Most Gen Z Girls and Women Lack a Key Success Lesson in Their Education

Competition is key: That the finding of a new study from Girls With Impact, a nonprofit organization dedicated to equipping girls to launch and lead projects and businesses.

Many girls lack opportunities to work as a team and to compete as they grow and learn—and the omission often carries over into young adulthood, higher education, and the business world. According to the survey, only 22 percent of students in venture competitions in business school were women—even though when they did compete, they thrived: Top-ranking teams had women founders and CEOs 51 and 32 percent of the time, respectively.

Click through to read more on the importance of competition, as well as how role models can influence girls and women to compete, the role of confidence and underrepresentation, and why thriving in competitions can help women succeed in business.

By Eric Rosenbaum

There's long been Girls Scouts and sports, but too many young women aren't exposed to teamwork and competition at an early age, and that will hurt them as they seek jobs in a shifting workplace. The problem is not limited to girls in middle and high school. A new study of female business students shows that women don't opt into what is being judged by their own professors and corporate hiring managers as the most important part of B-school education: not books, but competitions.

Women represented just 22 percent of students participating in venture competitions, but when they do compete, female students succeed. Of the ranking teams (first, second and third place) in competitions, 51 percent had a woman founder and 32 percent had a woman CEO.

The study from Girls with Impact included data on six years of college venture competitions in which there were 1,454 participants and 535 teams comprised of student from freshman to Ph.D level. across three universities — University of Connecticut, UCLA and Rice University.

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Five Women Entrepreneurs on Why They’re Considering Political Runs

Leadership in business might lead to political leadership, at least for some women. A survey of women founders conducted by Fast Company and Inc. found that an increasing number of women said they were considering a run for office.

Several women CEOs and founders discuss the connection between business and political campaigns, the importance of speaking up, political platforms that matter to them, bringing issues of women and other underrepresented groups to the forefront, and why the country and world need women's voices and leadership. Click through to read the full interview.

By Pavithra Mohan

Can running a business be a launchpad for a career in politics? The 2016 election would indicate yes. But looking past Trump, a number of entrepreneurs have been drawn to the political arena recently, from Giant Spacekat CEO Brianna Wu to Chrissy Houlahan, who helped start nonprofit organization B Lab.

And this year has seen a record number of women running for congressional seats, with 255 women on the ballot in November as major party candidates and the rise of upstart progressives like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Ayanna Pressley.

In a recent survey conducted by Fast Company and Inc., we heard from nearly 300 female founders and entrepreneurs on issues like fundraising and the discrimination they faced as women leaders. We also asked about their political leanings and activism, and whether the political climate might nudge them to run for office. Here’s what some of the founders who are making their businesses political—and might eventually make politics their business–had to say about running for office.

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UN Women Convenes Global Business and Philanthropic Leaders to Help Accelerate SDG Action Through Women’s Empowerment

The year 2030—and with it the deadline for achieving global gender equality—will be here before we know it, and at our current rate of progress, the goal seems out of reach. But since the Sustainable Development Goals were established in 2015, and with them Goal 5 to achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls, UN Women has been working tirelessly to achieve gender equality worldwide. The organization brought philanthropists and business leaders together at the SDG 5 Forum to bring together partners from diverse areas to organize and work together toward the common goal of gender equality. Forum participants included Al Waleed Philanthropies, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Chanel Foundation, Ford Foundation, Procter & Gamble, Revlon, Unilever, WPP and Read on for more details; including how much work we still have to do and the public and private sector efforts to envision—and achieve—true global gender equality.

UN WOMEN—One thousand days into the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and counting down to 2030, which is the deadline for achieving global gender equality under SDG 5, UN Women convened business and philanthropic leaders on the margins of the 73rd United Nations General Assembly (UNGA 73) to step up commitments on gender equality and women’s empowerment. Global business and philanthropic leaders pledged more than USD 70 million in 2018 (USD 13 million of which was pledged at the UNGA 73 SDG 5 Forum today) to advance gender equality and women’s empowerment through UN Women.

No single country has ever achieved gender equality, and according to industry estimates this failure will cost USD 28 trillion[1] by 2025. Forum participants focused on how public and private sectors can bolster efforts to achieve global gender equality by 2030.

“Every day there is more evidence of what the world is missing when it falls short of equality between women and men. Our globally agreed roadmap of the 2030 Agenda puts the drive for that equality right at the centre of all the goals to be achieved,” said UN Women Executive Director Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka. “Governments, civil society and the business world all contributed to that vision and must act together in shaping the solution. These combined forces are critical if we are to make unstoppable progress by 2020 and meet the 2030 target.”

UN Women was established in 2010 to help the world end gender inequality and the 17 SDGs were adopted by global leaders in 2015, with SDG 5 focusing on achieving gender equality and women’s empowerment in every country of the world. The World Economic Forum estimates that it will take 217 years to achieve gender equality at the current rate of progress.

The SDG 5 Forum builds on UN Women’s work across sectors, including this month’s launch of the Global Innovation Coalition for Change’s (GICC) Gender Innovation Principles, a global set of standards adopted by an alliance of 27 partners from private sector, non-profit organizations and academic institutions that takes a gender-responsive approach to innovation and technology. The financial commitments at the SDG 5 Forum and from UN Women’s strategic partnerships will support efforts toward innovation, eliminating violence against women and girls, generating gender equality data and evidence, fast tracking women’s economic empowerment, ensuring education, providing access to health services and protection of women’s livelihoods in crisis settings, as well as building climate resilience in sustainable agricultural food chains that benefit women farmers.

We're at the #UNGA #SDG5 Forum with a special group of private sector and philanthropic leaders. Follow along as we show the world that #TimeIsNow for gender equality! pic.twitter.com/jnSdmIy7bC

— UN Women (@UN_Women) September 27, 2018

Global business and philanthropy leaders that pledged support at today’s event through UN Women to countries around the world included: Al Waleed Philanthropies, Chanel Foundation, Revlon, WPP and Zonta International Foundation. UN Women continues to benefit from financial support from foundations and global organizations such as Alibaba Group, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Ford Foundation, International Olympic Committee, Procter & Gamble and Unilever, as well as public sector funding that enables private sector engagement from the European Union and the NAMA Women Advancement Establishment.

UN Women has established several mechanisms to mobilize private sector and foundations in the world’s quest to achieve SDG 5 by 2030 including the 1,800 companies that signed onto the  Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEPs), the HeForShe impact movement, Common Ground, the GICC, and the  Unstereotype Alliance participants.

As the world comes together for #UNGA we ask business and philanthropic leaders to stand with us on 27 September to act for gender equality. The #TimeIsNow. Will you join us? pic.twitter.com/qamcZtIM07

— UN Women (@UN_Women) September 27, 2018

To date, UN Women has continued to connect women, governments, and communities to foster change across sectors, from using technology to increase the income of women in agriculture to help them secure decent jobs, to supporting the reform discriminatory laws worldwide. UN Women has trained more than 7,000 women leaders in politics and governance last year alone, and over 1.5 billion women and girls in 52 countries are better protected from violence through stronger legal frameworks.

Follow the hashtag #TimeIsNow and @UN_Women on Twitter for updates.

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ACLU: 12 Ways Women’s Rights Are Promoted Around the World

In the United States, we’ve come a long way in the fight for gender equality, but we still have a long way to go. This article from the ACLU points to ongoing inequalities—and highlights progress made in other countries to help promote gender equality, empower women, and create a more equal and inclusive society. From gender identity and healthcare to wages and political representation; all countries can draw inspiration from around the world.

By Louise Melling, Deputy Legal Director and Director of Center for Liberty, ACLU

“You’ve come a long way, baby.” That was a slogan of my youth. It was a marketing campaign for Virginia Slims, a cigarette marketed to women. The ads featured sexist images of the past — “Give women the right to vote and, by heavens, next thing you know, she’ll want to smoke like a man” — to mark progress.

Now, nearly two decades into the 21st century, I wonder how far we have really come. More than 20 states explicitly prohibit discrimination against LGBTQ people; a Black woman is the candidate of a major party to be governor of Georgia; and sex discrimination is banned in employment, education, housing, and federally funded health care.

But in America today, a woman makes on average 80 cents to a man’s dollar. A Black woman makes only 62 cents to a white man’s dollar. Federal law prohibits discrimination in places of public accommodation based on race, religion, and other categories, but not based on sex, including sexual orientation or transgender status. There are still police departments in this country that don’t make clear in policies or training materials that on-duty sexual misconduct against civilians is prohibited.

Six of the nation’s 50 governors are women. Five are white. None is transgender or lesbian. Eighty-one percent of women report having been subject to sexual harassment. More than a third have experienced intimate partner violence. Those companies that provide paid family leave — still less than 40 percent — often offer significantly less leave for men, reinforcing the notion that raising children is women’s responsibility. Federal health plans, including Medicaid, ban coverage of abortion unless the pregnancy results from rape or incest or is life-threatening.

Image credit: Kathryn Gamble | ACLU

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Here’s How Soledad O’Brien Is Mentoring the Next Generation of Women Leaders

Essence sat down with Soledad O’Brien for an interview celebrating the PowHERful Summit, during which New York Senator Andrea Stewart-Cousins presented the award-winning journalist and CEO with a proclamation, naming a day in July as annual “PowHERful Day” in the state. The organization is O’Brien’s education-focused effort that works to get girls in and through college. Click through to read the interview, covering what young women will need to succeed; including access to higher education, financial assistance, and succeeding in college. Click through to read more about O’Brien's passions and inspiration and her foundation's work.

By Enuma Okoro

Soledad O’Brien is a globally-recognized name. She’s an award-winning journalist, documentarian, a producer who doesn’t shy away from hard topical programming, and the CEO of her own media company. However, she’s also been committed to investing in the education of young girls.

And recently, she was formally recognized for her passionate work by the state of New York. At the 2018 PowHERful Summit, Senator Andrea Stewart-Cousins presented O’Brien proclaiming July 14 as the annual PowHERful day in New York. PowHERful is O’Brien’s education-focused foundation that works to get girls in and through college. I had the chance to talk with O’Brien about what drives her desire to educate young women and what she believes young women of this generation need to succeed.

“I remember so clearly when I was seven years old and I was learning how to ride my bike. I kept tipping over and my dad said to me, ‘Oh you’ll get this because you’re the kind of person who never gives up,’” she says.

Of all the things Soledad O’Brien could list about what fuels her determination to educate young women, she starts with her own early life experiences of having someone believe so firmly in her potential despite the circumstances.

Image credit: Jefferson Moran-Morales | Box of Dreams Photography

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10 Pieces of Advice I Wish Every Woman Could Hear

Deb Liu writes a guest column for Entrepreneur discussing advice every woman should take to heart. Liu; the vice president of Facebook Marketplace and co-creator of Women in Product; has been involved in diversity, inclusion and women in tech for over a decade—both as a prominent women in tech herself and as an advocate for inclusion and gender equity in the space. Liu discusses confidence, impostor syndrome, guilt, and more. Her realistic look even includes considering feedback that might be offered in a sexist way. Whether you agree with all her takes or not, it's worth considering her perspective as a woman who has adapted and thrived in this space—and you might pick up a few seeds of wisdom for your own career. Click through for the full list.

By Deb Liu

There are plenty of things I wish I knew when I started working in tech 15 years ago. Jumping into any new role or working in a new industry that you're not always familiar with can feel overwhelming and even intimidating.

Throughout my career, first with PayPal, then eBay, and now Facebook, I've learned many things the hard way that helped get me to where I am today. I'm sharing these lessons with the hope that they may help you in your career.

1. Confidence is a gift you give yourself.

One of the things I struggle with the most is mentoring people who lack self confidence who I know are stronger than they think. Nothing I say seems to change how they feel about themselves because they can't see what others see in them. Reach for the assignment and believe that you will learn how to do it. You are not asked to take on assignments so you will fail; people offer them because they see your potential.

2. Maybe they're saying it because you are a woman, but that doesn't make it any less true.

I've received a lot of tough feedback during my career. My immediate reaction is to discard anything that would not have been said to a man in the same position. For years, I was told I was not warm or approachable. I realized I had two choices -- ignore or adapt. I learned to adapt because this perception was holding me back. Pretending it didn't matter changed nothing.

3. Listen to feedback, but choose what you change.

A lot of time when we receive feedback, we react by making a change, but all of those changes together could end up taking away what makes you uniquely you. Choose who you want to be and what you want to be known for, and remember that these choices may change over time depending on your position.

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London Breed Sworn In as First Black Woman to Serve as San Francisco Mayor

San Francisco native and former acting mayor London Breed was sworn in as Mayor of San Francisco yesterday, making her the city’s first black woman to hold the position—and only the second woman overall. A champion of helping everyone, regardless of their circumstances, Breed is a great example of the importance of the voices and influence of women, especially women of color and women from underrepresented groups. Breed’s election also puts her in rare company: The mayors of most of the United States’ largest cities are men, and some large cities like New York or Los Angeles have never had a woman mayor. 

Click through to read an article from PBS NewsHour from the day of Breed's swearing in; with more the election, Breed, and what the milestone means for representation.

By Janie Har

SAN FRANCISCO — London Breed will make history Wednesday as the first black female mayor of San Francisco when she is sworn into office in the city that has come to embody extreme wealth and poverty in the modern age.

She will take the oath outdoors on the steps of City Hall in a public ceremony before at least 1,000 spectators. Afterward, she will meet well-wishers in her new office — an open house tradition that dates back a century.

The 43-year-old Breed succeeds Mayor Ed Lee, whose unexpected death in December prompted a special June election to serve the remainder of his term.

Breed, a San Francisco native, has pledged to address the city’s most pressing problems, including homeless tent camps, open drug use and unbearably high housing prices.

She also says she is committed to ensuring that impoverished African American and other minority children receive the opportunities they need to advance.

Breed grew up in public housing and frequently talks about the tough love and support she had growing up, especially from her grandmother who raised her.

She also learned from mentors and neighbors who early on spotted potential and encouraged her to study hard. Now she will earn an annual salary of $335,996.

Breed was most recently president of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors for more than three years,

On Tuesday, colleagues toasted her and outgoing Supervisor Jeff Sheehy at their final meeting.

Breed thanked her colleagues for their dedication and promised to work with them no matter their disagreements.

“You can’t please everyone. Not everyone is going to like you, not everyone is going to do what you want them to do,” she said.

“And what I noticed about this board, and what made me so proud to be a part of it is, we stand our ground, we do what we think is best and we try to fight for the people we represent.”

Image credit: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

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Why This Cryptocurrency Leader Believes Blockchain Is a New Paradigm for Inclusion

Forbes sat down with Nyla Rodgers; the founder of Mama Hope, an NGO that advocates for global communities and aims to empower the disempowered by fixing our broken system; as well as the force behind the “Satoshi is Female” movement, which she uses to point out that the anonymous inventor of Bitcoin might very well be a woman, given the many qualities used to promote cryptocurrency and the blockchain that are considered “feminine” such as collaboration, inclusion, and a values-driven approach to currencies. Rodgers talked about why women need to be included in designing the new system—both to be more inclusive and equitable, and because women are in a unique position to identify what isn’t working in the current system. Click through to read the complete interview.

By Emily Joffrion, Women@Forbes

With over $830 billion in assets at its peak in January and an estimated 24,000 wallets each holding over $1 million worth of Bitcoin, cryptocurrencies are generating unimaginable wealth for the early players. Stories of overnight millionaires have ushered the blockchain revolution into the mainstream, bringing with it the potential to replace traditional financial markets and disrupt as many industries as the internet. This momentum includes a new crop of companies, projects and investments rushing to capitalize on this new market. But as we unlock this new potential in the time of #MeToo, Black Lives Matter and growing disillusionment with cultural power dynamics, one woman sees the blockchain as an opportunity to design a more equitable and inclusive system from the ground up.

Nyla Rodgers, the founder of Mama Hope, is a crypto-philosopher whose campaign, Satoshi is Female, challenges us to use the power of the blockchain to benefit humanity as a whole. The provocative slogan asks us to examine the nature of the blockchain itself when looking for the answer of who should lead the conversation. I sat down with Rodgers to hear more about the blockchain, cryptocurrencies and how to use this decentralized, global system to create a new paradigm of radical inclusion.

Emily Joffrion: Tell me about Satoshi is Female?

Nyla Rodgers: I believe that the blockchain is an inherently feminine way to move value across the world. And that’s because it’s collaborative, inclusive, values-driven and community-centered. It seems counterintuitive to assume that Satoshi, this unknown person (or persons) who wrote the Bitcoin white paper, is a man when the blockchain itself has so many characteristics that are feminine. And I feel like these feminine qualities represent a new way of operating in the world.

Image credit: Alex Colby

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The Key to More Female CEOs: More Female Board Members

An article from CNN Money explores how more women board members—and more diversity on boards in general—can help promote a gender equality at the top, leading to more women CEOs. Click through to read about how term limits could also help, how women help the push for recruiting more minorities and women, and more.

By Julia Carpenter

You've seen the headlines about the lack of female leadership, the challenges women overcome to reach the C-suite and the dwindling numbers of women at the top.

Some companies are testing out structured mentoring, empowerment programs and ambition summits to fix the problem and correct gender imbalances. But other experts say this may not be a bottom-up problem as much as a top-down one, which begins with a startling lack of diversity on company boards.

A majority of companies in the S&P 500 have at least one woman on their boards, but only 25 percent have two, according to a recent study from PwC.

In order for boards to appoint more female CEOs, there first have to be more female board members to vote for them, says Anna Beninger, senior director of research and corporate engagement partner at Catalyst, a non-profit studying women and work.

"It's complicated when you look at the board, but we have to appreciate the incredible influence that they have in determining who is going to be that CEO-level role, and notably, if they stay and how successful they are," she says.

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Women Who Have Female Role Models Are More Likely to Value Their Worth

Powerful women lift one another up-sometimes just by their presence. A recent study found that when in the presence of a woman they admire, 89 percent of women felt freer to set more ambitious goals and focus more on prioritizing their own needs, goals, and potential.

Of course every woman should be free to live her best life and choose the path that leaves her, and those around her, the most fulfilled. Women collaborate, inspire one another, and serve as inspiration for one another's success. We all know women have just as much leadership, expertise, and hard work to offer the world. It's only natural that being encouraged by other women leaders would drive the point home. 

Click through to Moneyish to read the entire article.

By Jeanette Settembre

Women are helping women want more for themselves.

A new study by Lean Cuisine and New York University psychology professor Emily Balcetis found that 89 percent of women set more ambitious life goals in the presence of other women they admired than they did when contemplating them alone. And 77 percent chose greater aspirations in the aspects of life they deemed most important.

Balcetis administered a questionnaire to 18 participants, asking them a series of personal, career and finance questions like what they want most in life, how much money they’d want to make and their dream career. Then, weeks later, the participants were invited to “shop” at a makeshift store where items on the shelves mimicked the same survey questions involving ideal family life and level of education they’d want to achieve — but this time, they were selecting these life choices in the presence of an influential woman in their life.

Despite stereotypes that suggest female relationships trigger anxiety and pressures, the study found, the women chose much more ambitiously than they did when completing the survey alone — deciding on higher salaries and more hours.

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The Negative Impact of Having ‘All Women Panels’ at Blockchain and Cryptocurrency Conferences

Hosting all-women panels to discuss cryptocurrency and blockchains seems like a great idea—but they may have downsides as well, especially if the panels are the main or only venue for women. In some cases, the panels can end up reinforcing stereotypes and the gender divide, according to several in the industry.

Forbes crypto writer Rachel Wolfson speaks to women in cryptocurrency and blockchain; including Arianna Simpson, managing director of Autonomous Partners (previously interviewed by WIIWD here); who tends to avoid all-women panels now, warning against separating women into exclusive panels to demonstrate diversity—particularly if they don't get to speak extensively on the topics about which they are experts.

These new industries, many people are arguing, should be equitable from the start—not another way to divide people by gender. Focusing only on the role of women, while a vital discussion, can risk relegating women to only discussing gender issues.

There's room for women-only panels as well as integrated groups, but this is definitely an important point to consider. Read on and click through for more, and join us as we continue to support creating spaces for women—but also opportunities and platforms that highlight women and men equally.

By Rachel Wolfson

“Recently, I was at a summit where there was a ‘Pink Room’ - a place designed specifically for women. This was a rather offensive, yet telling sign of the industry. We should be using emerging industries like blockchain to end the stigmas of gender in technology, not to bolster it,” Anastasia Shvetsova, Managing Partner at M&A PR agency, told me.

Shvetsova, who has been specializing in public relations for the tech industry for seven years, has seen her fair share of gender exclusive “themes” at technology conferences. From all-women discussion panels, to pink conference rooms designed specifically for women, gender exclusivity for women at tech conferences has become a common trend.

Yet while some women in the tech space highly encourage “all women in tech” panels, others are starting to express differing opinions, especially those females innovating in the blockchain and cryptocurrency space.

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Satoshi Nakamoto Is Female: Women in the Cryptocurrency Industry

Satoshi Nakamoto's name is almost as well known as the cryptocurrency he created. But while Bitcoin, the first of many cryptocurrencies, has taken on a life of its own, Nakamoto remains much more of an enigma—and he might not even be a man at all. Claims that Nakamoto is a woman have circulated for a long time now, partly due to speculation and partly because it's such a disruptive, empowering idea: that a leading—the leading, at the beginning—voice and power in cryptocurrency was and has been a woman.

Bitcoinist examines the idea that Nakamoto is a woman, as well as the validation that such representation can bring to women in the crypto space and the satisfaction of upending assumptions that men are behind all financial and technological advancements. Click through for more, and keep lifting up women's voices in cryptocurrency and blockchain.

Is ‘Satoshi Nakamoto’, the mysterious, anonymous creator of Bitcoin the original cryptocurrency, actually a woman?

In 2008 Nakamoto authored the white paper describing the most famous crypto, from which all other cryptos have spawned. In a community and industry dominated by men, the statement “Satoshi is a female” – a theory promoted by New York Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney at the Women on the Block event in Brooklyn on May 13 – is extremely provocative. To many, it is akin to suggesting that Jesus was a girl.

Ms. Maloney may have had her tongue in her cheek, but her comment highlights a serious point: are the contributions of women in the cryptocurrency world being diluted?

In a male-heavy tech industry, this is an all-too-familiar theme. Most of us believe that men invented computers and the internet, and almost everything else, in fact.

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Happy Mother’s Day: Celebrating the Power and Inspiration of Mothers Everywhere

This Mother's Day, we've rounded up some news, commentary, and inspiration for you; all centering on mothers, motherhood, and the women who nurture, lead, protect, advocate for, and raise future generations.

Whether you're a mother yourself, are thanking and spending time with your own mother or the guiding women in your life, plan to honor mothers and great women who have supported and inspired you, or have a complicated relationship with motherhood and how (or if) it fits into your vision; we want to invite every woman to honor the strength, resilience, intelligence, and compassion that she and all the women around us bring to so many lives each day. Click through to enjoy the stories.

What Daughters Learn When Mom Is the Boss of the Family Business: A survey by global organization EY has found that women at the helm in family-owned companies helps other women—family members and unrelated women—to see themselves in leadership roles. Entrepreneur Magazine examines the effect, including the benefits of exemplifying leadership qualities, the rising tide of women leading companies or being considered for the top spot, the power of personal examples, and more.

The 50 Most Powerful Moms of 2018: Working Mother Magazine highlights fifty inspiring, powerful women who are leading the way while leading their families. The list amplifies some of the most important voices of the moment, honoring "women in power who raised their voices, gathered their communities, leveraged their status and demanded respect, safety, and equity for women in the workplace."

Employers Ranked on Maternity Benefits: A key to helping women succeed is providing for mothers and helping them continue to thrive in the workplace—paving the way for more secure futures for women while allowing companies to continue to benefit from their work, leadership, and insight; as well as helping them attract the best candidates. An annual ranking shows which companies do the best job prioritizing maternity benefits and family-friendly policies such as realistic maternity leave, flexible work schedules, and affordable child care—and areas that appear to be improving for working moms.

Motherhood Means Love: Mother’s Day Quotes From Around the World: The Global Fund for Women has collected a selection of quotes about mothers, motherhood, protecting one another, safety, the power of our voices and more from mothers across diverse backgrounds, cultures, and experiences. Share in the inspiration and unifying power of womanhood and motherhood; and celebrate mothers, women, and human rights all year long.

Image: Global Fund for Women

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Forbes Emergent 25: The Women Making Their Mark in Asia’s Enterprises

Whether in finance, science, health and beauty, engineering or other businesses; women are advancing, innovating, thriving, and leading the way—forging new paths for their companies, breaking glass ceilings, and lifting everyone up with them. We were inspired by this list of Asian women founders, CEOs, presidents, directors, and more from the May issue of Forbes Asia. Click through and read more about these trailblazing women leaders in business.

By Mary E. Scott

This story appears in the May 2018 issue of Forbes Asia.

What do Joanne Kua, a 33-year-old scion of a wealthy Malaysian family who is transforming her father’s staid insurance and finance business, and Indonesian grandmother Nurhayati Subakat, 67, who has pioneered halal beauty products have in common with Miki Ito, a Japanese scientist who plans to scrub the cosmos clean of space junk, and Vietnam’s Dang Minh Phuong, who founded and runs a logistics company? They are on Forbes Asia's first Emergent 25 list of women making a recent mark in regional enterprises.

These listees reflect the broader impact women are having in the Asian business world, even as the number of women in senior business positions globally retreated over the past year, according to consultancy Grant Thornton. Its 2018 “Women in Business” report says APAC firms gained greater gender diversity but notes that results across the region were patchy: a strong uptick in India, with the number of women in senior roles rising to 20 percent from 17 percent previously, but disappointment in Japan as the rate there remains stuck around 5 percent.

This group of 25 women, chosen for the money they generate, the influence they wield and the ideas and trends they are advancing, bring fresh perspectives to Asia-Pacific’s growing business world.

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This Startup Believes That Cryptocurrency Could Cut Down on Corruption in the Charity Cycle

IoTex, a woman-led startup using the blockchain to add transparency and accountability to philanthropy, knows that the tracking capabilities of blockchain technology can help make charitable giving more secure—even tough most charities don't yet accept cryptocurrency.

IoTex saw a need for a facilitator in many cases, stepping in with smart contracts and "redirecting the cryptocurrency hype to charitable causes," according to founder and serial investor Jing Sun.
The company aims to increase the ability of systems and investors to work together with privacy and security.

Read on and click through for details on IoTex's model, their work with the Ethereum Foundation to help move blockchain research forward, and more.

By Darren Heitner

Serial investor Jing Sun is interested in creating a new way of charitable giving. Even though the industry has already changed a lot by way of websites that connect you with charitable causes and even social media campaigns that easily allow you to donate money, Sun wants to take it a step further by way of the blockchain.

She has created a project called IoTex that seeks to connect the physical world, block by block and is heavily focused on charitable ventures, the first of which being connected to the Ethereum Foundation. I recently spoke with Sun to learn more about why charity is a focus for her startup and how cryptocurrency fits within.

Why is use of cryptocurrency a good fit for the charitable giving industry?

Sun: The benefit of blockchain is that it cuts out the middleman as well as enables the transparency and accountability of charity and other NGOs about how the money is actually spent. Basically, cryptocurrency could cut down on corruption in the charity cycle.

Using cryptocurrency, all the transactions you made to the charity could be tracked and transparent to public. Also, an individual donor would have the ability to voice out if they suspected wrongdoing. Currently, the bottleneck is that most charities still don't accept digital currency.

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Inside the Jordan Refugee Camp That Runs on Blockchain

MIT Technology Review brings us this fascinating look at Building Blocks, a blockchain technology that helps keep track of funds in the World Food Programme. As humanitarian needs have grown globally, WFP has shifted from delivering food to giving funds to people who need food—a move that increases efficiecy and transparency while allowing local communities to grow as they participate in the chain.

Building Blocks is also one of the first cases of blockchain technology being used to aid humanitarian efforts. Especially in a crisis like this, many people are trying to navigate day-to-day life and basic survival without government identity documents or other ways to track finances and needs—and situations are often most difficult for women refugees. Click through to read the whole story, and keep following us for more on the intersection of empowerment, technology, and women's issues.

By Russ Juskalian

A few times a month, Bassam pushes a shopping cart through the aisles of a grocery store stocked with bags of rice, a small selection of fresh vegetables, and other staples. Today he’s wearing a black sweater tucked into denim jeans, which are themselves tucked into calf-high boots caked in mud. The Tazweed Supermarket, where he’s shopping, is on the periphery of a 75,000-person refugee camp in the semi-arid Jordanian steppe, six and a half miles from the Syrian border.

At the checkout counter, a cashier tallies the total, but Bassam doesn’t pay with cash or a credit card. Instead he lifts his head to a black box and gazes into the mirror and camera at its center. A moment later, an image of Bassam’s eye flashes on the cashier’s screen. Bassam collects his receipt—which reads “EyePay” and “World Food Programme Building Blocks” across the top—and walks out into the noonday chaos of the Zaatari refugee camp.

Though Bassam may not know it, his visit to the supermarket involves one of the first uses of blockchain for humanitarian aid. By letting a machine scan his iris, he confirmed his identity on a traditional United Nations database, queried a family account kept on a variant of the Ethereum blockchain by the World Food Programme (WFP), and settled his bill without opening his wallet.

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At inaugural Power Rising summit, black women celebrate wins, strategize for upcoming battles

More than 1,000 black women from all 50 U.S. states gathered in Atlanta February 22 through 25 to learn from each other, inspire one another, and develop strategies to galvanize black women as drivers of positive change.

The sold-out event, Power Rising, held its first gathering this year to help black women access and tap into economic, political and social power to elevate themselves—as well as one another, their local communities, and the nation—and to raise their voices. The gathering, planned by and for black women, highlighted businesswomen as well as the political and social power and influence black women hold. Read more and click through for the full article from the Washington Post, and check out Power Rising online for more information.

ATLANTA — Between pastoring a small church, teaching college classes, volunteering with an anti-violence group and running for Congress, Stephany Spaulding didn’t think she had the time to go off to a women’s empowerment summit.

After spending two days with hundreds of black women juggling similarly busy and civically engaged lives, Spaulding can’t imagine not having attended Power Rising, a conference aimed at connecting African American women to share ideas and strategies for improving their communities.

More than 1,000 women attended the three-day event at the Westin Peachtree Plaza in Atlanta, where big-name speakers and grass-roots activists shared wisdom, laughter and even a few dance moves in joyous affirmation of one another.

Spaulding, 39, who lives in Colorado Springs, praised “the energy, the strength, the power and the direction of women that I’ve been able to connect with” by attending the conference. “Even if our paths to getting where we’re going are different, I believe we are all going to the same place. We want justice and love and liberation for everyone.”

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The rise of Davos Woman: who are the 7 female chairs of the World Economic Forum 2018?

While we still have a way to go to reach equal representation in many fields and men still outnumbered women among attendees, the influence of women continues to expand—globally. This year, for the first time in its nearly half-century history, the World Economic Forum was chaired by an all-woman panel. Click through to learn about all seven women leading the global economic conversation in Davos this year.

By Rosa Silverman 

In years gone by, the World Economic Forum has been criticised for the lack of female representation at its annual gathering in Davos. Each year more than 2,500 global leaders, policymakers, business leaders, economists, journalists and celebrities pour into the Swiss resort, but its lack of gender diversity has previously been stark.

In 2015, for instance, only 17 per cent of those attending were women. The term "Davos Man", coined by the late political scientist Samuel Hungtington, became a shorthand for the type of wealthy, elite chap typically found in attendance.

This year, however, marks a change of tone, as the event will be chaired exclusively by women.

So who are the magnificent seven chosen for the first all-female line-up in the summit’s 48-year history?

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Women's March 2018 Calls on White Women to Give Black Women a Seat at the Table

Black women have been organizers; trailblazers; and supporters and leaders of everything from community nonprofits and counseling services to free health clinics and advocacy for children, disabled people, and students. Still, modern feminist activism and discussion often focuses on white women, sometimes to the exclusion of women of color. This year, the Women's March focused on the importance of making true progress for all women—and both celebrating and fighting for the rights of black women. Read on to learn how this movement is working to become more inclusive.

By Marie Solis

LAS VEGAS—Black women are the next powerhouse force in American politics—and the Women's March wants to help them be front and center in 2018 and beyond.

Speakers at this year's "Power to the Polls" event on Sunday in Las Vegas gave special attention to women of color and black women especially, whose contributions to the feminist movement they said have been ignored and pushed to the side for too long.

"This march is being led by women of color," Nina Turner, the president of Our Revolution, a Democratic political action organization, told a roaring crowd. "But...let me put a special message out to black women: Don't let anyone make you feel marginalized. If you feel you aren't getting the respect you deserve, do what [Congresswoman] Shirley Chisholm did—don't just bring your own seat, kick down the door."

Women's March co-chair Carmen Perez put out a similar call to action, focusing on white women's responsibility to create space for people of color within the movement and in the political arena.

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At Davos, Canada’s Trudeau speaks up on women’s rights

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau spoke at Davos Tuesday, where he resolved to prioritize gender inequality and women's rights and discussed the importance of using privilege, wealth, and power to help others. Click through to read more about his address, and the issues being discussed at the World Economic Forum.

By Yara Bayoumy, Noah Barkin

DAVOS, Switzerland (Reuters) - Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau gave a passionate defense of gender and social equality in Davos on Tuesday, days before U.S. President Donald Trump was due to take the stage at a forum traditionally seen as an enclave of the global elite.

Trudeau, whose country has the presidency of the Group of Seven industrialized nations this year, said gender equality would be a priority in “everything the G7 does this year”.

Trudeau, who appointed a cabinet with an equal number of women and men on taking power in 2015, also referenced social media campaigns against sexual harassment and misconduct and women’s marches in several U.S. cities last weekend in which speakers blasted Trump for policies they said had hurt women.

“MeToo, TimesUp, the Women’s March, these movements tell us that we need to have a critical discussion on women’s rights, equality and power dynamics of gender,” said Trudeau.

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