Closing CGI Annual Meeting & Equality

The closing plenary of the Clinton Global Initiative 2010 Annual Meeting was impressive in the way that only money and connections can buy. President Barack Obama, First Lady Michelle Obama, and Bill Gates joined the Clinton's to end a week of pledges, commitments, and interesting sessions.

Closing Plenary

“I’m proud of the nearly 300 new commitments, valued at $6 billion, that we’ve announced during the Annual Meeting,” President Clinton stated. “In total, more than 1,900 commitments have been made, worth $63 billion, and they have improved the lives of nearly 300 million people. CGI's continued success is to the credit of our members, who come back with better ideas, more ambitious commitments, and greater innovation year after year, who turn ideas into action and meaningful results. They are changing the way sectors work together and how we solve problems worldwide." This sounds impressive. It is impressive. But what struck me was the number of pilot projects that were being funded. Pilot projects that go nowhere or at least don't seem to have proven results.

According to the press release "CGI members’ commitments have had the following impact:

• More than $1.75 billion in new capital has been invested in or loaned to small and medium enterprises.
• More than 16 million women and girls have had access to empowerment initiatives.
• More than 10 million people have improved their access to capital and financial services.
• Nearly 5 million people have obtained access to information technology.
• More than 2 million girls have been reached with efforts targeting female enrollment in schools.
• 50 million children have been given access to education in formal or non-formal school programs.
• More than 90 million acres of forest have been protected or restored.
• More than 400 million metric tons of CO2 emissions have been cut or abated.
• Enough clean energy has been generated to power more than 400,000 homes.
• 75 million people have increased access to maternal and child health and survival programs.
• Nearly 20 million people have increased access to safe drinking water."

But these stats are vague. How are they measured? Who measures them? Where do they come from? Who monitors these initiatives? Where is the tangible proof of what is being stated? I know that I sound cynical when I ask...where do these stats come from? Who created them. They sound impressive but not in contrast to the problems that they seek to address. 

Let us look at the empowerment of women as an example. According to CGI, more than 16 million women and girls have had access to empowerment initiatives. The worlds population is estimated at 6,697,254,041. 

Over half of these are considered to be women. Inequality is persistent and pervasive. However, women are not empowered and even in 'western' countries, where women are considered to be 'equal', women earn less then men and are not given the same opportunities. 

If you look at the worlds richest men, the majority (who haven't inherited it) gained their wealth through business, finance or technology. The worlds richest women tend to be those who are in the entertainment industry. Furthermore, the worlds most powerful women tend to be married to a powerful male. 

According to the UN Women :

• Globally, women held 19.1 percent of seats in single/lower chambers of parliament in May 2010, compared to 11.3 percent in 1995.
• Only 28 countries have achieved the 30 percent target for women in decision-making positions set in the early 1990s.
• In early 2010, only 15 Heads of State or Government were women.
• There is a persistent shortfall in the financing of women’s needs in post-conflict recovery plans and post-conflict disarmament, demobilization and reintegration programmes. Employment and economic recovery efforts have not included women on an equal basis with men.
  Yet, since 1992, women represented, on average, fewer than 10 percent of official negotiating delegations in peace talks, and only 2.1 percent of signatories to peace agreements.
• To date, the UN has never appointed a woman as a chief mediator in an UN-supported peace process.
• The deliberate use of sexual violence on a large scale as a tactic of warfare has devastating consequences not just for its immediate victims, but also for communities and for national recovery. More than 200,000 cases of rape have been documented in the Eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo since 1996; the actual numbers are considered to be much higher.
• Women increasingly participate in the media sector, and contribute to making the media more inclusive. Yet only about 24 percent of the people interviewed, heard, seen or read about in mainstream broadcast and print news are female; only 16 percent of all stories focus specifically on women.

Empowering Women and Girls: Session at CGI Annual meeting 2010

This is scary. I believe that men and women are equal. That doesn't mean that we are the same. However, it does mean that we should have the same rights, opportunities, pay and power. This is our struggle and it hasn't ended. I am lucky. My father raised me to believe that I am am equal to men. That I have the same mandate, legitimate claim and possibilities. Therefore, I do not see the same barriers that some do. However, I would be very naive to claim that I have never encountered the reality of the prejudice that arises over my gender. The message that I take away from the CGI is that this is a start. We have a long, long way to go--and together-- we can make this happen. It will be tough but there is hope.

Please watch this:-