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From Mongolia to Washington, DC: Engaging Emerging Young Leaders
  • August 21, 2018/
  • Posted By : Stephenie Foster/
  • 0 comments /
  • Under : Diplomacy , Impact , Leadership , Networks

People-to-people exchanges are more important than ever before in these times of global transition and turbulence. They are a proven public diplomacy tool. Studies show that exposure to other cultures fosters understanding, creativity and innovation. Exchanges help develop and deepen people-to-people ties and connections across political systems, cultures and countries. They create personal bonds and promote understanding, and they provide an opportunity to meet each other face-to-face, rather than through the lens of media reporting or governmental biases.

The US-Asia Institute (USAI) has almost 40 years of experience conducting people-to-people exchanges. USAI founders were part of the American contingent that traveled with Deng Xiaoping on his historic visit to the United States in January, 1979. Since then, USAI has organized and participated in hundreds of exchanges between the U.S. and China, Japan, Indonesia, Singapore and Malaysia.

So it was natural fit for USAI to initiate a five-year leadership and democracy training program for emerging Mongolian leaders and elected officials. The purpose of this new initiative, the IMPACT Leadership Exchange & Training programs, is to empower participants with skills and knowledge to engage in and take on leadership roles in democratic and electoral processes, as well as civil society, through a series of exchanges featuring training workshops in Washington, D.C. and Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.

For participants, exchanges are an opportunity to learn new skills and develop networks of experts and colleagues to call on for advice, support and friendship when they return home. For Americans, the exchanges give us a glimpse of another culture and help us identify similarities as well as differences in our systems and structures. For U.S. policy makers, they introduce us to people who will most certainly lead their country in the future.

The IMPACT program was developed by USAI in collaboration with the Her Excellency Battsetseg Shagdar, Non-Staff Advisor to the President of Mongolia, who set out to create a program to cultivate the traditions of participating in and the knowledge about democratic governance in Mongolia’s young democracy of only 28 years.

The result is an intense IMPACT training schedule. USAI will organize and host seven delegations a year. Once a year, a delegation led by the USAI will travel to Ulaanbaatar to train 100 emerging women leaders.

In July, the USAI received the inaugural cohort of nine Mongolian emerging leaders. The delegation participated in a Government 101 briefing to learn about the U.S. system, engaged with young American leaders, participated in an interactive discussion on the rights and responsibilities of citizens in a democracy, heard from a panel on the role of political parties in the U.S., and met with Representatives Dina Titus and Don Young, Co-Chairs of the Congressional Caucus on Mongolia, and Representative Peter Roskam, Co-Chair of the House Democracy Partnership.

The group also toured the Capitol, the Library of Congress and the Supreme Court and received in-depth briefings on the history of the U.S. Congress, the role of the three branches of government and the balance of power between them, the U.S. judicial system, and election processes.

They also participated in some hands-on leadership development. Delegates spent an afternoon strategizing about skills they need to develop as effective leaders. The group was focused on how to motivate others and encourage them to participate in public life. We discussed the importance of having a vision to guide work and help people see how they fit into a larger picture. Communication skills were also important, and most of the group members (like most people everywhere) wanted to sharpen public speaking skills. At the same time, group members focused on how to effectively communicate their own personal vision, so their audiences are able understand the underlying issues and goals behind that vision.

After an intense event, it’s easy to move on to what’s next. But, it’s also an opportunity to reflect on lessons learned and takeaways. Here are some of ours:

Exchanges have exponential impact: Delegates reported that they intend to “pay it forward” by taking what they learned during their IMPACT training about becoming a leader, speaking in public and working with the media to better communicate with the public back to their colleagues in Mongolia. Some delegates also expressed a wish to create a nonprofit focused on grassroots organizing to help get out the vote during elections.

Exchanges are a forum for shared learning: Globally, we all face complex challenges to growth and stability, whether addressing job creation, political empowerment, or the development of important government services. Exchanges are a two-way street. While the Mongolian delegation learned from the Americans they met, we also learned about Mongolia, its particular structure, and its unique challenges. This experience of engaging with others gives us all a sense of a shared humanity and that we can — and must — learn from each other.

Exchanges build a commitment to shared values: Democracy works best when we have leaders with vision, foresight and the ability to bring others along with them. These types of exchanges help build those leadership skills, and an understanding that we are all in this together.

These takeaways demonstrate why people-to-people exchanges are a valuable public diplomacy tool and important to USAI’s mission to create understanding between the people and governments of the U.S. and those of Asian nations. Though this was the first IMPACT delegation, we hope that it will in fact have a lasting IMPACT by strengthening democratic engagement in Mongolia.


Women’s Economic Empowerment: Measuring Progress & Championing Results
  • May 5, 2017/
  • Posted By : Stephenie Foster/
  • 0 comments /
  • Under : Corporations , Economic Empowerment , Gender Equality , Impact , Women

In April, World Bank President Jim Kim and Ivanka Trump made a case in the Financial Times for the importance of closing the gender pay gap, increasing access to finance for women, and enacting regulatory and legal policies to increase women’s economic participation. These goals cannot be achieved without businesses committing to action, and many already have done so. These actions make their workplaces more fair and create an advantage in the race to attract and retain talent, while also increasing their bottom line and shareholder value. Highlighted here are principles and indices that have been developed over the last decade to mark, report on, and reflect the depth of companies’ commitments to women’s empowerment.

Certifications and Reporting

Economic Dividends for Gender Equality (EDGE) Certification. EDGE, a global business certification standard, was launched at the World Economic Forum in 2011. EDGE applies business discipline to achieving workplace gender equality, focusing on metrics and accountability. It assesses policies, practices and data across five areas: equal pay for equivalent work; recruitment and promotion; leadership development; flexible work; and company culture. There are three stages of EDGE certification:

● EDGE Assess: The company makes a public commitment to a strong gender balance across the talent pipeline, pay equity, a solid framework of gender equality policies and practices and an inclusive workplace culture. The company identifies a concrete action plan.

● EDGE Move: The company has implemented a framework for change and achieved significant milestones on the key issues, and commits to sharpening its action plan.

● EDGE Lead. The company has a strong gender balance across the talent pipeline, pay equity, a solid framework of gender equality policies and practices and inclusive workplace culture, and puts gender equality to work for business results.

EDGE works with more than 150 companies and organizations in over 40 countries. Examples include SAP, L’Oréal, Asian Development Bank, and the IFC.

Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEPs). The WEPs were established by UN Women, in conjunction with the UN Global Compact, the business community and governments in 2010. The WEPs emphasize the business case for corporate action to promote gender equality and women’s empowerment. Each principle is accompanied by concrete actions. In brief, the principles are to:

1. Establish high-level corporate leadership for gender equality.

2. Treat all women and men fairly at work.

3. Ensure the health, safety and well-being of all workers.

4. Promote education, training and professional development for women.

5. Implement enterprise development, supply chain and marketing practices that empower women.

6. Promote equality through community initiatives and advocacy.

7. Measure and publicly report on progress to achieve gender equality.

Principle 7 underscores the importance of accountability. To date, 1,450 plus companies have signed onto the WEPs from across the globe, including Alcoa, ANN Inc., Coca-Cola entities, Deloitte, Hilton, Merck, and Pepsi. The G7 and the US Chamber of Commerce also promote the WEPs.

Indices of Progress

PAX Ellevate Global Women’s Index Fund. To say PAX has been a trailblazer in this field is an understatement. This fund invests in companies that are leaders in advancing women through gender diversity. Companies are rated by PAX World Gender Analytics, with representation of women on boards and in senior management receiving the highest weights. Other factors include whether the company has a woman CEO, a woman CFO and is a signatory to the WEPs.

Equileap. Launched in 2017, this analysis compares corporate progress towards gender equality across sectors. The Gender Scorecard examines 19 data points in four categories: gender balance in leadership and workforce; equal compensation and work/life balance; policies to promote gender equality; and commitment to women’s empowerment. The highest score possible was 35, and top performers received 22 points. In addition to measuring progress, the scorecard allows investors to see which companies are doing well by their employees; employees to obtain critical information when making career decisions; and governments to identify role models. Companies ranking highest were L’Oréal, Pearson, National Australia, Sodexo, BTG and Telia; the highest-ranking U.S. company was Merck. Highest ranked countries were Norway, Sweden, the Netherlands, Finland and the UK. Top sectors were communications, finance and utilities.

Bloomberg Financial Services Gender Equality Index (GEI). In 2016, Bloomberg unveiled GEI to showcase what the biggest financial players are doing to promote gender equality. It includes 52 best-in-class public companies in the financial industry in terms of providing opportunities for women. GEI was created to satisfy investor demand, as a growing number are looking to gender equality data to inform investment decisions.


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