Through Vital Voices, participants work together to increase political participation of women, promote their legal rights, and further the economic integration of women into the mainstream of these democratic states. Follow-up partnerships are formed and long term connections and commitments are developed. In discussing women and the economy, we must address not only women as victims of poverty, but also women as powerful contributors to economic development. In fact, empowerment of women is crucial to all economic development. Women's work makes the world work.
Women raise most of the world's children.
Women account for the majority of new workers in both industrialized and developing countries. In our own country, women-owned businesses are the engine for job growth across the nation, and we know this is true in other nations as well. We see this, and know we need better data - gender disaggregated data. As the United States has worked with other countries around the world on issues of economic development for women, the consensus has been overwhelming. Without gender disaggregated data, we cannot make informed decisions, policies, and programs.