Vice president house address12/17/2023 And I look around this room, and there are so many who have been in this fight for so long. (Laughter.) And there’s a really profound return on the investment. And I want to thank everyone here because many of you have been partners through that process of doing what we know is critically important, not only because it is morally right, ethically right, but it is how we will be on a path to increase security and prosperity around the world. In the past eight months, I have partnered with the private sector and philanthropies to generate more than $2.4 billion to economically empower women around the world. Though this new initiative, we will provide skills and training in areas such as engineering and the manufacturing of solar panels, we will increase access to finance for women-owned businesses in these industries, and we will increase girls’ access to STEM education. These investments will support women in what is called the “blue and green economy,” which means supporting women in industries that contribute to a sustainable future, such as clean energy and conservation.Īnd all of this work, of course, will help address the climate crisis but also with the recognition that the climate crisis has a disproportionate impact on women and children around the world. So, this initiative will invest more than $900 million from the public and private sectors, including $163 million from the United States government. This focus led to an announcement that I made in March in Ghana that the public and private sectors have committed more than $1 billion to support economic empowerment of women globally with an emphasis on closing the digital gender divide.Īnd today, then, as Jen said, to build on those investments, I am pleased to announce the launch of the women in the sustainable economy initiative also known as WISE. On nearly every trip I have taken overseas, from Guatemala to South Korea to Ghana, I have convened women entrepreneurs, activists, and students to partner with them to invest in their work and lift the next generation of women leaders. And as Vice President, this work has now extended abroad. So, the majority of my career has been focused on the health, safety, and well-being of women and children. So, yes, let us applaud their work as an important milestone in the long march toward progress. And to that end, I am pleased to announce that just last week in Las Vegas 35,000 members of the local culinary union - the vast majority women and women of color and immigrant women - led by a Latina, successfully negotiated for better benefits, stronger workforce and workplace safety protections, and the largest pay raise in their history. And let us all agree that when we lift the economic status of women, children, their families, and all of society benefits.Īnd when it comes to women in the workplace, the President and I know that organizing is critical to empowerment. So, clearly there is a lot more work to be done, including here in the United States. And globally, one in five girls is married before the age of 18. Only six have a national legislature with 50 percent or more women serving. And of these, 176 maintain legal barriers to women’s economic participation. There are nearly 200 countries in the world. So, we are all here because we agree women around the world should be able to fully participate in economic, political, and social life, and they must be able to participate equally and in positions of leadership.Ĭurrently, however, that is not the case. I’ve known you and worked with you throughout the various positions you and I have held in public office, and you really are a great fighter for the empowerment of women everywhere. Mayor Breed, thank you for your leadership. And together we are doing extraordinary work. There are leaders from government, civil society, philanthropy here. She really is an extraordinary fighter.Īnd I wish that you all could see her in these rooms, because she is so very kind in terms of her disposition, but she will cut somebody’s throat - (laughter) - if they’re not doing the right thing. I have to say, I have the great privilege of working with Jen at the White House, and we travel the country and the world together, and I’m looking at her right there. InterContinental San Francisco San Francisco, California Remarks by Vice President Harris at the APEC Women’s Economic Participation in the Industries of the Future Meeting | San Francisco, CA
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