Amanda Ellis, director of Global Partnerships for the ASU Julie Ann Wrigley Global Futures Laboratory and a former New Zealand Ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva explains the progress made in narrowing gender disparities since the Beijing Platform for Action was agreed to at the Fourth World Conference on women in 1995 and describes the lessons learned. What are the factors that explain the persistence of gender inequality and what is the price we pay for the multiple forms of discrimination against women throughout the world? Why are women’s economic and political empowerment so vital to human prosperity and security and does COVID-19 augur new opportunities for enhancing the role of women in decision making?  

A broad ranging discussion with one of the world’s leading advocates for the idea that gender equality is not just an issue of protecting women’s human rights, but that expanding the set of opportunities open to her will be a powerful catalyst for human development.