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Albany, NY – UN Women is dedicated to global gender equality and the empowerment of women. But that's a complicated issue, one not achieved by simply voting for an idealistic set of guidelines. Empowerment means having clout - and that means having economic clout. So encouraging women to get into business, to take their own financial futures in their hands is key.
Joan Libby Hawk is Special Advisor to UN Women and UN Global Compact on their Women's Empowerment Principles partnership initiative. She says business is beginning to understand the value that women bring to the office - and new models of financing are creating opportunity for women all over the world. But that model is being questioned after Bangladesh forced Nobel laureate Mohammed Yusuf to step down as leader of the Grameen Bank, one of the pioneers in microfinance. The government has ordered the Board of Directors out, too, calling for restructuring and more vigilant oversight.
10:31 Joan Libby Hawk
Joan Libby Hawk is Special Advisor to UN Women and UN Global Compact on their Women's Empowerment Principles partnership initiative.
Women in the media - do you think there's finally equality there? You can point to Tina Fey, Diane Sawyer, Rachel Maddow, and say yes. But if you look in the corner offices, you won't find many women. And Selena Rezvani says if you look more closely at what's on the air, you'll find things really haven't changed much.
4:38 TV and Old Boys Rezvani
Selena Rezvani is an author and speaker. You can find out more at her website, nextgenwomen.com
And finally, personal finance expert Manisha Thakor has some tough love for women when it comes to retirement planning. The statistics, she says, tell a chilling story.
5:07 Retirement Thakor
Manisha Thakor is a personal finance expert, author and speaker. She's the founder of the Women's Financial Literacy Initiative. Find out more at manishathakor.com.