International Women's Day 2024: Tackling the Unfinished Business of Gender Equality
VIEW EVENT DETAILSBreakfast available at 8:00AM
Discussion begins at 8:30AM
Next month, the International Women's Day will be celebrated globally on March 8th to recognize the social, economic, cultural and political achievements and contributions of women. The designated day to highlight the tremendous contributions of women also serves as an important reminder to raise awareness about the continuing struggle for gender equality, to advocate for women's rights, and to fulfill the pledges made over the years with respect to girls’ and women’s empowerment.
Ahead of the sixty-eighth session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW68), join us for an in-depth conversation featuring a panel of Asia Society’s Asia 21 Next Generation Fellows — Lima Halima Ahmad (Afghanistan), Human Security Expert; Ph.D. Candidate, Fletcher School at Tufts University; Mitsuru Claire Chino (Japan), Managing Executive Officer, ITOCHU Corporation; Emily Wu (Taiwan), Founder of Ghost Island Media; and Antara Ganguli (India), Director, United Nations Girls' Education Initiative (UNGEI) — as they take stock of the progress made in narrowing the gender gap in recent decades and advancing women's rights. More importantly, they will underscore some strategies that have proven successful in accelerating gender parity; overcoming barriers that continue to stymie girls and women from achieving their full potentials; and engendering roles and responsibilities of men and boys in promoting and ensuring gender equality.
Speakers
Lima Halima Ahmad is a human security expert whose research focuses on youth vulnerability to extreme violence. Currently a Ph.D. candidate and research fellow at the Center for Strategic Studies at the Fletcher School of Tufts University, she's recognized for independent research, including reports on the Women’s Penal System in Afghanistan, Women’s Participation in the Afghan Peace Process, NATO's Security Sector Reform, and numerous analytical articles. She founded the Paywand Afghan Association, dedicated to women's issues research. With a track record of collaboration with national and international organizations, she emphasizes gender mainstreaming. Formerly the Monitoring and Evaluation Director at the Administrative Office of the President of Afghanistan, she drove system reforms for enhanced governmental accountability.
Mitsuru Claire Chino (via Zoom) is a bilingual and bicultural (U.S. and Japan) senior business executive with a Fortune Global 500 company and an international lawyer with 30+ years’ experience. She was a partner of an international law firm prior to joining ITOCHU, a diversified industrials. With ITOCHU over the years, she has served as Global General Counsel, CEO of its North American operations as well as other senior executive positions. She is a graduate of Smith College (B.A. cum laude) and Cornell Law School (J.D.), where she serves on the advisory board. She is also a classically trained singer who has studied voice at the Juilliard School of Music (Evening Division).
Antara Ganguli is UN Girls Education Initiative Director and has been the head of the UNGEI Secretariat since 2021. Prior to this role, she led the gender portfolio for UNICEF India, UNICEF’s largest non-humanitarian office where she led programs on addressing harmful gender norms in education and health systems. Previously she served as the Deputy Representative for UN Women in Bangladesh. Before joining the UN, she worked in the private sector as a management consultant. She started her career as a teacher in a municipal school in Pune, India that served children of sex-workers.
Emily Y. Wu (via Zoom) is Founder of Ghost Island Media, an independent media network focusing on urgent social issues that Taiwan has in common with the world. Launched in 2019, its programs for podcast and TV have won awards and accolades, from Taiwan to Finland. Emily has worked in Taipei, Hong Kong, Beijing, Shanghai, and New York. She is passionate about empowering discussions for emerging and progressive social issues and furthering dialogues between Taiwan and the world. Ghost Island Media shows are broadcast in Mandarin, English, and French. Topics range from climate, cannabis, gender, health, feminism, and emerging leaders, to cultural diplomacy, PRC influence, politics, and Taiwan in the world. Emily began her career in journalism and international co-productions while at public television in Taiwan then at Next Media (Apple Daily). She was most recently the producer and presenter of "Game Changers with Emily Y. Wu," a 30-episode TV interview series on emerging leaders.
Neelam Chowdhary (moderator) is the Vice President of Education. In this role, she is responsible for overseeing the department’s strategy and direction for the Center for Global Education, China Learning Initiatives, and Education for Equity programs. She joined Asia Society in 2011 as the Executive Director of Global Learning Programs, where she led the development and design of global competence curriculum, teacher training programs, and digital content. She specializes in data-driven decision-making centered on research-based teaching and learning. Before joining Asia Society, Neelam was the Vice President of Programs at the Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship. She co-authored Entrepreneurship: Owning Your Future (2009) and Exploring Careers for the 21st Century (2011). She has experience as an educator in both Los Angeles and New York City public schools and is a National Board-Certified Teacher. She earned a doctorate in curriculum studies from Teachers College, Columbia University, a master’s degree from Pepperdine University in education administration, and a bachelor’s degree from The University of Southern California in sociology.
Event Details
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