Forging a Global Network of Women in Public Service

Launched by U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in partnership with the U.S. Department of State and five leading women’s colleges – Barnard, Bryn Mawr, Mount Holyoke, Smith, and Wellesley, the WPSP is housed at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars as of June 2012. Founded it 2011, and now grown to include Scripps, Mills, and Mount St. Mary’s Colleges and other partner institutions around the word, WPSP is an inititative to advance women to positions of influence in governments and civic organizations worldwide.

 

 

The range of complex challenges that exist around the world today and into the future requires the robust participation of women in public service and political leadership to forge global solutions to improve governance, expand civil rights, and combat corruption.

50% by 2050

We envision a world in which political and civic leadership is at least 50 percent female by 2050. We are committed to building the infrastructure and convening the conversations necessary to achieve this vision. WPSP’s goals are to:

• Challenge the world community to identify, create, and advance a new generation of women committed to public service;
• Bring together thought leaders, educators, and public servants from around the world, as well as members of the private and non-profit sectors, who wish to take up this challenge;
• Identify and address the obstacles that prevent more women from committing to a life of public service and political leadership;
• Explore creative solutions that will increase the number of young women who aspire and are empowered to pursue a career in public service; and
• Make recommendations for implementing those solutions at all levels of political involvement around the world

 Working in alignment with other leading organizations and institutions in the U.S. and around the world, WPSP will:

• Convene a series of global conversations and launch partnerships to ensure that we are educating and training a new generation of women to enter the public sector with the strategic leadership skills, energy, and commitment required to tackle today’s global challenges;
• Create intensive training and mentoring opportunities for emerging and aspiring women leaders;
• Establish and sustain a vibrant international network of such leaders; and
• Generate new, cross-culturally valid insights on women’s political leadership; and gain momentum over time

With rich traditions of educating women from around the world to be leaders for over 30 generations, the Sister schools represent the very best of American higher education and a legacy of historic achievement for women.