Demos Reception/Discussion: The Hillary Effect: How Will the Secretary of State Change the Status of Women Worldwide?

MEDIA ADVISORY
March 5, 2009

Contact: Tim Rusch or Gennady Kolker, Demos, press@demos.org or (212) 633-1405

The Hillary Effect: How Will the Secretary of State Change the Status of Women Worldwide?

Demos Co-Sponsors 3/9 Discussion in Honor of International WomenÂ’s Day 2009

New York--Although Hillary Clinton is the third female US Secretary of State, some think that her appointment could herald a new chapter for global women's rights. As First Lady and later as a candidate for the 2008 presidential election, she was an active advocate for women's issues both at home and abroad. As she settles into her new cabinet role, a host of questions arise. Will Clinton extend the platform of women's rights to her diplomacy? Will she identify the United States and its foreign policy goals, as she did before, with women's rights? What might she draw from women leaders in other countries, many of which are far ahead of the US in terms of representation by women in key political positions?

On March 9, 2009, Demos, a national, non-partisan public policy center, the World Policy Institute, and The American-Scandinavian Foundation will host a panel discussion and reception in honor of International Women's Day 2009. The event is part of the WomenÂ’s Leadership Initiative at Demos.  Please contact Tim Rusch at trusch@demos.org for more information.

WHEN:
Monday, March 9 2009; reception - 6:00 to 6:30 pm, discussion - 6:30 to 8:00 pm

WHERE:
Scandinavia House, Victor Borge Auditorium, 58 Park Avenue, New York, NY

About the Speakers:

Senator Pilar Cayetano is the youngest woman elected in the history of the Philippine Senate. An advocate of women's health and empowerment, she authored and introduced the "Magna Carta of Women," which aims to end all forms of gender discrimination.

Blanche Wiesen Cook is a Distinguished Professor of History and Women's Studies at the John Jay College and the Graduate Center of the City University of New York, and appears frequently as a commentator on such programs as "The Today Show," "Good Morning America," and "The MacNeil Lehrer News Hour."

Rounaq Jahan joined the faculty of Columbia University in 1990 as a senior research scholar at the Southern Asian Institute, where her research is concentrated on gender and development, governance, health, and politics of Bangladesh.

Ambassador Kirsti Lintonen is the Permanent Representative of Finland to the United Nations in New York, and has also served as Ambassador to South Africa, Botswana, Lesotho, Mauritius, Namibia, Swaziland, and the Southern African Development Community.

About the Moderator:

Claudia Dreifus is a Columnist for "The New York Times' " Science Times section and Senior Fellow at the World Policy Institute. Her interviews have appeared in "The New York Times Sunday Magazine," "Ms.," "The Nation," "The Progressive," "Mother Jones," "Town and Country," AARP's "The Magazine," and many others.


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