Washington, DC—On July 15, 2010, Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women's Issues Melanne Verveer addressed WFPG members and guests on the importance of women's leadership and women's empowerment for US foreign policy and the global economy. WFPG's Celebrating Women Leaders Luncheon was attended by representatives from embassies—including many of the women ambassadors—the government, corporations, international organizations, and NGOs. Judy Woodruff, Senior Correspondent for PBS NewsHour, moderated a question and answer session following Ambassador Verveer's remarks.

Ambassador Verveer spoke about the progress made since the Beijing World Conference on Women, and emphasized the "growing recognition that women's empowerment must be a central component of any effort to solve our most pressing global problems." These issues cannot be viewed solely as women's concerns, relegated to a place of lesser importance in the United States' foreign policy agenda. Ambassador Verveer explained that the creation of her position was part of an attempt to address this need by prioritizing women's voices and integrating them into the decision-making process at the State Department and throughout the government. The Ambassador also lauded the United Nations' creation of UN Women, noting that this agency will hopefully "really elevate [women's issues] in ways they have not been elevated and not been funded and not been supported as they ought to have been." She reaffirmed the widespread hope that the new head of UN Women will be someone of international acclaim with experience in management. Read More

Ambassador-at-Large Melanne Verveer with PBS NewsHour Senior Correspondent Judy Woodruff
WFPG Board Members and President with Melanne Verveer and Judy Woodruff
WFPG President Patricia Ellis, Melanne Verveer, and Judy Woodruff	Patricia Ellis and Melanne Verveer
Ambassador Morean Phillip (Trinidad and Tobago), Patricia Ellis, Ambassador Sumbana (Mozambique), and Ambassador Siwela (Zambia)	WFPG Board Member Mary Catherine Toker, Kathryn Hauser of the Trans-Atlantic Business Dialogue, and WFPG Board Member Theresa Loar
Under Secretary for Democracy and Global Affairs Maria Otero and Patricia Ellis	Melanne Verveer and Ambassador Morean Phillip
Ambassador Meera Shankar (India) and Judy Woodruff	Melanne Verveer with Stephenie Foster, Mary Yerrick, and Donna McLarty of Vital Voices
Dima Alfaham of the Embassy of the UAE and Fred Tipson of UNDP	Ambassador Jones-Bos (Netherlands), Under Secretary Maria Otero, and Ambassador Barco (Colombia)
Lorie Jackson of ExxonMobil, Ambassador Siwela, and Melanne Verveer	Kit Bigelow, Ambassador Nonoo (Bahrain), and WFPG Board Member Theresa Loar
Maureen Bunyan of ABC7 and Jocelyne Croes of the Embassy of the Netherlands	WFPG Corporate Advisory Council Member Janet Howard of Coca-Cola with guests