Women’s leadership in government is critical for achieving gender equality. However, according to UN Women, it will take another 130 years to reach gender equality in the highest positions of power. While there has been significant advancement in women’s political participation over the years and women are running for office in record numbers, women are still underrepresented as heads of state, members of cabinets, or members of legislatures around the world. Yet when women are in leadership, positive change happens – from working across party lines to enacting policies that promote education and health to promoting stability. And when more women are represented at the highest levels of power, other women are inspired to run for office and follow their lead.
WOMEN'S VOICES SUMMIT
December 2, 2022
WOMEN’S VOICES IN LEADERSHIP
Setting the Stage: Lessons from History
The Power of Young Women Voters
Women Defending the Vote
THE MATERNAL HEALTH CRISIS
WOMEN’S VOICES ON HEALTH
Women’s Voices in the Economy
IRANIAN WOMEN AND GIRLS ASSERT THEIR RIGHTS
WOMEN’S RIGHTS ARE HUMAN RIGHTS
Browse sessions
WOMEN’S VOICES IN LEADERSHIP
Secretary Hillary Rodham Clinton - 67th Secretary of State of the United States
Julia Gillard - Former Prime Minister, Australia
Ellen Johnson Sirleaf - Former President, Liberia
Setting the Stage: Lessons from History
Opening Remarks
STEPHANIE S. STREETT – Executive Director
PAOLA RAMOS – Correspondent, Vice and Contributor, Telemundo and MSNBC
SETTING THE STAGE: LESSONS FROM HISTORY
Writing women back into history not only challenges narratives of the past, it also teaches us how to confront today’s barriers and shape tomorrow’s future. Understanding the centuries of struggle for women’s rights and learning about the stories of gutsy women, can give us strategies, inspiration, and a sense of urgency for fighting today and tomorrow’s battles.
Secretary Hillary Rodham Clinton - 67th Secretary of State of the United States
Chelsea Clinton, DPhil, MPH - Vice Chair, Clinton Foundation
Dr. Victoria DeFrancesco Soto - Dean, Clinton School of Public Service at the University of Arkansas
The Power of Young Women Voters
This past election, young voters registered in record numbers and showed up at the polls, especially those in battleground states. Young voters made it clear that they are a powerful voting bloc and that when issues they care about are on the ballot, they will vote. Gen Z and millennial voters are using the power of the vote to create a more inclusive, equitable, and just future.
Jaclyn Corin - Co-Founder, March for Our Lives
Reshma Saujani - Founder and CEO, Moms First
Women Defending the Vote
Women now vote more regularly than men. They lead local and national efforts to register voters, educate voters, and get voters to the polls. This past election showed that women see the vote as a way to protect their human rights. As more states continue to introduce and enact voting restrictions, women’s efforts to protect and expand the fundamental right to vote is key to defending democracy.
Fatima Goss Graves - President and CEO, National Women’s Law Center
The Honorable Kimberly Teehee - Cherokee Nation’s Delegate to the U.S. Congress
María Teresa Kumar - Founder, Voto Latino
Dr. Angie Maxwell - Director of the Diane Blair Center of Southern Politics and Society at the University of Arkansas
THE MATERNAL HEALTH CRISIS
OPENING REMARKS
CHELSEA CLINTON, DPHIL, MPH – Vice Chair, Clinton Foundation
THE MATERNAL HEALTH CRISIS
More than 800 women die every day around the world from complications related to pregnancy or childbirth. The United States faces a maternal health crisis with the highest maternal mortality rate among high-resource countries, a rate that has been consistently increasing since 2000 and is disproportionately experienced by Black women. Despite these statistics, there is hope for progress thanks to the tireless work of advocates who are driving change for women’s well-being.
This conversation will be preceded by a short preview of Giving Birth in America: Arkansas, a new film by Every Mother Counts.
Christy Turlington Burns - Founder, Every Mother Counts
Dr. Nirvana Manning - Chair and Associate Professor, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences
WOMEN’S VOICES ON HEALTH
Women’s voices on health are essential today in the United States and around the world. The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated existing health issues for women around the world, including domestic violence and mental health, and rising rates of climate disasters continue to have a gendered effect, impacting women and girls the most. In June, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned nearly 50 years of precedent in its decision in Dobbs, denying women the constitutional right to an abortion and expanding states’ ability to restrict abortion. However, as this past election showed, women will vote to protect abortion access. Women are leading the efforts to address these pressing health issues and create change for future generations.
Alexis McGill Johnson - President and CEO, Planned Parenthood Federation of America and Planned Parenthood Action Fund
Dr. Joy St. John - Executive Director, Caribbean Public Health Agency
MK Pritzker - First Lady of Illinois
Dr. Jessica Coker - Associate Professor, Psychiatry, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences
Chelsea Clinton, DPhil, MPH - Vice Chair, Clinton Foundation
Women’s Voices in the Economy
The seminal 2015 McKinsey Global Institute study found that advancing women’s equality could add $12 trillion to the global economy by 2025. It is now nearly the end of 2022, and while there has been progress, the workplace remains severely unequal for women in the United States and around the world. The COVID-19 crisis highlighted these inequities. We know that an unequal economy creates a weak economy and that a strong economy needs full participation. Policymakers and the private sector can rebuild more equitably. They can choose to strengthen workplace protections for the most vulnerable, increase access to technology for the self-employed, elevate more women to leadership roles, and support women’s entrepreneurship.
Reema Nanavaty - Director, Self-Employed Women’s Association (SEWA)
Mónica Ramírez - Co-Founder and President, The Latinx House; Justice for Migrant Women
Jennifer Hyman - Chief Executive Officer & Co-Founder, Rent the Runway
Amy Tu - President, International and Chief Administrative Officer, Tyson Foods
Jennifer Klein - Assistant to the President and Director of the White House Gender Policy Council
IRANIAN WOMEN AND GIRLS ASSERT THEIR RIGHTS
Following the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in police custody, who was detained for failing to cover her hair, women and girls across Iran have led peaceful protests to assert their human rights only to be met with a brutal crackdown from Iranian security forces. Social media amplifies their voices, while press coverage focuses on the response their activism generates. A global coalition of women leaders are pressing to expel Iran from the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women and from the United Nations Human Rights Council to address Iranian women and girls’ demands for autonomy.
Alyse Nelson - President and CEO, Vital Voices
Gissou Nia - Director, Strategic Litigation Project, Atlantic Council
WOMEN’S RIGHTS ARE HUMAN RIGHTS
The 1995 UN Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing set a global agenda for advancing women’s rights – rights to education, to civic and political freedom, and to a life without violence. Twenty-seven years later, women still face the heaviest burdens of conflict, democratic backsliding, and instability, but they remain on the frontlines of global movements for peace and human rights. Though vastly underrepresented in seats of power and at negotiating tables, women across the globe continue to work inside and outside the political system to achieve peace, democracy, and equality.
Shabana Basij-Rasikh - Founder, School of Leadership-Afghanistan
Helen Kezie-Nwoha - Executive Director, Women’s International Peace Centre
Gayle Tzemach Lemmon - Author, Daughters of Kobani
Melanne Verveer - Executive Director, Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace, and Security
About
In December 2022, Former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and Clinton Foundation Vice Chair Chelsea Clinton convened national and global leaders from across the public and private sectors for “Women’s Voices, Women’s Votes, Women’s Rights,” an international summit exploring the unfinished business of the 21st Century – women’s equality. The Summit was presented in conjunction with “Women’s Voices, Women’s Votes, Women’s Rights,” a vibrant, multimedia exhibition on display at the Clinton Presidential Center that explores the risks that individuals took, over the past two centuries, to win the vote, expand democracy, and elevate human rights. Check out our Women’s Voices Summit recap with nine ways we can fight to achieve women’s equality — once and for all. Read more.
Sponsors
Glassbreaker
Susie T. Buell
Trailblazer
Marsha Laufer | Persis Levy
Champion
Barbara Lee Family Foundation | Bank of America | Anu Menon and Akash Garg | Evalie Horner | Donna and Mack McLarty | Renee Ring | Walmart Foundation
Advocate
Joyce Aboussie | Ellen Chesler | Ann M. Drake | Pat Edington | Seema Hingorani | Jamie Amos and Patrick Kennedy | Maura O’Neill | Eric Johnson and Dr. Mark Parker | Carol Pensky | Sophia Yen
Join Us
Join the Conversation
We invite you to join the conversation on social media by following our channels and using the hashtag #WomensVoices.
Browse the Clinton Museum Store
View the Women’s Voices collection at the Clinton Museum Store.
View the CollectionTake Action
We asked #WomensVoices speakers to share one thing anyone can do to support women’s equality worldwide. Together, they make a playbook for action.
Learn MoreParticipants
Shabana Basij-Rasikh
Founder, School of Leadership-Afghanistan
Christy Turlington Burns
Founder, Every Mother Counts
Secretary Hillary Rodham Clinton
67th Secretary of State of the United States
Chelsea Clinton, DPhil, MPH
Vice Chair, Clinton Foundation
As vice chair of the Clinton Foundation, Chelsea Clinton works alongside the Foundation’s leadership and partners to improve lives and inspire emerging leaders across the United States and around the world. This includes the Foundation’s early child initiative Too Small to Fail, which supports families with the resources they need to promote early brain and language development; and the Clinton Global Initiative University (CGI U), a global program that empowers student leaders to turn their ideas into action. A longtime public health advocate, Chelsea also serves as vice chair of the Clinton Health Access Initiative and uses her platform to increase awareness around issues such as vaccine hesitancy, childhood obesity, and health equity.
In addition to her Foundation work, Chelsea teaches at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health and has written several books for young readers, including the #1 New York Times bestseller She Persisted: 13 American Women Who Changed the World as well as She Persisted Around the World, She Persisted in Sports, She Persisted in Science, Start Now! You Can Make a Difference; Don’t Let Them Disappear; It’s Your World: Get Informed, Get Inspired & Get Going; and Welcome to the Big Kids Club. She is also the co-author of The Book of Gutsy Women and Grandma’s Gardens with Secretary Hillary Rodham Clinton and of Governing Global Health: Who Runs the World and Why? with Devi Sridhar. Chelsea’s podcast, In Fact with Chelsea Clinton, premiered in 2021 and she is the co-founder of HiddenLight Productions.
Chelsea holds a Bachelor of Arts from Stanford, a Master of Public Health from Columbia’s Mailman School of Public Health, and both a Master of Philosophy and a Doctorate in international relations from Oxford University. She lives with her husband Marc, and their children Charlotte, Aidan, and Jasper, in New York City.
Dr. Jessica Coker
Dr. Jessica Coker
Associate Professor, Psychiatry, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences
Jaclyn Corin
Co-Founder, March for Our Lives
Julia Gillard
Former Prime Minister, Australia
Fatima Goss Graves
President and CEO, National Women’s Law Center
Jennifer Hyman
Chief Executive Officer & Co-Founder, Rent the Runway
Alexis McGill Johnson
Alexis McGill Johnson
President and CEO, Planned Parenthood Federation of America and Planned Parenthood Action Fund
Jennifer Klein
Jennifer Klein
Assistant to the President and Director of the White House Gender Policy Council
Gayle Tzemach Lemmon
Author, Daughters of Kobani
Dr. Nirvana Manning
Dr. Nirvana Manning
Chair and Associate Professor, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences
Dr. Angie Maxwell
Dr. Angie Maxwell
Director of the Diane Blair Center of Southern Politics and Society at the University of Arkansas
Reema Nanavaty
Director, Self-Employed Women’s Association (SEWA)
Alyse Nelson
President and CEO, Vital Voices
Gissou Nia
Director, Strategic Litigation Project, Atlantic Council
Helen Kezie-Nwoha
Executive Director, Women’s International Peace Centre
Mónica Ramírez
Co-Founder and President, The Latinx House; Justice for Migrant Women
Paola Ramos
Correspondent, Vice and Contributor, Telemundo and MSNBC
Reshma Saujani
Founder and CEO, Moms First
Ellen Johnson Sirleaf
Former President, Liberia
Dr. Victoria DeFrancesco Soto
Dr. Victoria DeFrancesco Soto
Dean, Clinton School of Public Service at the University of Arkansas
Dr. Joy St. John
Executive Director, Caribbean Public Health Agency
The Honorable Kimberly Teehee
Cherokee Nation’s Delegate to the U.S. Congress
Amy Tu
President, International and Chief Administrative Officer, Tyson Foods
AGENDA
Opening Remarks
SPEAKERS
- STEPHANIE S. STREETT Executive Director
- PAOLA RAMOS Correspondent, Vice and Contributor, Telemundo and MSNBC
SETTING THE STAGE: LESSONS FROM HISTORY
Writing women back into history not only challenges narratives of the past, it also teaches us how to confront today’s barriers and shape tomorrow’s future. Understanding the centuries of struggle for women’s rights and learning about the stories of gutsy women, can give us strategies, inspiration, and a sense of urgency for fighting today and tomorrow’s battles.
SPEAKERS
- SECRETARY HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON Former U.S. Secretary of State
- CHELSEA CLINTON, DPHIL, MPH Vice Chair, Clinton Foundation
- DR. VICTORIA DEFRANCESCO SOTO Dean, Clinton School of Public Service at the University of Arkansas
The Power of Young Women Voters
This past election, young voters registered in record numbers and showed up at the polls, especially those in battleground states. Young voters made it clear that they are a powerful voting bloc and that when issues they care about are on the ballot, they will vote. Gen Z and millennial voters are using the power of the vote to create a more inclusive, equitable, and just future.
SPEAKERS
- JACLYN CORIN Co-Founder, March for Our Lives
- RESHMA SAUJANI Founder, Girls Who Code
Women Defending the Vote
Women now vote more regularly than men. They lead local and national efforts to register voters, educate voters, and get voters to the polls. This past election showed that women see the vote as a way to protect their human rights. As more states continue to introduce and enact voting restrictions, women’s efforts to protect and expand the fundamental right to vote is key to defending democracy.
SPEAKERS
- FATIMA GOSS GRAVES President and CEO, National Women’s Law Center
- THE HONORABLE KIMBERLY TEEHEE Cherokee Nation’s Delegate to the U.S. Congress
- MARÍA TERESA KUMAR Founder, Voto Latino
- DR. ANGIE MAXWELL Director of the Diane Blair Center of Southern Politics and Society at the University of Arkansas
OPENING REMARKS
SPEAKERS
- CHELSEA CLINTON, DPHIL, MPH Vice Chair, Clinton Foundation
THE MATERNAL HEALTH CRISIS
More than 800 women die every day around the world from complications related to pregnancy or childbirth. The United States faces a maternal health crisis with the highest maternal mortality rate among high-resource countries, a rate that has been consistently increasing since 2000 and is disproportionately experienced by Black women. Despite these statistics, there is hope for progress thanks to the tireless work of advocates who are driving change for women’s well-being.
This conversation will be preceded by a short preview of Giving Birth in America: Arkansas, a new film by Every Mother Counts.
SPEAKERS
- CHRISTY TURLINGTON BURNS Founder and President, Every Mother Counts
- DR. NIRVANA MANNING Chair and Associate Professor, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences
WOMEN’S VOICES ON HEALTH
Women’s voices on health are essential today in the United States and around the world. The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated existing health issues for women around the world, including domestic violence and mental health, and rising rates of climate disasters continue to have a gendered effect, impacting women and girls the most. In June, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned nearly 50 years of precedent in its decision in Dobbs, denying women the constitutional right to an abortion and expanding states’ ability to restrict abortion. However, as this past election showed, women will vote to protect abortion access. Women are leading the efforts to address these pressing health issues and create change for future generations.
SPEAKERS
- ALEXIS MCGILL JOHNSON President and CEO, Planned Parenthood Federation of America and Planned Parenthood Action Fund
- DR. JOY ST. JOHN Executive Director, Caribbean Public Health Agency
- MK PRITZKER First Lady of Illinois
- DR. JESSICA COKER Associate Professor, Psychiatry, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences
- CHELSEA CLINTON, DPHIL, MPH Vice Chair, Clinton Foundation
Women’s Voices in the Economy
The seminal 2015 McKinsey Global Institute study found that advancing women’s equality could add $12 trillion to the global economy by 2025. It is now nearly the end of 2022, and while there has been progress, the workplace remains severely unequal for women in the United States and around the world. The COVID-19 crisis highlighted these inequities. We know that an unequal economy creates a weak economy and that a strong economy needs full participation. Policymakers and the private sector can rebuild more equitably. They can choose to strengthen workplace protections for the most vulnerable, increase access to technology for the self-employed, elevate more women to leadership roles, and support women’s entrepreneurship.
SPEAKERS
- REEMA NANAVATY Self Employed Women’s Association of India
- MÓNICA RAMÍREZ Co-Founder and President, The Latinx House; Justice for Migrant Women
- JENNIFER HYMAN Chief Executive Officer & Co-Founder, Rent the Runway
- AMY TU President, International and Chief Administrative Officer, Tyson Foods
- JENNIFER KLEIN Assistant to the President and Director of the White House Gender Policy Council
REMARKS
SPEAKERS
- SECRETARY HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON Former U.S. Secretary of State
IRANIAN WOMEN AND GIRLS ASSERT THEIR RIGHTS
Following the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in police custody, who was detained for failing to cover her hair, women and girls across Iran have led peaceful protests to assert their human rights only to be met with a brutal crackdown from Iranian security forces. Social media amplifies their voices, while press coverage focuses on the response their activism generates. A global coalition of women leaders are pressing to expel Iran from the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women and from the United Nations Human Rights Council to address Iranian women and girls’ demands for autonomy.
SPEAKERS
- ALYSE NELSON President and CEO, Vital Voices
- GISSOU NIA Director, Strategic Litigation Project, Atlantic Council
WOMEN’S RIGHTS ARE HUMAN RIGHTS
The 1995 UN Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing set a global agenda for advancing women’s rights – rights to education, to civic and political freedom, and to a life without violence. Twenty-seven years later, women still face the heaviest burdens of conflict, democratic backsliding, and instability, but they remain on the frontlines of global movements for peace and human rights. Though vastly underrepresented in seats of power and at negotiating tables, women across the globe continue to work inside and outside the political system to achieve peace, democracy, and equality.
SPEAKERS
- SHABANA BASIJ-RASIKH Founder, School of Leadership-Afghanistan
- HELEN KEZIE-NWOHA Executive Director, Women’s International Peace Centre
- GAYLE TZEMACH LEMMON Author, Daughters of Kobani
- MELANNE VERVEER Executive Director, Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace, and Security
WOMEN’S VOICES IN LEADERSHIP
Women’s leadership in government is critical for achieving gender equality. However, according to UN Women, it will take another 130 years to reach gender equality in the highest positions of power. While there has been significant advancement in women’s political participation over the years and women are running for office in record numbers, women are still underrepresented as heads of state, members of cabinets, or members of legislatures around the world. Yet when women are in leadership, positive change happens – from working across party lines to enacting policies that promote education and health to promoting stability. And when more women are represented at the highest levels of power, other women are inspired to run for office and follow their lead.
SPEAKERS
- SECRETARY HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON Former U.S. Secretary of State
- JULIA GILLARD Former Prime Minister, Australia
- ELLEN JOHNSON SIRLEAF Former President, Liberia
Agenda
Setting the Stage: Lessons from History
Opening Remarks
STEPHANIE S. STREETT – Executive Director
PAOLA RAMOS – Correspondent, Vice and Contributor, Telemundo and MSNBC
SETTING THE STAGE: LESSONS FROM HISTORY
Writing women back into history not only challenges narratives of the past, it also teaches us how to confront today’s barriers and shape tomorrow’s future. Understanding the centuries of struggle for women’s rights and learning about the stories of gutsy women, can give us strategies, inspiration, and a sense of urgency for fighting today and tomorrow’s battles.
The Power of Young Women Voters
This past election, young voters registered in record numbers and showed up at the polls, especially those in battleground states. Young voters made it clear that they are a powerful voting bloc and that when issues they care about are on the ballot, they will vote. Gen Z and millennial voters are using the power of the vote to create a more inclusive, equitable, and just future.
Women Defending the Vote
Women now vote more regularly than men. They lead local and national efforts to register voters, educate voters, and get voters to the polls. This past election showed that women see the vote as a way to protect their human rights. As more states continue to introduce and enact voting restrictions, women’s efforts to protect and expand the fundamental right to vote is key to defending democracy.
Speakers
- Fatima Goss Graves President and CEO, National Women’s Law Center View bio
- The Honorable Kimberly Teehee Cherokee Nation’s Delegate to the U.S. Congress View bio
- María Teresa Kumar Founder, Voto Latino View bio
- Dr. Angie Maxwell Director of the Diane Blair Center of Southern Politics and Society at the University of Arkansas View bio
THE MATERNAL HEALTH CRISIS
OPENING REMARKS
CHELSEA CLINTON, DPHIL, MPH – Vice Chair, Clinton Foundation
THE MATERNAL HEALTH CRISIS
More than 800 women die every day around the world from complications related to pregnancy or childbirth. The United States faces a maternal health crisis with the highest maternal mortality rate among high-resource countries, a rate that has been consistently increasing since 2000 and is disproportionately experienced by Black women. Despite these statistics, there is hope for progress thanks to the tireless work of advocates who are driving change for women’s well-being.
This conversation will be preceded by a short preview of Giving Birth in America: Arkansas, a new film by Every Mother Counts.
WOMEN’S VOICES ON HEALTH
Women’s voices on health are essential today in the United States and around the world. The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated existing health issues for women around the world, including domestic violence and mental health, and rising rates of climate disasters continue to have a gendered effect, impacting women and girls the most. In June, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned nearly 50 years of precedent in its decision in Dobbs, denying women the constitutional right to an abortion and expanding states’ ability to restrict abortion. However, as this past election showed, women will vote to protect abortion access. Women are leading the efforts to address these pressing health issues and create change for future generations.
Speakers
- Alexis McGill Johnson President and CEO, Planned Parenthood Federation of America and Planned Parenthood Action Fund View bio
- Dr. Joy St. John Executive Director, Caribbean Public Health Agency View bio
- MK Pritzker First Lady of Illinois View bio
- Dr. Jessica Coker Associate Professor, Psychiatry, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences View bio
- Chelsea Clinton, DPhil, MPH Vice Chair, Clinton Foundation View bio
Women’s Voices in the Economy
The seminal 2015 McKinsey Global Institute study found that advancing women’s equality could add $12 trillion to the global economy by 2025. It is now nearly the end of 2022, and while there has been progress, the workplace remains severely unequal for women in the United States and around the world. The COVID-19 crisis highlighted these inequities. We know that an unequal economy creates a weak economy and that a strong economy needs full participation. Policymakers and the private sector can rebuild more equitably. They can choose to strengthen workplace protections for the most vulnerable, increase access to technology for the self-employed, elevate more women to leadership roles, and support women’s entrepreneurship.
Speakers
- Reema Nanavaty Director, Self-Employed Women’s Association (SEWA) View bio
- Mónica Ramírez Co-Founder and President, The Latinx House; Justice for Migrant Women View bio
- Jennifer Hyman Chief Executive Officer & Co-Founder, Rent the Runway View bio
- Amy Tu President, International and Chief Administrative Officer, Tyson Foods View bio
- Jennifer Klein Assistant to the President and Director of the White House Gender Policy Council View bio
REMARKS
Speakers
- Secretary Hillary Rodham Clinton 67th Secretary of State of the United States View bio
IRANIAN WOMEN AND GIRLS ASSERT THEIR RIGHTS
Following the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in police custody, who was detained for failing to cover her hair, women and girls across Iran have led peaceful protests to assert their human rights only to be met with a brutal crackdown from Iranian security forces. Social media amplifies their voices, while press coverage focuses on the response their activism generates. A global coalition of women leaders are pressing to expel Iran from the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women and from the United Nations Human Rights Council to address Iranian women and girls’ demands for autonomy.
WOMEN’S RIGHTS ARE HUMAN RIGHTS
The 1995 UN Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing set a global agenda for advancing women’s rights – rights to education, to civic and political freedom, and to a life without violence. Twenty-seven years later, women still face the heaviest burdens of conflict, democratic backsliding, and instability, but they remain on the frontlines of global movements for peace and human rights. Though vastly underrepresented in seats of power and at negotiating tables, women across the globe continue to work inside and outside the political system to achieve peace, democracy, and equality.
Speakers
- Shabana Basij-Rasikh Founder, School of Leadership-Afghanistan View bio
- Helen Kezie-Nwoha Executive Director, Women’s International Peace Centre View bio
- Gayle Tzemach Lemmon Author, Daughters of Kobani View bio
- Melanne Verveer Executive Director, Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace, and Security View bio
WOMEN’S VOICES IN LEADERSHIP
Women’s leadership in government is critical for achieving gender equality. However, according to UN Women, it will take another 130 years to reach gender equality in the highest positions of power. While there has been significant advancement in women’s political participation over the years and women are running for office in record numbers, women are still underrepresented as heads of state, members of cabinets, or members of legislatures around the world. Yet when women are in leadership, positive change happens – from working across party lines to enacting policies that promote education and health to promoting stability. And when more women are represented at the highest levels of power, other women are inspired to run for office and follow their lead.
Secretary Hillary Rodham Clinton
67th Secretary of State of the United States
Chelsea Clinton, DPhil, MPH
Vice Chair, Clinton Foundation
As vice chair of the Clinton Foundation, Chelsea Clinton works alongside the Foundation’s leadership and partners to improve lives and inspire emerging leaders across the United States and around the world. This includes the Foundation’s early child initiative Too Small to Fail, which supports families with the resources they need to promote early brain and language development; and the Clinton Global Initiative University (CGI U), a global program that empowers student leaders to turn their ideas into action. A longtime public health advocate, Chelsea also serves as vice chair of the Clinton Health Access Initiative and uses her platform to increase awareness around issues such as vaccine hesitancy, childhood obesity, and health equity.
In addition to her Foundation work, Chelsea teaches at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health and has written several books for young readers, including the #1 New York Times bestseller She Persisted: 13 American Women Who Changed the World as well as She Persisted Around the World, She Persisted in Sports, She Persisted in Science, Start Now! You Can Make a Difference; Don’t Let Them Disappear; It’s Your World: Get Informed, Get Inspired & Get Going; and Welcome to the Big Kids Club. She is also the co-author of The Book of Gutsy Women and Grandma’s Gardens with Secretary Hillary Rodham Clinton and of Governing Global Health: Who Runs the World and Why? with Devi Sridhar. Chelsea’s podcast, In Fact with Chelsea Clinton, premiered in 2021 and she is the co-founder of HiddenLight Productions.
Chelsea holds a Bachelor of Arts from Stanford, a Master of Public Health from Columbia’s Mailman School of Public Health, and both a Master of Philosophy and a Doctorate in international relations from Oxford University. She lives with her husband Marc, and their children Charlotte, Aidan, and Jasper, in New York City.
Dr. Victoria DeFrancesco Soto
Dean, Clinton School of Public Service at the University of Arkansas
Jaclyn Corin
Co-Founder, March for Our Lives
Reshma Saujani
Founder and CEO, Moms First
Fatima Goss Graves
President and CEO, National Women’s Law Center
The Honorable Kimberly Teehee
Cherokee Nation’s Delegate to the U.S. Congress
María Teresa Kumar
Founder, Voto Latino
Dr. Angie Maxwell
Director of the Diane Blair Center of Southern Politics and Society at the University of Arkansas
Christy Turlington Burns
Founder, Every Mother Counts
Dr. Nirvana Manning
Chair and Associate Professor, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences
Alexis McGill Johnson
President and CEO, Planned Parenthood Federation of America and Planned Parenthood Action Fund
Dr. Joy St. John
Executive Director, Caribbean Public Health Agency
MK Pritzker
First Lady of Illinois
Dr. Jessica Coker
Associate Professor, Psychiatry, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences
Chelsea Clinton, DPhil, MPH
Vice Chair, Clinton Foundation
As vice chair of the Clinton Foundation, Chelsea Clinton works alongside the Foundation’s leadership and partners to improve lives and inspire emerging leaders across the United States and around the world. This includes the Foundation’s early child initiative Too Small to Fail, which supports families with the resources they need to promote early brain and language development; and the Clinton Global Initiative University (CGI U), a global program that empowers student leaders to turn their ideas into action. A longtime public health advocate, Chelsea also serves as vice chair of the Clinton Health Access Initiative and uses her platform to increase awareness around issues such as vaccine hesitancy, childhood obesity, and health equity.
In addition to her Foundation work, Chelsea teaches at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health and has written several books for young readers, including the #1 New York Times bestseller She Persisted: 13 American Women Who Changed the World as well as She Persisted Around the World, She Persisted in Sports, She Persisted in Science, Start Now! You Can Make a Difference; Don’t Let Them Disappear; It’s Your World: Get Informed, Get Inspired & Get Going; and Welcome to the Big Kids Club. She is also the co-author of The Book of Gutsy Women and Grandma’s Gardens with Secretary Hillary Rodham Clinton and of Governing Global Health: Who Runs the World and Why? with Devi Sridhar. Chelsea’s podcast, In Fact with Chelsea Clinton, premiered in 2021 and she is the co-founder of HiddenLight Productions.
Chelsea holds a Bachelor of Arts from Stanford, a Master of Public Health from Columbia’s Mailman School of Public Health, and both a Master of Philosophy and a Doctorate in international relations from Oxford University. She lives with her husband Marc, and their children Charlotte, Aidan, and Jasper, in New York City.
Reema Nanavaty
Director, Self-Employed Women’s Association (SEWA)
Mónica Ramírez
Co-Founder and President, The Latinx House; Justice for Migrant Women
Jennifer Hyman
Chief Executive Officer & Co-Founder, Rent the Runway
Amy Tu
President, International and Chief Administrative Officer, Tyson Foods
Jennifer Klein
Assistant to the President and Director of the White House Gender Policy Council
Secretary Hillary Rodham Clinton
67th Secretary of State of the United States
Alyse Nelson
President and CEO, Vital Voices
Gissou Nia
Director, Strategic Litigation Project, Atlantic Council
Shabana Basij-Rasikh
Founder, School of Leadership-Afghanistan
Helen Kezie-Nwoha
Executive Director, Women’s International Peace Centre
Gayle Tzemach Lemmon
Author, Daughters of Kobani
Melanne Verveer
Executive Director, Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace, and Security
Secretary Hillary Rodham Clinton
67th Secretary of State of the United States
Julia Gillard
Former Prime Minister, Australia
Ellen Johnson Sirleaf
Former President, Liberia
As part of the Clinton Presidential Center’s “Women’s Voices, Women’s Votes, Women’s Rights” exhibition, 16 world-renowned fiber artists created a collection of 18 art quilts. These contemporary works of art together with historic artifacts, documents, and media give voice to those who risked all they had to secure the vote and advance human rights. The exhibition is on display through April 30, 2023.
When and Where I Enter
Artist: Alice Beasley
As the suffrage battle stalled in 1879, the movement splintered.
The Fifteenth Amendment, adopted in 1870, had only extended voting rights to Black men. Racial tensions escalated. Many suffrage leaders argued that to win crucial Southern states, white women must be the focus. Others disagreed. Black women formed their own organizations. This intense and public debate ricocheted through the movement.
Artist statement: Within the suffrage movement, the leadership sometimes caved to the dictates of the Jim Crow South. Here, Ida B. Wells refuses the leadership’s directive to walk at the back of the 1913 suffrage march. Instead of traditional white, I dressed these heroic Black sisters in bright colors in salute to their diversity.
About the artist: Like a classical painter, Alice Beasley is absorbed by an interest in the human figure. Instead of pain, she finds light, shadow, and color in the patterns found in fabric.
Stand up, Speak Out
Artist: Allison Wilbur
Women spoke up in opposition to slavery before they spoke up for themselves. They adapted the skills they learned from their abolition activism to their own struggle for equality. In 1836, two South Carolina sisters, Sarah and Angelina Grimké, shocked the nation—and risked their lives—when they dared address both.
Artist statement: Sarah Grimké challenged Southern women to oppose the mortal sin of slavery. Her 1836 pamphlet, “An Appeal to the Christian Women of the South,” drew national attention, enraged the South, and forced her to seek safety in the North.
Ridicule did not silence the Grimkés. In 1838, Sarah released “Letters on the Equality of the Sexes” to address their critics. “All I ask of our brethren,” she declared, “is that they will take their feet from off our necks and permit us to stand upright.” This declaration so moved Ruth Bader Ginsburg that she often cited Grimké in legal arguments and public addresses.
About the artist: Allison Wilbur paints with thread and fabric, combining traditional quilting with contemporary techniques. Her work celebrates the rich feminine tradition of stitching as a means of personal expression.
Tomorrow is Now
Artist: Gail Sims
As First Lady, Eleanor Roosevelt opposed poll taxes and championed voting rights. She faced harsh criticism, slander, and threats on her life. She stood her ground. In 1948, as chair of the United Nations Human Rights Commission, she insisted that voting rights were human rights—everywhere in the world.
Artist statement: Eleanor Roosevelt steered the drafting of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. It took two years of unwavering dedication. Her intensity, captured in this photo, brought my work into focus. Portraying my piece in black and white depicts the stark separation of human rights on so many levels, especially today.
About the artist: Works I do reflect topics that touch my heart or depict something that just needs to be said. Dyeing and printing my fabric allows me to amplify the story through textiles.
Dreams Realized
Artist: Hollis Chatelain
Women today vote in record numbers. They vote more often than men, more regularly than men, and, although women don’t always vote for the same candidate, they are, most often, the deciding factor in local, state, and national elections. No candidate can afford to ignore their influence or their interests.
Artist Statement: When the Women’s Right to Vote Act passed in 1920, only white women had the right to vote in every state. It wasn’t until the Voting Rights Act passed in 1965 that all American women could vote. African American women seized this right, organized their communities, and now take their whole neighborhoods to the polls.
About the artist: Through a dynamic and characteristic style marked by dreamlike imagery, elaborate use of color, and intricate thread detail, Hollis Chatelain creates unique compositions that address challenging social, environmental, and political themes.
Equality
Artist: Hollis Chatelain
Each generation of women stands on the shoulders of those who preceded them, their human rights secured by their foremothers, who fought to vote, control their wages, end war, care for their families, lead their communities, and hold governments accountable. As the quilt declares, “Each time a woman stands up for herself, she stands up for all women.”
Artist statement: In 2014, I dreamed of this image in hot pink. My daughter was standing in a field with a baby on her hip. The sky was full of quotes about women. The quilted crows appeared to me afterward. The piece is dye-painted and machine quilted with 400 relevant quotes.
About the artist: Hollis Chatelain is an internationally renowned and award-winning artist. Through a dynamic and characteristic style marked by dreamlike imagery, elaborate use of color, and intricate thread detail, Hollis creates unique compositions that address challenging social, environmental, and political themes.
Undaunted
Artist: Hollis Chatelain
Across the nation, women organize to protect the right to vote. Whether as legislators, activists, poll watchers, or canvassers, they summon Americans to vote and demand each vote be counted. “Democracy only works when we work for it,” they argue. “When we fight for it. When we demand it.”
Artist statement: Women are natural organizers. Using their place at the center of community life, they rally their neighbors to speak out and to act. Their collective efforts expand and protect justice, equality, and freedom. This piece is a tribute to women organizers for their undaunted efforts to protect voting rights in America.
About the artist: Through a dynamic and characteristic style marked by dreamlike imagery, elaborate use of color, and intricate thread detail, Hollis Chatelain creates unique compositions that address challenging social, environmental, and political themes.
Women’s Work
Artist: Lea McComas
Throughout history, women have worked to make their communities caring, vibrant, and inclusive. Some focused on the right to vote or the right to education, while others focused on combating disease, poverty, discrimination, and violence. They shared one overarching conviction—women are citizens, and their human rights must be respected.
Artist statement: Across time and cultures, women risked all they had to make democracy whole. History struggles to recognize their actions—much less tell their stories. Painters and sculptors honor men whose ideas shaped their world. My quilt challenges that view and salutes 57 women—from Elizabeth Cady Stanton to Malala Yousafzai—who dared fight for equality and justice.
About the artist: Award-winning artist, author, and teacher Lea McComas creates realistic pictorial art quilts. Her work has been featured in numerous publications and exhibited in galleries and juried shows nationally and internationally.
Women’s Rights are Human Rights
Artist: Luana Rubin
In 1995, women from around the globe gathered in Beijing, China, for the Fourth UN World Conference on Women to address the challenges women confronted. Hillary Rodham Clinton, rejecting press and congressional calls to boycott China and the conference, flew to Beijing to stand with the women. If there was one message the world should know, she declared, it should be that “human rights are women’s rights and women’s rights are human rights, once and for all.” Her words galvanized the movement.
Artist statement: When I traveled to China in 2003 to adopt an abandoned baby girl, her rights as a human being were in jeopardy. When Hillary Rodham Clinton traveled to Beijing and stood up for women’s human rights, her words resonated with me. My quilt captures this and my hope for my daughter’s future.
About the artist: Luana Rubin is an artist, designer, photographer, and world traveler who lives in Boulder, Colorado. Her company, eQuilter.com, has raised $1.7 million for environmental and human rights nonprofits.
Shirley Chisholm for President
Artist: Michael Cummings
In 1969, Shirley Chisholm, an outspoken nursery school teacher from Brooklyn, surprised the establishment to become the first Black woman member of Congress. Governing as “the people’s politician,” she cosponsored the Equal Rights Amendment and helped found the Congressional Black Caucus and the Congressional Women’s Caucus.
Artist statement: Shirley Chisholm, a pioneer on a political landscape dominated by men, symbolizes a dramatic challenge to politics as usual. This quilt design reflects her spirit, her campaign poster, her campaign theme, and her bold advocacy for women and people of color.
About the artist: I was a painter when I accidentally discovered quilting. I then taught myself to sew. My narrative quilts illustrate my African American history and feature appliqué and other embellishments.
Bolts of Thunder
Artist: Nancy Turbitt
Carrie Chapman Catt managed a divided movement. By August 1920, after 72 years, American women’s right to vote depended on ratification by the Tennessee legislature. Camped out in Nashville, Catt directed this last—and pivotal—campaign. Once again, suffragists targeted state and local leaders, lobbied the president, and pressed state legislators. They won—the Nineteenth Amendment became law.
Artist statement: Carrie Chapman Catt’s unwavering conviction has inspired a portrait that brings her ideals to life in full resplendent color. Her powerful stride, clapping and echoing like thunder throughout time, summons her modern-day allies to join her in building a world defined by equality.
About the artist: Nancy chooses fabric to create her colorful, dynamic work. Often employing a touch of whimsy in her storytelling style, she focuses commentary on global environment or human rights issues.
Shoulder to Shoulder
Artist: Patricia Kennedy-Zafred
Suffragists staged dramatic public events to promote women’s right to vote. They held torchlight parades, delivered speeches atop soapboxes, led petition campaigns, and crammed into politicians’ offices to press their case. They staged pageants and, in 1913, organized the first national march on Washington. Opponents physically harassed them and questioned their womanhood.
Artist statement: As an artistic storyteller who works primarily with photographic images, my creative imagination was captured by local and regional leaders, and the countless unnamed heroes of the suffrage movement. Their images, silkscreened on hand-dyed fabrics, reflect women who were brave, resilient, and proud, their mutual delight and camaraderie evident.
About the artist: Using textiles as her medium, Patricia Kennedy-Zafred creates thought-provoking narratives that incorporate fabric, dyes, silkscreens, and ink to initiate a visual dialogue with the viewer.
Mrs. Hamer
Artist: The Pixeladies, Deb Cashatt and Kris Sazaki
Fannie Lou Hamer insisted, “It’s time for America to get right.” Voting was the key. She tried to register in 1962, was fined by the government and fired by her employer for her efforts; tried again in 1963, only to be beaten after passing the literacy test; and ran for Congress in 1964. Undaunted, she declared in 1971, “Nobody’s free until everybody’s free.”
Artist statement: The indefatigable Fannie Lou Hamer spoke truth to power. Her words galvanized the nation, so we used specific text snippets in this portrait to salute Mrs. Hamer’s call to action. How shameful it is to still witness the threat to voting rights. No cotton was used in the making of this piece.
About the artist: A love of language and a sense of social justice drive our art. Our collages are created with snippets from newspapers and magazines, which are printed onto fabric and quilted.
Right is No Sex, Truth Is of No Color
Artist: Sandra Sider
In 1848, crowds packed a chapel in Seneca Falls, New York, for the first women’s rights convention. Elizabeth Cady Stanton had drafted the Declaration of Sentiments—the convention’s call to action. She included a call for the vote in the declaration, proclaiming it the “first right of citizenship.” That was so radical, her husband left town and the audience got nervous. Then Frederick Douglass rose. He explained the power of the vote—and the words stayed in. Their relationship would withstand the racial divide that split the movement.
Artist statement: Frederick Douglass’s newspaper announced the Seneca Falls meeting and printed the Declaration of Sentiments. To honor him and the other Black Americans who supported women’s suffrage, I reproduced his version of the declaration and adopted his motto as the title. I then stitched the layers together, tying “2020” charms across the surface.
About the artist: Sandra Sider, a New York quilt artist since the early 1980s, works mostly in photographic processes. She is the editor of “Art Quilt Quarterly” and curator of the Texas Quilt Museum.
The Future is Female
Artist: Shin-hee Chin
The combined power of women’s votes and women’s voices continues to change the world. The women represented here have been elected heads of state, human rights commissioners, and Nobel laureates. Their foundations, nongovernmental organizations, and grassroots activism tackle issues most ignore. Their policies promote human rights. Their voices give courage, hope, and vision to an uneasy world.
Artist statement: This piece portrays female leaders of our age who have made significant contributions in furthering social, political, and environmental justice. The circle represents the state of wholeness. Circles are used in the manner of a nonhierarchical structure, highlighting each one’s independence as well as interconnectedness and solidarity among them.
About the artist: Shin-hee Chin is a fiber artist and professor of art at Tabor College in Hillsboro, Kansas. Chin has created a coherent narrative addressing issues of the female body, cultural identity, and sense of belonging.
The Radicals: A SJSA Community Quilt
Artist: Sara Trail and the Social Justice Sewing Academy
Courage and risk transcend generations and inspire action in new arenas. The young activists of the Social Justice Sewing Academy (SJSA) who made this quilt created dozens of quilt blocks for this exhibition—all of which vividly illustrate their determination to continue the struggle for equality and their belief in the power of their votes and their voices.
Artist Statement: The struggle for suffrage is a complicated history, and voting rights remains a contentious topic to this day. The blocks in this quilt depict the struggle to ensure that all women living in the United States have the right to vote, and the courage women display in demanding that right.
About the artist: The Social Justice Sewing Academy, based in Antioch, California, leads hands-on quilting workshops in schools, prisons, and community centers that encourage youth to express their hopes and fears through art and to become agents of change.
Hillary 2016 Herstory: 8 of Potholders in the Kitchen Tarot
Artist: Susan Shie
Throughout Hillary Rodham Clinton’s precedent-shattering 2016 campaign, she told America we are “Stronger Together” and that it was time “to shatter the highest, hardest glass ceiling.” In her concession speech, she challenged the nation to “never stop believing that fighting for what’s right is worth it. It is worth it.”
Artist statement: Hillary Rodham Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign tapped into the hopes of women and girls worldwide. They believed that a woman who had spent her life fighting for women, children, the poor, and minority rights could lead the nation. Her loss shattered my 12-year-old granddaughter, who wrote Secretary Clinton the letter I captured in my quilt.
About the artist: I draw, paint, write, and sew to capture the events that shape my life. I believe that the personal is political, and that truth, love, awareness, persistence, and witnessing are essential and healing.
La Lucha de Dolores / Dolores’s Fight
Artist: Sylvia Hernandez
Dolores Huerta challenged corporate farmers, state governments, and the American labor movement to address the rampant discrimination, violence, and poverty farmworkers confronted. Since 1955, she has organized strikes and grape boycotts, negotiated contracts, written legislation setting wages and work safety rules, and run voter registration drives. When people doubted change was possible, she insisted “¡Sí, se puede!” (Yes, it can be done!)
Artist statement: This quilt celebrates Dolores Huerta. For more than 60 years, she has organized against greed and discrimination. She cofounded the United Farm Workers of America, championed human rights, and defended voting rights. “You can protest ’til the moon turns blue,” she preached, “and it’s not going to change anything if you don’t vote.”
About the artist: Sylvia Hernandez uses her award-winning handcrafted art to address human rights. A dedicated teacher, she helps marginalized communities in Brooklyn and Puerto Rico create art that captures their lives and dreams.
Because of Them We Can
Artist: Valerie Goodwin
The Black women of Selma, Alabama, hazarded all they had to vote. Beaten as they tried to register, arrested, and fired, they continued, afraid but determined. They endured tear gas, cattle prods, and club-swinging mounted police on the Edmund Pettus Bridge. But they marched from Selma to Montgomery. Their courage resulted in the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
Artist statement: As I worked on my piece, I kept thinking about how important it is to understand history with all its actors and how it relates to the present. Amelia Boynton, Diane Nash, Sister Mary Antona Ebo, and Viola Liuzzo are among the brave unsung women who helped steer the Movement. We owe them a great debt.
About the artist: Valerie S. Goodwin is a mixed-media fiber artist and professor of architecture. A love of aerial views of landscapes, cities, and maps inspires her work.
We asked #WomensVoices speakers to share one thing anyone can do to support women’s equality worldwide. Below are their responses. Together, they make a playbook for action.
Dean Victoria DeFrancesco Soto
Support educational institutions such as the Clinton School of Public Service in developing critical toolkits for future public service and change-making leaders.
Jaclyn Corin
Sign the March For Our Lives petition for the U.S. Senate to conduct a vote on banning assault weapons before the end of this Congress.
Reshma Saujani
Join Marshall Plan for Moms in its fight for paid family leave, affordable child care, pay equity, and maternal care.
The Honorable Kimberly Teehee
Learn about the movement to seat the Cherokee Nation Delegate to Congress.
María Teresa Kumar
Get involved with Voto Latino to help empower a new generation of Latinx voters. Research Run for Something if you’re considering running for office. Consider taking a leadership role in a grassroots group in your community.
Fatima Goss Graves
Get involved with the National Women’s Law Center to advocate for workplace justice, education equity, reproductive freedom, and other issues facing women and girls.
Dr. Angie Maxwell
Make sure that your voice is counted in every primary, general, and special election. Make a recurring appointment in your calendar every January where you check your voter registration, transfer your voter registration to your new place of residence, or register anew in your city if you’ve moved.
Christy Turlington Burns
Watch the Giving Birth in America film series to help advocate for high-quality maternal health care and birth equity in the U.S. and around the world.
Dr. Nirvana Manning
Engage with individuals, organizations, and leaders in your community to act on improving women’s reproductive health care.
Alexis McGill Johnson
Support the movement. Donate to abortion funds, independent clinics, local Planned Parenthoods, and support people who need abortions.
Dr. Joy St. John
Help lift the voices of girls and women in your community to realize a world of equity, inclusion, unity, and action. Create an environment where we are all healthy and free from the effects of climate change.
Dr. Jessica Coker
Get involved in your state’s Maternal Mortality Review Committee (MMRC) if applicable or encourage the development of a committee if one does not exist. These reports, often legislative, help identify resources and ways to end the maternal mortality public health crisis.
MK Pritzker
Use your voice, your experience, and your leadership to make sure that no law is passed, no policy is discussed, and no priority is determined without your voice being heard.
Reema Nanavaty
Help establish a women’s livelihood and climate resilience fund in your community to build an economy of nurturance.
Mónica Ramírez
Join this year’s National Latina Equal Pay Day of Action on December 8th and help lift up Latina families and their communities.
Jennifer Hyman
Support initiatives that invest in female founders and women-founded businesses, such as All Raise, to help build a more prosperous, equitable future.
Amy Tu
Emphasize the importance of working together to create a more equal world. This will take leadership, engagement, and purposeful action from courageous women, and men, to elevate the conversation and drive toward solutions. In order to make a difference, we must learn from those before us and advocate for those after us. Stand up. Speak up. And show up. Make your voice heard.
Alyse Nelson
Sign the open letter calling for the removal of the Islamic Republic of Iran from the UN Commission on the Status of Women. Spread the news about the issue and open letter using #IRIoffCSW.
Gissou Nia
Sign the open letter calling for the removal of the Islamic Republic of Iran from the UN Commission on the Status of Women. Spread the news about the issue and open letter using #IRIoffCSW.
Shabana Basij-Rasikh
Contact your representatives in Congress and urge them to speak out about injustices imposed on women and girls by the Taliban.
Helen Kezie-Nwoha
Advocate for women to be centered in peacebuilding. Help transform current practices within institutions. Provide support and protection for women peacebuilders.
Gayle Tzemach Lemmon
Watch the discussions on gender from COP27 and include women in the climate conversation. Push for an end to child marriage in the United States. Make certain that those deploying capital in the private and public sectors include women, invest in women, and are women.
Melanne Verveer
Contact your representatives in Congress and urge them to provide life-saving assistance to the people of Ukraine in the face of Russia’s brutal war.
The Honorable Julia Gillard
Invest in research and creating the new knowledge we need to ensure every initiative on gender equality is evidence-based and has the maximum impact.
Honorable Ellen Johnson Sirleaf
Urge all countries to adopt legal frameworks that promote women’s access to leadership positions in all sectors, and implement policy actions that protect girls from violence.
The Ellen Johnson Sirleaf Presidential Center for Women and Development (EJS Center) exemplifies this by championing women’s ascension to the highest levels of leadership, and by challenging systemic barriers to girls’ and women’s advancement.
Additional Resources
Jaclyn Corin:
- Report by March For Our Lives: It Ends with Us: A Plan to Reimagine Public Safety (view link)
Reshma Saujani:
- Marshall Plan for Moms: Making Workplaces Work for Moms (view link)
The Honorable Kimberly Teehee:
- Report by The White House: The Interagency Steering Group on Native American Voting Rights (view link)
Dr. Joy St. John:
- Report from the Caribbean Public Health Agency on the state of public health (view link)
- Call for Papers: 67th Annual Research Conference on Caribbean Health and Tourism (view link)
- Caribbean Regional Climate Center (view link)
Dr. Jessica Coker:
- Review information found at Centers for Disease Control (view link)
MK Pritzker:
- Report from the Women’s Justice Institute redefining narratives that fuel the mass incarceration of women and provides a roadmap for reducing the women’s prison population, reducing harms caused by current policies and practices, and improving health, well-being and outcomes among women, their children, families and communities (view link)
Reema Nanavaty:
- Video on Self-Employed Women’s Association (SEWA) (view link)
- Video on women, work, and food systems (view link)
- Video on women and climate action (view link)
Mónica Ramírez:
- Justice for Migrant Women’s Policy Agenda (view link)
Shabana Basij-Rasikh:
- Washington Post global contributing columnist page (view link)
- 2021 TED Talk: The dream of educating Afghan girls lives on (view link)
- School Leadership of Afghanistan (SOLA) (view link)
Helen Kezie-Nwoha:
- Women’s International Peace Centre (The Peace Centre) (view link)
Gayle Tzemach Lemmon:
- Working paper, “Fragile States, Fragile Lives,” on the connection between climate, natural disaster, fragility, and child marriage (view link)
- TIME article on financial inclusion of women (view link)
- Harvard Business Review article on investing in entrepreneurs and why it matters to everyone (view link)
Melanne Verveer:
- Report on accelerating progress for women and girls post-Beijing by the Institute for Women, Peace and Security with a forward from Secretary Clinton (view link)
- Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security (view link)
- First-ever Women, Peace and Security Index on the well-being of women globally with ranks from over 170 countries (view link)
The Honorable Julia Gillard:
- Report on the gender pay gap and the Global Institute for Women’s Leadership research on global attitudes to gender equality (view link)
- King’s College London article on efforts to address gender inequality (view link)
- Podcast ‘A Podcast of One’s Own’ on the gender pay gap (view link)
- Julia Gillard’s recent book ‘Not Now Not Ever’ (view link)
Fatima Goss Graves:
- Resource about threats to birth control (view link)
- Report about forced sterilization of people with disabilities (view link)
- Resource hub on responding to Roe v. Wade (view link)
- Report: #MeToo Five Years Later: Progress & Pitfalls in State Workplace Anti-Harassment Laws (view link)
- Report: Resilient But Not Recovered (view link)
- Report: Tax Justice is Gender Justice (view link)
- Report on the roots of discriminatory housing policy (view link)
- Report on state child care assistance policies (view link)
- Report on the American Rescue Plan (view link)
- Report with Columbia University’s Center on Poverty of Social Policy on child care and women’s lifetime earnings and retirement security (view link)