COUNCIL PARTNERS WITH STATE DEPARTMENT TO HOLD SEC. CLINTON’S WOMEN AND THE ECONOMY SUMMIT

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton has said that “in too many instances, the march to globalization has also meant the marginalization of women and girls. And that must change.”  Secretary Clinton has vowed to make women’s empowerment across the globe a legacy of her time at the State Department and has enlisted the Bay Area Council to help.  In conjunction with a major APEC meeting in San Francisco this September, the Council will help Secretary Clinton deliver a global Women and the Economy Summit.  The gathering of global leaders, including Secretaries of State, Commerce or related Ministers from countries including China, Japan, Russia, the Republic of Korea, Mexico, Vietnam, and Australia, will focus on topics such as women as agents of economic growth, increased female employment impacts on the global economy and financial inclusion for women-owned business.  The summit will not just be a setting for a conversation about the status of women globally, but will be a key vehicle for implementing important policies to empower women across the 21 APEC countries.  These countries represent more than half of the world economy.

The event, as part of the overall APEC effort, will be the largest diplomatic meeting here since the founding of the United Nations in 1945 – the very first project of the Bay Area Council, led by Governor Earl Warren, Stephen Bechtel and Henry J. Kaiser.

A few, very high-profile, sponsorship opportunities exist for the Women and the Economy Summit, putting your company in front of an impressive gathering of world leaders on a fundamentally important issue.  (Contact Emily Finkel, below, for more information on this opportunity.)

Special thanks to Paul Oliva, who led the charge to bring these meetings to our region on behalf of the Bay Area Council.  The Council, having formed an important partnership with the State Department to work on the Summit as well as the bid for the 2020 World Expo in Silicon Valley, is honored to have the opportunity to take the lead on this event.  San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee will be hosting a CEO briefing on the Women and the Economy Summit and APEC Summit at the Asian Art Museum Thursday, May 12, with members of the APEC organizing committee and Kurt Tong, U.S. Senior Official for APEC.  To attend or for more information, contact Emily Finkel at efinkel@bayareacouncil.org or 415-946-8712.