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Davos: 6 Global Leaders Give Their Take On The Prevalent Gender Gap

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Charvi Kathuria
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Among the many issues that women face, the one that has garnered the maximum support is that of women's participation. Women, across the world, are dissuaded from taking charge of public the sphere. While women acknowledge this gender gap, there are a handful of ones who perceive this gap as a threat to their liberty and leave no chance to bring it up on global forums. World Economic Forum did a piece on the same and here are the highlights of voices that emerged.

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Given are six powerful women voices from across the world

1. Emily Carter, Dean, School of Engineering and Applied Science, Princeton University

Haters told her that her gender was the reason she got a job. Despite proving their mettle, women like Emily Carter have to face the prejudices that run unfiltered in the society.

She has always stuck to some guiding mantras to maneuver her way to success.

She says,"Constructive action is the best answer to prejudice. Your hard and excellent work will speak for itself. Rise above the insults; calmly and professionally point out the fallacy of their arguments."

2. Ellyn Shook, Chief Leadership & Human Resources Officer, Accenture

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Doing something for yourself is good but doing something for the future generations is great. Yes, that is what Ellyn Shook believes in.

Her quote,"As individuals, we can put cracks in the glass ceiling. But when you invest in the women around you, you create the collective force needed to not just crack, but shatter the glass.", is a clarion call for successful women to work towards the upliftment of the other women around.

3. Nancy A. Sumari, Executive Director,The Neghesti Sumari Foundation

Nancy kicked off her journey as a young social entrepreneur and learnt some valuable lessons throughout the journey.

She propagates," Embrace both your strengths and your weaknesses, and you will end up with a better sense of who you are and how you can make a positive difference in the world. If we do that, we’ll smash this glass ceiling."

4. Umran Beba, Senior Vice-President, Chief Human Resources Officer, Global Human Capital Management, PepsiCo

Hailing from a country insensitive to gender gap, Umran Beba was fortunate to win the support of her close ones to climb the ladder of success. However, she still feels that cultural shift is pivotal to the progress of women.

" We can tell young women to be confident, to show courage, to take risks and make hard choices in their careers. And they should absolutely do all those things. But without deeper cultural shifts, progress towards equality will stall.', she shares

These cultural shifts are important to persuade more and more women to join the workforce and be at the helm of affairs.

5. Justine Cassell, Associate Dean, School of Computer Science, Carnegie Mellon University

Owing to the blatant sexism existing in the society, being a woman is power is a herculean task. Justine Cassell has found a solution. She has developed a coping mechanism to remain unruffled.

She admits," I’m working on growing a thicker skin so that when I am called “aggressive” rather than “passionate” I don’t take it quite so hard." That's the way to be!

6. Anandi Mani, Professor of Behavioural Economics and Public Policy, University of Oxford

An Indian professor at Oxford, Anandi says that the gender parity in politics perturbs her. One of the best solutions for curbing crime, she suggests, is by bringing more and more women in political power. This will serve as the quintessential platform required to  voice their concerns.

Roping in more and more women in political and economic sphere can observe unprecedented growth of the global society. Let us march towards accomplishing this goal.

Our Take: Globally some of the biggest events need to review how they approach gender. Not just in conversation but also in action. Mega events need to be have equal representation of men and women. There is also need to have more women on panel discussions and bring in diversity of views.

 

Charvi is an intern with SheThePeople.TV

 

gender gap Women Empowerment Davos Global leaders wef17 wef2017 women's participation
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