On the 19th of August 2021, the Roundtable on Effective Women Leadership took place as part of the Women’s Empowerment Programme Latin America. The aim of this Roundtable was to foster an impactful and personal exchange of experiences, ideas, and advice, inspiring both, the aspiring leaders and the high-level leaders. 

H.E. Maria Fernanda Espinosa, President of the 73rd UN General Assembly, quoted the words of her role model, her own mother, who said: “No one is going to come, knock on your door and tell you that you have your opportunity.” She highlighted the importance of crafting one’s own future and taking quick action in the position of leadership.

Dr. Irina Bokova, former Director-General at UNESCO, highlighted that leadership for her means to lead by example, to honor your values and believes, to take responsibility for your own decisions and to encourage your teams. She concluded by emphasizing that women should support women.

María Elena Agüero, Secretary-General of Club de Madrid, gave prominence to the importance of commitment, solidarity, and necessity of networking. Furthermore, she accentuated the relevance of spreading awareness about gender equality to boys and men.

Natalie Deacon, Executive Director Corporate Affairs and Sustainability, President Avon Foundation for Women, highlighted the importance of role models, as “you cannot be what you cannot see”. Additionally, she pointed out the significance of creating the right environment for women to thrive as well as looking beyond gender to achieve more inclusivity.

Following the inspirational talks by these four senior-level women leaders, our Global Citizen Fellows (GC Fellows) took the lessons learned from the Roundtable and came up with 5 guiding principles on Effective Women Leadership. These guiding principles will be combined to form a “Manifesto on Women Leadership” that our GC Fellows can look back to in the future.