Women's Global Forum Day Two: Women Investing in Women

Using various types of media and hands-on activities such as seminars and workshops, new-found female leaders can go one enlighten a larger population of women across the country.
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This week, I've had the honor to attend the 2012 Women's Forum Global Meeting in Deauville, France, in the company of some of the world's brightest and most talented women. Following, I share my impressions of the events of the second day.

From education to entrepreneurship women are enabling and inspiring growth by investing in the development of other women.

The above is a quote that greatly resonates with me. Not only do I recognize the importance of women helping other women in my own life, but also my time at Tupperware Brands has reinforced this powerful idea as we work with women around the world.

When a woman works she spends 90 percent of her salary on her family. This shocking statistic shows the huge economic contribution that women have in the world and the value of a working woman.

I decided to participate in the discovery session titled, "360° Growth: Women Investing in Women." The moderator was Managing Director and Head of Global Diversity and Inclusion at Barclays, Mark McLane, and the speaker was the Head of the Female Client Group at Barclays, Monique Villa, and the CEO of the Thomson Reuters Foundation, Barbara-Ann King.

Barbara-Ann King developed a program called Smart Women, in which women are utilized as a market segment. This system positions women not as victims but rather as purchasers encompassing power. Recognizing that financial education is key for this to be possible, Barclays has developed a tool kit for them to recognize their position in the financial world and use the power women may not know they have.

The thought of a bank that is listening to women and reaching out to them with specialized and innovative programs is something I would find very useful in my own life. Through the research conducted by Barclays, they have learned that professional women who are time-stressed are the ones who are the least organized financially and in the greatest need of organization in their financial lives. Having a program like this to rely on alleviates some of the additional stress that professional women, like myself, must deal with during the day-to-day.

When women become successful, they want to give back. This fact was also recently revealed in Tupperware Brands' recent research study completed by the Global Fairness Initiative in Mexico. The study showed that the act of successful women helping other women is an innate quality that a vast majority of women own.

King also touched on a recent Thomson Reuters poll that was completed by their foundation TrustLaw. It included both the best and worst countries to live in as a woman. The countries she touched upon included Congo and India. Additionally, she also touched upon Afghanistan, not included in the poll but still rated one of the worst countries to live in as a woman.

After hearing about this poll, it got me thinking about several of the countries that were included in this list. Afghanistan continues to have an illiteracy rate of 84 percent among the female population. According to the 2011 study, "Estimates and Determinants of Sexual Violence Against Women in the Democratic Republic of Congo," 48 rapes occur every hour in the Congo. These are things that as an American woman are hard for me to fathom, but are so important to recognize. This global forum is the perfect opportunity to work with the women around me to continue to work to combat these problems.

When I saw India on the list it made me think of the great work Tupperware India is currently doing to help their female population.

This year Tupperware India launched the "She Can, You Can" campaign. This campaign sets out to highlight the vision of Tupperware which is to enlighten, educate and empower women across the globe which ultimately leads the women of the world to be more confident in themselves. I know that this work will lead for a brighter future for this population.

The "She Can, You Can" campaign focuses on the successes of simple, ordinary women across India, who have had the courage to dream big. These are women who have recognized that they can have more in life if they set their goals higher.

Using various types of media and hands-on activities such as seminars and workshops, these new-found female leaders can go one enlighten a larger population of women across the country.

Walking away from this discussion, I was proud to represent Tupperware Brands. We have successfully identified the demographics that really need our help, and we have developed concepts and programs that will make a difference in the lives of women who need it.

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