I am very pleased to be here today representing the United States. Throughout history and across the globe, women's work has made the world work. In the home. In the fields. In the factories.
Women comprise more than half the world's population.
We care for most of the world's children. And we account for the majority of new workers in both industrialized and developing countries. Advancing the role and status of women isn't just a social or moral issue, it is an economic imperative. When women are guaranteed basic human and labor rights, whole families and communities benefit. When women gain the knowledge and power to make their own choices, society is better able to break the chains of poverty.