The Aspen Institute celebrated Women’s History Month by hosting a series of conversations as part of the recent Aspen Forum on Women and Girls. Female thought leaders who are actively taking charge in tackling women’s issues spoke on topics ranging from domestic policy impacting American women, to global policy and structures that women work through every day across the world (watch video of the conversations).
All month long, individuals and organizations have used the hashtag #womenforward as a reminder that issues impacting women shouldn’t be relegated to the back of our minds. Below, check out illustrated highlights from our dialogues at the Forum as we work to move #womenforward.
Reema Nanavaty, head of Self-Employed Women’s Association, elaborated on the challenges faced by women in developing nations, and the role that international policy can have on their wellbeing.
Kavita Ramdas, senior advisor on global strategy at the Ford Foundation, spoke on the issues that women deal with globally — and how women across the world have more in common then we think.
Peggy Clark, vice president of policy programs and executive director of the Global Health and Development Program at the Aspen Institute, noted that women’s issues are not confined to one race or one socioeconomic class. Working on solutions that are not inclusive of all women is ineffective.
The issues surrounding women’s empowerment might seem overwhelming, but as Alicia Garza, co-founder of Black Lives Matter, pointed out — they are solvable within our lifetimes.
Ultimately, advancing women’s rights means listening to the perspectives of women across the globe, and being unafraid to face the challenges that they present, noted Anne Mosle, vice president and executive director of Ascend at the Aspen Institute.
The illustrations were created by Jen Sorensen at the Aspen Forum on Women and Girls, hosted by Ascend at the Aspen Institute.
