This week, we’re hearing from leading voices; mostly women; about how education, gender equality, and other social issues are #Solvable. We’re seeing powerful portraits of women who have faced danger and survived violence and conflict. From entrepreneurs in Tanzania to the head of UN Women discussing gender-equal cabinets, women’s voices are advancing causes, shaping conversations, and changing (and saving) lives.
Problems—and solutions—are societal in scope. Nothing is solved by one person acting alone. Nevertheless, an individual voice, or a few raised together, are invaluable—and women are standing up every day to share their expertise, wisdom, inspiration, concerns, support, experience, and examples. Here are just a few more stories we’d like to share from this week.
Kirsten Green’s Forerunner Ventures Leads Modern Fertility’s Series A, from Fortune—“The investment from Forerunner in the femtech space signals that the same trends Green has sought out and cultivated in the retail world—cult-like brands that develop long-term relationships with consumers—are poised to reshape women’s healthcare. ‘Kirsten has invested in these companies that have really changed consumer behavior,’ says Afton Vechery, Modern Fertility’s CEO and co-founder. ‘She has fundamentally shifted consumer brands.’”
Savannah Guthrie, Rachel Maddow and Others to Moderate First 2020 Presidential Debate, from Refinery29—“Women of color were the ones who got the short end of the stick, however. According to Time’s Up, 86 percent of the debates in the past two decades had no women of color as moderators. […] The selection of two women and two people of color for the first debate shows a step in the right direction.”
Founding Member of the UK’s National FGM Centre Uses Her Expertise to Help Girls in the US, from AHA Foundation—“To reach the goal of eliminating the practice of FGM we need global cooperation, education, and understanding. At the moment politics is so polarized. This has sadly damaged the level of effective communication between governments and those who want to end FGM. Organizations that fund international development, such as the World Bank, should be doing more to leverage their strong negotiating position for the protection of women and girls.”
Ali Stroker Makes History As First Person in a Wheelchair to Win a Tony Award, from CBS News—“During her acceptance speech, Stroker took the time to recognize any children at home with a disability who have dreams to be in show business: ‘This award is for every kid who is watching tonight who has a disability, who has a limitation or a challenge, who has been waiting to see themselves represented in this arena … You are.’”
Top Barrister to Lead Investigation Into Sexism and Harassment in BMA, from GPonline—“A BMA (British Medical Association) official wrote last month to GPs who have reported sexism and harassment to offer assurances over the process, promising the investigation would ‘explore all the organisational, systemic and cultural factors in the BMA that fail to promote gender equality, including how this may have impacted on members’ appointments to non-elected positions within the association.’”
Want to receive early-bird invitations to our global events, custom-tailored content we think you’ll love, and exclusive access to “The World Women Report”?
