Investing in women

As the Clinton Global Initiative holds its annual meeting in New York, it continues its focus on investing in girls and women.  Why?

Because an educated, empowered and employed woman reinvests more than 80% of what she earns back into her family and community — compared to less than 30% reinvested by each working man.

Although this was not the impetus for the first Global Women’s Leadership Institute, it has become the slow burning flame of intention and action among the institute’s first participants.

While in Thuwal, Saudi Arabia, the institute began to bridge the divide between vision and action — which is what separates aspiring leaders from accomplished leaders.  We started by setting the leadership table with multicultural groups of ambitious women seeking tools and strategies for making a leadership difference.

These women want to DO something — something meaningful that requires leadership expertise.

Consequently, we provided opportunities for them to learn from us and each other, in conflict and in quiet reflection; to acquire leadership tools and test their leadership acumen; and to design and implement a leadership project in their home community that reflects their passion and their commitment to meaningful change.

Not surprisingly, most of the women seized the opportunity and have been seeking partnerships, securing resources and launching projects as varied as multicultural mentorships for aspiring women in health care, a cross-cultural blog for young Saudi women, development of a community college,  and a new, global women handicrafts enterprise constructed in partnership with an established global NGO.  Most of the women have focused their considerable energy and expertise on projects that contribute to the long-term sustainability of their communities.

Some of the projects are underway and others are still taking shape, but one thing is clear — these women are committed to staying connected and making a difference not just in their home country but beyond.

In November, we will distribute leadership medallions to the US women who have successfully completed their project plans and have achieved a project milestone.  In January, we will hold a similar ceremony in Riyadh.

The medallions are a recognition of this point in time and cannot begin to celebrate the long-term contributions that are yet to be revealed.  My experience with this group is that their investments in women will reap rewards well beyond anything we imagined.

Dowd on Saudi tourism

Maureen Dowd has written an article in this month’s Vanity Fair that exposes the many quirks, limitations, and contradictions for women living (and visiting) in Saudi Arabia.

http://www.vanityfair.com/culture/features/2010/08/maureen-dowd-201008

The article includes many “Dowd-isms”, amusing anecdotes and even pictures of Dowd posing in her abayah in absurd locations like the Jeddah Park Hyatt pool and the beach on the Red Sea.  I do enjoy Dowd’s distinctive writing style and her wry wit especially concerning womens’ issues.  However, having traveled many times to Saudi Arabia and knowing the important work that is being done there to make meaningful change in that country, I was also a bit turned off.

In service to her humor, she has demeaned (by omission) the work of women leaders in business, government and education who are working tirelessly to expand opportunity for themselves and their peers.  Their shared vision — to empower women to participate in the economic diversification of that country.

Why is it that women can so easily (and so quickly) work to defeat each other in service to their own personal agenda?

In fairness to the article, it does portray the limitations of life for Saudi women including the well-publicized rules against driving and the ubiquitous presence of the abayah.   But, in order to serve Dowd’s distinct agenda and writing style, the article also omits some very important information.

For instance, an influential  group of women in both Jeddah and Riyadh have devoted themselves to expanding women-owned enterprises across real estate, health care and technology industries.  The presence of women in high ranking positions (deputy minister and above) in the education and commerce departments is already delivering results on the quality of education and availability of commercial incentives.   KAUST, the new university in Thuwal, Saudi Arabia, is writing a new book on the role of women in and outside the classroom, developing STEM careers for both genders.

Let’s celebrate the successes of women first, Ms. Dowd, especially those women who are making strides under the most difficult circumstances, before you take a cheap shot in service to your editorial agenda.

A community of leaders

The cacophony of voices speaking English, Arabic and a mixture of both fills the beautiful workshop space where we have gathered for the past 5 days.  It is hard to believe that these women come from two such different cultures. 

They pass around iPod’s, sharing family photos.  They huddle on the beautiful veranda, four floors above the main campus, discussing work challenges and proposing solutions — with the chants from the large mosque  projecting in the background.  They discuss difficult bosses and balancing family commitments with a full work day.

The Saudi women come from higher education, government, non-profits and business.  They are hard driving, savvy leaders; and they are committed to increasing access for women in this economically active region.  They are inspiring.  They are focused.  They are talented (some poets and some engineers).   We share a common experience and we are teaching each other everyday about what it takes to balance energy and drive with reflection and compassion.

To some extent, it was enough just to put this group together.  It has become a petrie dish of activity — producing innovation, collaboration and, sometimes, the giddy laughter of women who recognize each other’s common experience regardless of cultural difference.

I have said many times this week that even if we stopped today, the institute would have been an unqualified success.  What is miraculous and inspiring is we are not done — we will complete personal leadership maps and from these will sprout leadership project ideas.  Then, we will continue the conversation across continents, mentoring each other as we make progress on this new model of multicultural leadership. 

I am certain that laughter and tears will mix together, and through the prism of emotions we will make meaningful change.

A note about the author:  Dr. Michelle Stronz is the founder and director of the Global Women’s Leadership Institute — a collaborative effort that promotes the empowerment of women leaders across cultures.  The institute provides an immersion experience for global women’s leadership, where the participants investigate current global challenges, construct a purpose-driven leadership map that connects those challenges to personal experience, explore and expand their leadership competencies and practice those skills in a leadership project in their workplace or home community.