Initiative

The Global Women Leaders Network

Current Initiative

 

The Global Women Leaders Network includes former and current heads of state, ministers, and high-level government and private sector representatives. Together, they form a united force to advance gender equality and address the world’s most pressing challenges. The Network was first convened in 2022 by The Rockefeller Foundation and Georgetown University’s Institute for Women, Peace and Security (GIWPS) and is chaired by Secretary Hillary Rodham Clinton and Ambassador Melanne Verveer.

A Word from Secretary Clinton and Ambassador Verveer

The resounding declaration that “women’s rights are human rights” made more than two decades ago at the UN Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing still resonates globally. Yet, despite this powerful affirmation, the rights of women and girls are under attack around the world and achieving full gender equality is nearly 300 years away.

The Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security and The Rockefeller Foundation joined forces to build on the promises of Beijing and harness the collective power of high-level women leaders. Our aim is to generate actionable steps to drive progress for women and girls and address some of today’s most pressing challenges — from democratic recession and rising autocracy to the existential threat of climate change. Through dialogue, collaboration on new initiatives, and by amplifying the voices of women on the frontlines of today’s conflicts and crises, we can build a better future.

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    How far off we are from full gender equality

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    The year the Global Women Leaders Network was first convened

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    Leaders of the Global Women Leaders Network

Focus

Driving Change - Calls to Action

The Global Women Leaders Network generates tangible actions to end gender injustice, advance inclusive policies, and accelerate impact.

woman speaking in a bull horn
framed image of a woman
Image of 22-year-old Iranian woman Mahsa Amini, also known as Jina Amini, who died in a hospital in Tehran, Iran.
Focus

Elevating Voices of Frontline Leaders

The Network works directly with women peacebuilders — from Ukraine and Afghanistan to Myanmar and Sudan — to ensure they have a meaningful voice in high-level policy processes and crisis response efforts. GIWPS facilitates direct exchange between women peacebuilders with high-level policymakers through public and private convenings, targeted consultations, and diplomacy efforts.

Spotlighting women peacebuilders in global convenings

Focus

Supporting Ukrainian Women Leaders

Chef José Andrés during a humanitarian visit to Ukraine. Photo courtesy of World Central Kitchen.
  • Frontline Ukrainian women reported to the Global Women Leaders Network that essential food aid was not reaching Truskavets, a province in Ukraine. Secretary Hillary Clinton appealed to Chef José Andrés and mobile food deliveries from World Central Kitchen were quickly rerouted to ensure they reached Ukrainians in need during the war.
  • GIWPS, in concert with members of the Global Women Leaders Network, worked with the governments of the United Kingdom and Ukraine to ensure Ukrainian women and civil society meaningfully participated in the 2022 and 2023 Ukraine Recovery Conferences (URC) in Lugano and London, critical to Ukraine’s reconstruction.
  • The 2022 Hillary Rodham Clinton Awards hosted by GIWPS focused on Ukrainian women’s critical leadership defending democracy and human rights during the war and raised awareness and support for their efforts.
Focus

Collaborating on Solutions

The Bellagio Summit brought together leaders and experts from across sectors to advance ideas and catalyze new action to address the world’s most pressing challenges, from climate change to democratic backsliding.

India Extreme Heat Income Insurance Initiative / Climate Resilience Fund

A new Global Climate Resilience Fund aims to increase access to capital for women’s organizations working on climate adaptation and resilience. The Fund—which pledges $50 million for women to fight climate change — is a direct result of the partnership between Secretary Clinton, The Self Employed Women’s Association (SEWA), and The Rockefeller Foundation established at the 2022 Global Women Leaders Summit in Bellagio. The Fund will support the creation of a first-of-its-kind Extreme Heat Microinsurance program designed to assist women in India to recover wages lost as a result of extreme heat events caused by climate change.

Hillary Clinton and Deepali Khanna interact with salt pan workers in the Little Rann of Kutch. As noted by Subhanben, a salt pan worker and SEWA member, “climate shocks directly reduce our working hours and incomes to half. Sometimes even more. Food turns rancid or dry. Women are the worst sufferers.”

Research and Recommendations

Report

Beijing+25: Accelerating Progress for Women and Girls

Marking the 25th anniversary of the historic conference, this report reflects on the progress made and offers a roadmap for the future.

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Report

Global Leaders Call For Urgent Action On Gender Equity

The full recommendations from the 2022 Bellagio Center Summit include urgent calls to action to end gender injustice once and for all.

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The Power of Connected Leaders to Drive Change

Explore reflections and wisdom from the Global Women Leaders Network, a testament to the strength, resilience, and vision that drive these extraordinary individuals in their pursuit of positive change.

On the Global Women Leaders Network:

  • Too often, women are discouraged from running for office, pushed out of politics, or choose to disengage from political discourse. The Global Women Leaders Summit provides a supportive network to reflect on best practices for navigating these challenges.
    Melanne Verveer
    Executive Director, Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security

Convening Leaders


About the Georgetown University’s Institute for Women, Peace & Security

Georgetown University’s Institute for Women, Peace & Security (GIWPS) seeks to promote a more stable, peaceful, and just world by focusing on the important role women play in preventing conflict and building peace, growing economies, and addressing global threats like climate change and violent extremism. GIWPS engages in rigorous research, hosts global convenings, advances strategic partnerships, and nurtures the next generation of leaders. Housed within the Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown, the Institute is headed by the former U.S. Ambassador for Global Women’s Issues, Melanne Verveer. For more information, sign up for GIWPS newsletter at giwps.georgetown.edu and follow the Institute on Twitter and Facebook @giwps and Instagram @georgetown_wps

Sarah Rutherford

Georgetown University’s Institute for Women, Peace & Security (GIWPS)

Next Initiative

The Bellagio Center

Since 1959 The Rockefeller Foundation Bellagio Center has hosted thousands of artists, policymakers, scholars, authors, practitioners, and scientists from all over the world enabling them time and space to work, to learn from each other, and to turn ideas into actions that change the world.

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