Blog
MEDIUM: March 8: For Many Women and Girls, It’s Just Another Day
March is Women’s History Month and March 8 is International Women’s Day. During March, we mark the global progress women and girls have made, evaluate challenges and barriers to that progress, and re-dedicate ourselves to a world where everyone has equal opportunity...
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MEDIUM: Listening to Women’s Voices, Uplifting Women’s Stories
Women’s voices and viewpoints must be part of every conversation. This is true at work, at home, at school, in policy arenas, at peace tables, on panel discussions, and in the corporate boardroom. We must also document the stories of women’s lives and accomplishments....
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Women in Stem: Critical to Innovation
This article first appeared in the Global Policy Journal. Our world faces multiple challenges: fragility of economic and political systems, cold and hot wars, cyberattacks and extremism, and disruptions caused by climate change. We need every tool to understand these...
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MEDIUM: Hitting the Road: Women and Entrepreneurship
This blog originally appeared on Medium. 52 women (and one man) from 53 countries. 11 cities. 21 days. Is this a formula for a reality show? It’s not. It’s a snapshot of the itinerary for a recent U.S. State Department International Visitor Leadership Program...
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MEDIUM: Voting is a Right, Not a Privilege
Originally published on Medium. Voting is the cornerstone of our democracy. While voting is a right, for many Americans, exercising their right to vote is challenging and difficult. We need to reframe our approach to voting and structure our electoral systems to make...
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MEDIUM BLOG: 5 Ways to Support Today’s Young Women Leaders
Young women aren’t future women leaders. They are women leaders. Period. Last month, I participated in two events that drove home that point. First, I spoke at the kick-off event for Gender Balance Consulting, a student-led organization at the University of...
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SMASH Blog: Equality and Effectiveness: Lessons Learned
About the Authors: Stephenie Foster is a Co-Founder and Partner at Smash Strategies, Yeva Avakyan is Associate Vice President, Gender Equality at Save the Children, and Kristin Kim Bart is Senior Director, Gender Equality, International Rescue Committee. All three are...
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MEDIUM BLOG: StartUps: Embedding a Focus on Gender From Day One
Businesses ignore women — and a focus on gender — at their peril. Everyone from startup founders to CEOs of Fortune 500 companies needs to promote women’s leadership, create safe and fair workplaces, support and engage women in the community, and ensure that their...
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MEDIUM BLOG: Ensuring Women’s Participation in Upcoming Afghan Elections
Afghanistan has two elections scheduled in the next six months: Parliamentary and district council elections on October 20, 2018 and the Presidential election on April 20, 2019. These elections, the first in almost five years, will be watched closely by Afghans and...
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USAI BLOG: From Mongolia to Washington, DC: Engaging Emerging Young Leaders
By: Stephenie Foster, Rachel MacKnight and Mary Sue Bissell People-to-people exchanges are more important than ever before in these times of global transition and turbulence. They are a proven public diplomacy tool. Studies show that exposure to other cultures fosters...
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