Empowering Women And Girls To Be Leaders

by Carole Jurenko Jones, Alpha Delta (U of Alabama), 2017-2019 NPC Chairman

On March 15, I had the opportunity to participate in a program at the United Nations where sorority women were poised to have conversations with global leaders addressing the very real, and sometimes dangerous, issues facing women in communities around the globe. The program, “Mentoring and Inspiring Women and Girls to be Future Leaders,” was co-sponsored by Delta Zeta and the International Federation for Peace and Sustainable Development (IFPSD) and its president, Sally Kader.

IFPSD, a nonprofit organization in consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council, seeks to promote and reinforce the UN’s commitment to international peace, security and justice through educational programs, public relations and community outreach initiatives.

The program was held in New York City in conjunction with the United Nation’s 63rd Commission on the Status of Women. It featured keynote speaker Jenni Luke, a Delta Zeta alumna and CEO of Step Up, a nonprofit organization that works with high school girls in after-school and weekend programs to become confident, college-bound, career-focused and ready to join the next generation of professional women. Luke challenged the participants to think beyond what their current ideas of mentorship are in order to come away from the discussion with new concepts they could take forward into their daily lives.

Other speakers included the Honorable Maudline Castico, minister for labour, empowerment, elders, women and children, United Republic of Tanzania; Lazarous Kapambwe, permanent representative of Zambia to the United Nations; Modest Jonathan Mero, permanent representative of the United Republic of Tanzania to the United Nations; and Christy Phillips-Brown, national president of Delta Zeta.

Following the panel presentation, the young women in attendance were encouraged to ask questions, which generated discussion on how to address the underlying social systematic structures when it comes to social capital and how to create allies in the transnational spaces. Other questions included:

• What advice would you give to politically empowered youth to ensure the girls around them remain confident?
• What steps can we take to make sure women and girls from different ethnic backgrounds are included in mentoring and have a seat at the table?

Talk about being empowered! I have no doubt the young women in the room will be future leaders, and this program gave them the opportunity to hear and share ideas on ways to empower women as global citizens.

What a powerful partnership Delta Zeta has built with IFPSD and President Kader. Their efforts certainly support NPC’s advocacy efforts to instill good citizenship and service in women to improve both campus communities and local, state and federal communities. I was honored to be invited to attend this unique opportunity to advocate for the empowerment of women and girls, and I thank our Delta Zeta friends for their outreach. Other guests attending the program were Dani Weatherford, NPC CEO, and Ginny Carroll, Circle of Sisterhood executive director.

You can watch the program, “Mentoring and Inspiring Women and Girls to be Future Leaders,” as co-sponsored by Delta Zeta and the International Federation for Peace and Sustainable Development. View the event video from UN Web TV (75 minutes).