of women.
The upward trajectory has already begun. And yet around the
world—and across America—we still see too many roadblocks for women: cultural,
educational, political, and financial.
Those of us in business, government, and civil society—what we
call the “Golden Triangle”—must work together to knock these barriers down. As
we do, we will give more women the chance to access financial resources, move
into positions of leadership, and start their own businesses.
When it comes to empowering women, the implications for
companies, communities, and countries will be vast and profound. Our overall
success will, in large measure, depend on the success of women.
If we all do our part, I am convinced that future historians
will one day look back on our time as the dawn of “The Women’s Century”—a
century that is more open, more hopeful, and more prosperous than any that has
come before.
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