What If Women Ruled the World?
In a video to mark International Women's Day 2013, political analyst and former White House press secretary Dee Dee Myers asks: What if women ruled the world? As a huge and growing body of research and experience makes clear, empowering women makes things better. Not perfect. But better. Business is more profitable. Governments are more representative. Families are stronger, and communities are healthier. There is less violence - and more peace, stability and sustainability. Why? Well, it starts with the simple fact that women often experience life differently. And that experience affects the way we see problems - and think about solutions. "Diversity is absolutely an asset," says Christine Lagarde, the managing director of the International Monetary Fund. "With diversity you bring different ways of looking at the world, different ways of analysing issues, different ways of offering solutions. The sheer fact of diversity actually increases the horizon and enriches the thinking process, which is critical." "I think it's fair to say that women are a little more collaborative in their approach overall, and a little less driven to conflict as opposed to driven to working out problems," says Janet Napolitano, the US Secretary of Homeland Security. Mary Robinson, President of the Mary Robinson Foundation - Climate Justice (MRFCJ), says that women also bring an inter-generational perspective to their work. "We need to take decisions now that will make for a safer world for our grandchildren and their grandchildren, and I think women are more likely to do that when they come into positions of leadership."
