Last month, the Gujarat state government in India instituted a two-week celebration on the empowerment of women. The celebration quickly subsided when the police took actions more reminiscent of female oppression than empowerment, putting up posters with women dressed in jeans and shorts that read “Do not step out of the house in inappropriate clothing” and urging girls to refrain from using cell phones for no reason whatsoever. Across the world’s economies, women face all kinds of barriers to their empowerment. Two decades after Hillary Clinton’s 1994 speech in Beijing where she so famously declared that “women’s rights are human rights,” the fight continues.

But empowering women is not just the right thing to do. It’s the smart thing to do. Read More ‘I am a science geek!’: ‘Big Bang Theory’ actress This week, powerhouse leaders including Hillary Clinton, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, and Senator Kirsten Gillibrand will come together at a Center for American Progress roundtable to continue the dialogue on women’s economic security and empowerment. Women are an extremely powerful resource for global entrepreneurship and economic development – one that is not currently tapped to its potential. Research has shown that where women are economically empowered, communities and nations thrive.

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