[Ict4women] Corporations, NGOs, and Foundations Announce 13 New Commitments to Empower Girls and Women at the Fifth Annual Meeting of the Clinton Global Initiative

[Sophia Huyer]

PRESS RELEASE
Corporations, NGOs, and Foundations Announce 13 New Commitments to  
Empower Girls and Women at the Fifth Annual Meeting of the Clinton  
Global Initiative
September 23rd, 2009
For Immediate Release
Contact: Clinton Foundation Press Office
press at clintonglobalinitiative.org
212.348.0360

Session moderated by Diane Sawyer on Investing in Girls and Women  
Featured Lloyd C. Blankfein, Chairman and CEO of The Goldman Sachs  
Group; Zainab Salbi, founder and CEO of Women for Women International;  
Rex Tillerson, Chairman and CEO of Exxon Mobil; Melanne Verveer,  
ambassador-at-large for global women's issues at the U.S. Department  
of State; and Robert B. Zoellick, President of The World Bank Group

New York, NY – Millions of girls and women will have access to  
improved health care, better education, and increased economic  
opportunity because of commitments made today at the Fifth Annual  
Meeting of the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI), which brings together  
leaders from across sectors of society to identify solutions to some  
of the world's most pressing problems.

Women perform 66 percent of the world's work, and produce 50 percent  
of the food, yet earn only 10 percent of the income and own 1 percent  
of the property," President Bill Clinton said. "Whether the issue is  
improving education in the developing world, or fighting global  
climate change, or addressing nearly any other challenge we face,  
empowering women is a critical part of the equation."

Reports show that when women and girls are empowered, entire regions  
see measurable results. This is especially true for economic  
empowerment – for example, a woman is likely to reinvest about 90  
percent of her earnings into her family's well-being, compared with 35  
percent for a man. Increases in access to education among girls  
accounted for a decline of 43 percent in the malnutrition rates  
between 1970 and 1995. Investing in women's health, especially  
reproductive health, not only saves the lives of half a million  
mothers, but also unleashes an estimated $15 billion in productivity  
each year.

Even in the developed world, decreases in inequality can improve  
overall productivity. Goldman Sachs has reported that different  
countries and regions of the world could dramatically increase GDP  
simply by reducing the gap in employment rates between men and women:  
the Eurozone could increase GDP by 13 percent; Japan by 16 percent;  
the U.S. by 9 percent.

This year, the CGI Annual Meeting will feature a variety of special  
programming related to girls and women. Today, the plenary session  
"Investing in Girls and Women," moderated by Diane Sawyer, featured  
Edna Adan, director and founder of the Edna Adan Maternity and  
Teaching Hospital; Lloyd C. Blankfein, chairman and CEO of The Goldman  
Sachs Group; Zainab Salbi, founder and CEO of Women for Women  
International; Rex Tillerson, Chairman and CEO of Exxon Mobil, Melanne  
Verveer, ambassador-at-large for global women's issues at the U.S.  
Department of State; and Robert B. Zoellick, President of The World  
Bank Group.

During the session, corporations, foundations, and NGOs announced more  
than a dozen new commitments that will improve the lives of girls and  
women around the world. After meeting at CGI's 2008 Annual Meeting,  
Cherie Blair, founder of the Cherie Blair Foundation for Women, and  
Hani Masri, founder of Tomorrow's Youth Organization, developed a new  
partnership. This year, this partnership is committing to increase  
women's participation in the Palestinian labor force by offering  
customized training opportunities and services that will increase  
participants' business, craft, and innovation skills.

Listed below are 12 additional commitments announced this morning:

           o Merck and Qiagen are launching a major new partnership to  
prevent cervical cancer in the poorest countries of the world. The  
program will facilitate the development of national comprehensive  
cervical cancer prevention and control programs that integrate two  
breakthrough technologies, HPV vaccines and HPV DNA tests. These  
programs will benefit at least 1.5 million girls and 1.5 million women.
           o The ING Foundation and Girls Incorporated commit to  
expanding the ING-Girls Inc. Investment Challenge, an innovative  
program giving girls hands-on investing experience while allowing them  
to keep their gains as college scholarships. Increasing the number of  
cities participating in the program, this commitment will have a  
direct impact on 100 young women's lives, while increasing financial  
literacy in the United States.
           o Sustainable Health Enterprise commits to provide access  
to affordable, eco-friendly sanitary pads, plus health and hygiene  
education, through sustainable, locally-led businesses, for one  
million girls and women in Africa by 2012. This commitment will  
increase school/work attendance, decrease pelvic infections, and drive  
economic growth.
           o Plan USA and its partners commit over the next three  
years to train 140 adolescent girls from Ghana in media production and  
journalism skills, empowering the girls to advocate against gender  
discrimination through diverse media. This commitment will increase  
awareness of the needs of adolescent girls in West Africa by reaching  
a radio and television audience of approximately 1 million.
           o The Freeplay Foundation commits to distribute its award- 
winning, self-powered Lifeline radios and new clean energy Lifelights  
to poor women and girls in Rwanda, directly benefiting 20,000 people.  
The Lifelights will enable women to extend their business hours and  
the radios will enable the women and girls to access health, literacy,  
and practical skills, as well as agricultural advice.
           o The Nike Foundation and its partners commit to utilize  
the Adolescent Girls' Global Health Agenda to advocate around the  
report's key recommendations to stimulate global attention and  
investment in adolescent girls' health. The Grameen Nurse Institute in  
Bangladesh will serve as a sustainable business model to demonstrate  
how girl-focused innovation improves outcomes for everyone.
           o Exxon Mobil commits to identify and deploy innovative  
technologies to advance economic opportunities for women in developing  
countries, in partnership with the Ashoka Changemaker and the  
International Center for Research on Women. The project will improve  
the quality of life of women in developing countries and enable them  
to participate more fully in income-generating activities.
           o Goldman Sachs commits to working with partners including  
the Inter-American Development Bank to provide women entrepreneurs in  
Peru with quality business education and enhanced access to capital.  
Their efforts will offer more than 700 high-potential small business  
owners with the specialized training, access to capital, networking,  
and mentoring necessary to significantly expand their businesses.
           o Hathay Bunano and its partners commit over the next year  
to develop 22 handicraft production centers in Bangladesh which will  
provide training and subsequent employment for 2000 destitute women.  
Hathay Bunano will train the women in hand knitting and hand crochet,  
enabling them to make high quality, export-orientated children's toys  
to be sold worldwide.
           o Pro Mujer commits to provide poor women in Latin America  
with an integrated package of microfinance, health care, and training  
that will allow them to take an active role in changing their lives  
and creating a better future for their families. The organization's  
goal is to expand its reach to 350,000 women and impact the lives of  
more than 1.7 million children.
           o General Mills and CARE will launch "Join My Village"  
which will tap the power of online communities to connect women in the  
U.S. with families in Malawi, igniting a new level of consumer  
education and involvement. Ongoing reports from the field will enable  
consumers to participate in the lives of some of the poorest women and  
girls in Africa.
           o Women for Women International commits to improve the  
livelihoods of 103,000 female survivors of war over the next three  
years. This will be accomplished by a comprehensive program of rights  
education and vocational and business skills training. These will give  
the women access to the resources that allow them to participate in  
their countries' political and economic decision-making.


The Fifth Annual Meeting of the Clinton Global Initiative continues  
until Friday. For more information or to watch the live webcast,  
please visit www.clintonglobalinitiative.org.

About the Clinton Global Initiative

Established in 2005 by President Bill Clinton, the Clinton Global  
Initiative (CGI) brings together a community of global leaders to  
devise and implement innovative solutions to some of the world's most  
pressing challenges. Since 2005, CGI Annual Meetings have brought  
together more than 100 current and former heads of state, 10 of the  
last 16 Nobel Peace Prize Laureates, hundreds of leading CEOs, heads  
of foundations, major philanthropists, directors of the most effective  
nongovernmental organizations, and prominent members of the media.  
These CGI members have made more than 1,400 commitments valued at $46  
billion, which have improved the lives of more than 200 million people  
in more than 170 countries.
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