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In celebration of International Women’s Day, I would like to remember and honor the accomplishments of women around the world and their role in building society. Women have often been overlooked as a resource in the development of commerce and industry, in the battles against disease and poverty, and in the preservation of human security. When women participate in the political process, democracy lives. When women enjoy economic opportunity, development expands in all directions. When women are educated, they pass that knowledge to their children. We can speak with pride about the many advances for women in the United States and Mexico, but must still acknowledge the many challenges that lie ahead.
Women on both sides of the border have moved into key public and political roles like never before. For the first time in U.S. history, the Speaker of the House of Representatives is a woman. The U.S. Secretaries of State, Education, Labor and Transportation, as well as the U.S. Trade Representative are women. Three women are members of the new Mexican Cabinet – the Secretaries of Public Education, Energy and Foreign Relations. In both countries, strong and well-qualified women are leading political parties, state governments, legislatures, and judicial institutions, representing us well in the three branches of democratic government. Mexican and U.S. women also play an increasingly important role in the press and media, the fourth pillar of democracy, with hard-hitting reporting and leading investigative news.
These female leaders capture our imaginations and inspire others to their best deeds. But women who bring about change and improvement in our societies are not just the celebrities, the people in the headlines. They are the general managers of companies, and the owners of businesses large and small. They are the teachers and doctors and nurses, the salespeople, the chefs and restaurant owners, the artisans and the artists. As took place in the United States in the 1970s and 1980s, more Mexican women are moving into the official workforce. Today in Mexico women make up over 60% of the electronics industry workforce.
On a recent visit to Chiapas I saw first-hand how women who run small businesses are taking advantage of microcredits from a local microfinance institution, AlSol, to employ more workers, increase the quality of their products and expand their companies. This and other microfinance firms are lending in large part to women-owned companies who have learned to manage their finances and make payments, so that in turn others can benefit from these resources. Statistics show that when women receive education and training, almost all the other aspects of society improve. A little bit of funding goes a long way.
Real barriers to success for women still exist, and the U.S. and Mexico must continue to address these challenges. Poverty is found most among women and women who are heads of households. Solutions to the frightening problems of domestic violence and the violent killing of women continue to elude us and demand more investigation and government attention. In the past year Mexico passed several laws to provide more legal protections to women, including the Ley General de Acceso de las Mujeres a una Vida Libre de Violencia; now it will take public education and training to enable those responsible to enforce these new laws. Fortunately we have begun to work together to combat trafficking in persons which especially affects vulnerable women and children in both of our countries.
Women are the arbitrators of peace and reconciliation, the promoters of education and health, and the agents of economic and political change. We have seen brave women take the reins this year in Chile with President Michelle Bachelet and in Liberia with Ellen Sirleaf Johnson. We will be cheering for them as they lead their countrymen and women. And we are cheering for women everywhere, women in powerful political positions and women who are heads of households and “amas de casa.” Alongside their fathers, sons, brothers and husbands, women are agents of change, and we depend on them to make our world a better place. Congratulations on International Women’s Day, a day we all should celebrate!
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