SOAR Fellow Q&A: Verónica Colón-Rosario
Verónica Colón-Rosario is the executive director of the Fundación de Mujeres en Puerto Rico and a cohort two SOAR Fellow. What’s one project or initiative you’re working on this year that you’re excited about? This year, the Fundación de Mujeres en Puerto Rico (FMnPR) is going through a strategic planning process. We’re reflecting on the …
Gender, Health, and Entrepreneurship in the Global South
How can we unlock the power of entrepreneurship to widen access to health care, close gender disparity, and increase prosperity in the Global South region? At Aspen Ideas 2023, we heard from Lola Adedokun, Executive Director of the Aspen Global Innovators Group and Co-Chair of Aspen Forum on Women and Girls and Richenda Van Leeuwen, …
Igniting the Power and Potential of Women and Girls
The pandemic disproportionately impacted women globally, pushing millions into extreme poverty and widening the gender poverty gap. Women took on more childcare responsibilities, often at the expense of their careers. Now that we are out of the most difficult phase of the pandemic, empowering women and girls can have significant benefits for a growing economy. …
Centering Black Women in Our Economic Recovery
by Roselande “Roe” Louis, Senior Program Associate, Leadership and Aspen Forum on Women and Girls Long before the pandemic, racial and gender injustice created barriers that prevented women of color from accessing quality jobs and equitable healthcare. Today, these challenges have only been exacerbated. We see this in the disproportionate unemployment and maternal mortality rates, …
Peggy Clark: Reflections on Defining Moments of Leadership
After many years of service at the Aspen Institute and the Aspen Institute Forum on Women and Girls (AIFWG), it is bittersweet and with deep gratitude to announce the departure of the founding co-chair of AIFWG and global women’s rights champion, Peggy Clark. As the incoming CEO and President of the International Center for Research on …
Girls Embracing Mothers
by Brittany K. Barnett, Founder & President of Girls Embracing Mothers I remember the day I graduated with a master’s degree in accounting as clearly as the day it happened. I proudly walked across the stage, at twenty-two years old, ready to start the next chapter of my life, with a high-paying job waiting for …
Girl Power: How Women Role Models Advance Girls’ Leadership
by Devotha Mlay, Managing Director of Programs for GLAMI and Jessica Love, Executive Director of AfricAid In Tanzania, it is common for a girl to grow up believing that she should not ask questions, that being confident and determined is rude, and that she is less important than a boy. As a result, girls are …
How Refugee Women and Girls Lead
by Faridah Naimana, Intern, Aspen Institute Forum on Women and Girls Kakuma Refugee Camp based in Kenya serves refugees who have been forcibly displaced from their home countries due to war or persecution and is administered by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). Life in the semi-arid desert environment of Kakuma is rather …
Wings to Fly: Conversations on the Fight for Women and Girls’ Education
by Zamzam Abdikadir, Intern, Aspen Institute Forum on Women and Girls “Women and Girls’ Honor is earned when society gives them the wings to fly, by educating them”, Unknown I sat down early one morning with Kifah and her mother to find out her perspective on the impact of seven months of school closures on her …