August 2012 Salon

Theme – Women Reshaping the World

The TEDTalks that we shared had one thing in common: big, bold ideas about women’s roles in the world. Data-driven insights that upend traditional stereotypes … personal stories with universal resonance … humor with bite … and amazing talks from women who’ve pioneered fields once closed to them.

While there is much to debate around women’s roles and ideas in the 21st century, these talks underscore one inarguable point: Helping women around the world get equal access to education, healthcare and cash is the way to move our planet forward.

Date

Thursday August 16, 2012

Agenda

Bonus Items

During the evening the conversation touched on many things including the following:

Gayle Lemmon’s book The Dressmaker of Khair Khana: Five Sisters, One Remarkable Family, and the Woman Who Risked Everything to Keep Them Safe

Courtney Martin has moved on from writing at the blog www.feministing.com, but she is really busy as shown in this video.

During the meeting Amy Scerra spoke briefly about her work with women in Afghanistan. Here is additional information about her work at Thunderbird for Good.

Thunderbird for Good’s mission is to “create prosperity through business education for all.” To accomplish this, the initiative leverages Thunderbird School of Global Management’s expertise in international business education to provide non-traditional students with business and management skills to fight poverty, secure peace, and improve living conditions in their communities. Many Thunderbird for Good programs focus on educating businesswomen in developing countries. Starting and growing a company takes courage anywhere. However the challenges are multiplied for men and women at the “base of the pyramid” in emerging markets where Thunderbird for Good operates. Aspiring entrepreneurs in developing countries have passion and tenacity, but often lack the knowledge to write business plans, manage cash flow and market their enterprises. Thunderbird for Good works to tear down these barriers to success through management education programs that support entrepreneurs, offering customized programs on Thunderbird’s campus in Glendale, Arizona and in-country, in the developing nations where program participants live and work. A combination of private donations and support from corporate, government, volunteer and non-profit partners sustains Thunderbird for Good programs, allowing us to train women from countries like Afghanistan, Indonesia, Bolivia, Haiti, Guatemala, Panama, Argentina, Samoa, and Uzbekistan. In addition, Thunderbird for Good connects participating organizations that demonstrate their global citizenship with Thunderbird students, alumni, faculty and staff who use their business skills to create sustainable prosperity worldwide. This has led to classroom projects, volunteering, internships and mentoring opportunities around the globe. Thunderbird School of Global Management, the world’s No. 1-ranked school of international business, has emerged as a leading institution for training entrepreneurs at the base of the pyramid. The purpose of Thunderbird for Good can be summarized in the words of Thunderbird’s second president, Dr. William Schurz (1945-1951): “Borders frequented by trade seldom need soldiers.”

This October, Thunderbird is thrilled to welcome 27 women entrepreneurs from Haiti, and they will add to a group of 53 women from 20 countries who have already participated in the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Women Entrepreneurship Partnership Program at Thunderbird, which began in January 2012. One of the signature programs within Thunderbird for Good is Project Artemis Afghanistan, a unique business-skills training program that aims to build the expertise of promising Afghan businesswomen. Since 2005, sixty-three women from Afghanistan have participated in Project Artemis. Up to fifteen more women entrepreneurs are expected to participate in the next program in January of 2013. If you are interested in becoming involved in October’s 10,000 Women program, or January 2013′s Project Artemis program, please contact Amy Scerra, Program Manager. amy.scerra@thundebird.edu or 602-978-7609.

Location

The event was attended by 54 people and held at the offices of Ignited, 2221 Park Place, El Segundo, California, 90245.

As always a huge thank you to Ignited for allowing us to host our events at their offices.