Nick Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn Bring Their Half the Sky Global Women’s Movement to Washington
Obama’s Ambassador for Global Women’s Issues, Melanne Verveer, thanks them for their efforts.
If you want to change the world you go to Washington, so it wasn’t a surprise that Pulitzer prize winners and the New York Times columnist, Nick Kristof and his wife, Sheryl WuDunn, came to the capitol city to bring the message of their web site and book, Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide, to the development, political, and media crowd.
Kristof and WuDunn addressed the crowd explaining the title of the book (Chinese Proverb), how they got so many women to risk their lives to talk to them, and how the global economic situation would change dramatically if women had basic rights. WuDunn talked about their role as journalists and said, “Basically we’re the messenger, but we also know the messenger has to get the message right… the central moral challenge of this century is gender inequity… Women are not the problem, they are part of the solution.”
Kristof said, “There is a tipping point on this issue… now, increasingly, the role of women is seen, not only as a good thing to do but as a security issue as well as an economic issue, and all these things are coming together and I think, making it the time to address this truly as the cause of our time.”
The crowd cheered as President Obama’s Ambassador-At-Large to Women’s Global Issues Melanne Verveer took the microphone to thank the Kristofs. “This may be just the happening that pushed us over the tipping point and our world realizes what an outcome we will have if we truly let women release their potential around the globe.”
Verveer is America’s first Ambassador for Global Women’s Issues which for many longtime advocates say is fitting since Verveer was First Lady Hillary Clinton’s chief of staff when Clinton made her historic global call to action in Beijing at the 1995 World Conference on Women.
The White Ribbon Alliance, Mothers Day Every Day, and CARE created the evening. Goldman Sachs 10,000 Women, a five-year campaign to provide business and management education to women around the world, run by Washington favorite Dina Powell, was the sponsor of the evening. Mothers Day Every Day leader Susan McCue joined advisory members including journalist Elsa Walsh and Anita McBride, Laura Bush‘s White House Chief of Staff, and Mike McCurry.
Please enable Javascript and Flash to view this Flash video.
