Women are the way forward. Finally, beginning today - Feb 1- some of the most powerful companies in the U.S (Coca-Cola, Accenture, and others) are signing a worldwide pledge to bring women into the economic mainstream. And not a second too soon. They are finally beginning to understand what development experts have known all along: women are more likely than men to put their income back into their communities, drive up literacy, drive down mortality, and ultimately, raise GDP.
Recently Walmart has pledged more than $20 billion to source women-owned companies in the U.S. and Coca Cola has since announced a similar program to support 5 million women entrepreneurs globally by 2020.
Question though: why must women start their own businesses to flourish? When will U.S. businesses also grasp what a recent Catalyst survey shows: a strong correlation between gender diversity in leadership ranks results in better economic performance for the company.