Hundreds of women from 44 nations around the world attended the Women’s Global Summit in Miami January 9-12. The conference, organized by Irene Natividad, focused on economic empowerment for women. The summit addressed the issue of how to define and market indigenous natural human resources and skills. Participants learned that women’s unpaid work is estimated at $11 trillion while the global informal economy itself is worth $17 trillion. Jobs, work, and family were cited as major concerns for women around the world. One of the successes mentioned was the fact that 400 women-owned businesses in the Philippines saw income increase of 78 percent. In Japan, president of General Engineering Company Mr. Mitsumasa Kawai opened a school for entrepreneurs after receiving 4,000 applicants for four grants to enable women to start their own businesses. Kawai noted at the conference that many Japanese women who study in the U.S. choose not to return to Japan because “Japan is very much behind the U.S.” in economic opportunities for women. Yet women comprise only 10 percent of almost 13,000 corporate officers in 500 of the largest companies in the U.S., according to the group Catalyst. The Global Summit offered women the opportunity to learn about economic opportunities for women around the world.
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