Women at the helm
FOR THE first time this year, the annual World Economic Forum (WEF) is chaired by an all-female group of political, economic and social leaders, who called for a more inclusive approach to tackle global problems yesterday. “My hope is that we can collectively demonstrate that even without testosterone, we can produce positive, constructive energy to deliver solutions,” said International Monetary Fund (IMF) chief Christine Lagarde, one of the seven WEF co-chairpersons.
Norwegian Prime Minister Erna Solberg said the 3000 participants of the meeting that started yesterday in Davos, Switzerland, should look beyond the current debate about sexual harassment to gender issues such as education for girls and barriers that prevent women from working.
Chetna Sinha, an Indian social entrepreneur and activist, announced the launch of a fund, endowed with 100 million Indian rupees (R18.9m) for rural women entrepreneurs in her country.
Reporters asked the co-chairpersons how they felt about US President Donald Trump’s attendance on Friday, especially in light of his alleged sexist comments on women. “That actually brought women together, made it clear that we’re not going to listen to that,” Sinha said. “My message to him is that we need a US that’s in the international arena, especially on sustainable development,” Solberg said.