In May this year, Di Clanchy from China Birds Pty Ltd was lucky enough to go to the Global Summit of Women in Beijing- here's a report about it....
In China they have a saying " Women hold up half the sky". It was coined by Mao Zedong at a time when the status of women in China was very low: Mao wanted to advance their cause because he needed their support. This phrase was repeated several times by female speakers at the recent Global Summit of Women which was held in May in Beijing. So much so, that one of the few men who addressed the Summit said rather apologetically " Men hold up the other half you know!". The event is in its twentieth year and is organised by the US-based GlobeWomen. Attended by 1040 women from all around the world, the summit took as its theme " Women at the Forefront of Change". The focus of the Summit was business and economic issues with a sprinkling of women's issues and the environment.
Attendees included the Deputy Prime Minister of Sweden, Maude Olofsson, Vice-President of Vietnam, Nguyen Thi Doan, First Lady of Tanzania, Salma Kikwete, and Carolina Schmidt, Minister for Women, Chile. Multinationals IBM, Walmart, Dell, Microsoft, Haier, MCM- to name a few- all sent delegates, all women.There were large contigents from (Outer) Mongolia, Vietnam, United States, China of course and groups from several Africal countries, France and Spain. Mexico, Japan, Romania, Saudi Arabia and Canada were all represented. Most wore national costume.
The Summit began at the Great Hall of the People which fronts Tiananmen Square. Inspirational speeches were followed by a Chinese-style banquet in a golden dining room.After-dinner entertainment included singing, dance and juggling. Every delegate received a boxed porcelain plate which was specially made for the event. It features peonies, a flower long associated with women. Delegates also received a Summit bag designed by fashion company MCM, and pearls provided by IBM.
Two days of plenary and breakout sessions gave women the opportunity to listen to Treasurer of the US, Rosie Rios, Christine Lee, Senior Director, Public Relations, Walmart, Juliana Oyegan, Chief Diversity Officer, The World Bank, and Sophia Economacas, President, National Chamber Network of Women Entrepreneurs ( Greece), and many others. It was a star-studded caste. Topics included - using technology, mentoring, board diversity, finding new markets, and encouraging governents to reach out to women.
First Lady of Tanzania, Slama Kikwete said " The best friend for a woman is a woman. Even if we come from different political ideologies, we can still work together", a great message. Wang Lili, from the Industrial and Commercial Bamk of China talked about the need to support women in countries where gender equality is a myth. She spoke about the "sunshine and shadows" in relation to women's issues.
It was an inspirational two and a bit days, and at the end the take-home message was personal. How wonderful to be able to spend time with women from other cultures, communicate with them and learn about their lives. At the Gala Dinner I sat next to a table of ten with nine of them coming from the same area - Chengdu. They spoke only a little English, I some Mandarin, but between us we managed to communicate. I stood and toasted them " piao liang pengyou"- beautiful friends. They rose as one, and as we lifted our long-stemmed crystal glasses high, I felt a moment of elation that sometimes comes after a little red wine- and a feeling of hope for better things to come.
