Female leadership is changing the world

The majority of the world’s farmers are women. Globally women are the ones carrying the burden for their families and their communities. Being dependant on their habitat they fight for the conservation of nature and environment. Women’s organisations are increasingly at the forefront of the struggle for improved working conditions. They have an enormous amount of knowledge and experience and often provide innovative ideas about sustainable use and management of natural recourses. They have the capacity to enter long-term negotiation processes even though they remain in an extraordinarily weak position.

To celebrate International Women’s Day 2013 the FGG Alliance made six videos of female leaders who are changing our world. They are not at the top of the international business sector but head civil society organisations. They speak about their work and the female leaders they meet every day.

These videos are a source of inspiration. They stimulate our thinking about another reality, one that is not too distant. How would the political game be played out if half of the world’s leaders would be female? What would development look like if women would really take part in the decision-making about the management of land, water and forests? What kind of global economy would we have if women would have an equal say in the discussions about international trade, foreign investments and taxes?

Women’s leadership today goes way beyond just grit and audacity, they key challenges Facebook’s Sheryl Sandberg seems to pose to us. Together with the other members of the FGG Alliance I’m convinced that the world would be a better place if at least half of all the people participating in the world’s negotiating tables would be female. Women’s knowledge and experience are indispensable for making well-advised decisions at the local, national and international level.