In the third in a series of articles from the UBS Global Forum on Philanthropy, this publication examines how speakers addressed women's issues and the continuing challenges many women face.

This is the third in a series of articles stemming from the
recent UBS Global Philanthropy Forum in St
Moritz, Switzerland,
at which this publication was the exclusive media partner. View the first series on Family Wealth Report here. 

They make up 50 per cent of the human population and despite
big strides in recent decades, women around the world face a number of barriers
to a better life, a fact that philanthropists and policymakers must continue to
address, a conference heard recently.

Under the theme of “It’s a Girl!” to celebrate and note
women’s issues, delegates at the UBS Global Philanthropy Forum in St Moritz,
Switzerland, discussed the challenges, progress and problems that women in many
countries continue to face.

And among the key themes of the discussions was that
empowering women through education and greater opportunities is probably the
most important upward step any country can take to boost its economy. One
speaker at the annual event described it as the ultimate “high-yield investment.”

Setting the scene for the two-day conference, Alex Friedman,
global chief investment officer at UBS, talked about “three forces which move
the world” – government, religion and capital. “We are at this unique
inflection point where tendencies over the last 30 to 40 years have led us to
where we are.”

Touching on the first morning session on women’s issues and
problems, Friedman pointed out that there are 250 million adolescent girls in
the world living in poverty; there is a huge pool of potential wealth creation
being lost due to lack of education and other opportunities for such young
women.

More broadly, Friedman talked about how the world economy is
still working its way out of a period of rising leverage. “It is not a world
where there is more money around right now,” he said, explaining why
constrained government budgets and demands have helped drive demand for
philanthropy.

In total, the investment management industry has over $100
trillion, so even if a small fraction of that money were to be put to
philanthropic uses or invested in particular ways would have a dramatic effect,
he said.

Kathryn Shih, chief executive officer, UBS Wealth
Management, Asia-Pacific, told the conference: “My position [as a senior female
banking executive] is a very fortunate one and not at all representative of the
region I come from.”

She discussed issues such as selective abortion [at the
expense of baby girls]. “Death rates in childbirth are higher in the APAC
region than in any other region of the world apart from sub-Saharan Africa”, she said. “The forced marriage of girls is
another scourge,” she continued.

“Investment in health and education for girls can deliver exponential
benefits,” she told delegates.

Smart policy as well as right

Melanne Verveer, who is US Ambassador-at-large for global
women’s issues and a former member of the Clinton
administration in the US,
said: “Gender equality is the smart and strategic thing to do. For far too
long, women’s rights have been a sub-set of human rights. It remains a fact
that no country can get ahead if it leaves half of its people behind.”

“We see women as agents of change rather than as victims,”
she said.

At present, women hold about 20 per cent of the seats in
parliaments, she said. She cited World Bank data suggesting that levels of
corruption fall in political systems when women’s participation increases, she
added.

Vuslat Dogan Sbanci, chair of Turkish publication Hurriyet,
talked about her feeling of guilt at seeing her own success in business
contrast with the poor situation of many women in Turkey. This drove her to do
something about it. While Turkey
has a relatively high score for women CEOs and senior managers, general female
workforce participation is low.

And Michael Kimmel, professor, State University of New York,
Stony Brook, US, gave a man’s perspective on
how to address the issues facing women. At times thought-provoking and entertaining,
Kimmel pointed out that helping women to progress is as much in the interests of
men as it is for women themselves.

“Women today feel entitled to pleasure,” he said,
contrasting with the attitudes about women that have prevailed for a lot of
history.

He talked about his research on issues such as parental
leave and why, even with firms that allowed it, some men did not take advantage
of it due to peer group pressure and a sense that such leave would be adverse
for one’s career.

He said men should not treat the issue of women’s rights as
a zero-sum game; “rather, what’s good for girls and women is good for boys and
men,” he said. (He briefly referred to some studies suggesting that boys and
men were being harmed by a focus on women’s issues, such as campaigns to bring
daughters into workplaces.)