Subject: MUST READ: Time: “Pro-Clinton Group Touts Her Record on Women”
From: Burns Strider <[email-masked]>
To: CTRFriendsFamily <[email-masked]>
Date: Tue, 26 Aug 2014 14:40:39 -0400
List-Id: <CTRFriendsFamily.americanbridge.org>

Today, Jay Newton-Small published a piece detailing Correct The Record's
most recent analysis of Secretary Clinton's record on women. See the piece
below, and CTR's corresponding record analysis below that.

*Time: “Pro-Clinton Group Touts Her Record on Women”
<http://time.com/3182146/hillary-clinton-womens-equality-day/>*

By Jay Newton-Small

August 26, 2014, 1:23 p.m. EDT

[Subtitle:] Hillary Clinton’s shadow campaign emphasizes her empowerment of
women

A group dedicated to defending and promoting Hillary Clinton’s record ahead
of a possible 2016 presidential bid used Women’s Equality Day to tout her
record of promoting women Tuesday.

The group Correct the Record released a two-page document
<http://correctrecord.org/breaking-glass-womens-economic-empowerment/>
entitled “Breaking Glass: Women’s Economic Empowerment.” The document,
given exclusively to TIME, looks at Clinton’s work to promote women’s and
girls’ issues as Secretary of State. The issue was Clinton’s top policy
priority. The push came after her failed 2008 presidential bid, during
which she didn’t highlight the historic nature of her candidacy until the
end of the campaign, famously saying only in her concession speech that her
bid to be the first female president represented “18 million cracks in the
glass ceiling” for the 18 million votes she’d received in the primaries.

Many Clinton advisers who’d worked on the campaign have said in retrospect
that they wished they’d emphasized the historic opportunity she had to be
the first female president earlier. Clinton lost the women’s vote in 16
state and territorial primaries to Barack Obama. Already this time, Ready
for Hillary, another arm of Clinton’s shadow campaign, has focused on
outreach to female voters as a priority.

Correct the Record’s promotion of Clinton’s record also speaks to that
push, highlighting the work that she’s done to further women and children
globally. The group notes that Clinton created the office of
Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women’s Issues and raised women’s issues at
all international economic forums. She launched the Equal Futures
Partnership to advance women in politics and the private sector. Along with
Asian Partners she pushed through the San Francisco Declaration, an
agreement to realize women’s economic potential. With help from Middle
Eastern countries she launched the Strategic Dialogue with Civil Society,
which brought together and empowered activists in the region to work on
women’s economic and political. In Latin America and the Caribbean she
launched WEAmericas to help women grow small businesses. In Africa, she
created the African Women’s Entrepreneurship Program to help train women
qualify for the African Growth and Opportunity Act, a trade agreement that
gives privileged trade status to certain African countries and businesses.
And she directed the Invest for the Future program in Southern and Eastern
Europe and Eurasia to focus on women’s entrepreneurship.

“Hillary Clinton championed such unprecedented and impassioned work at the
State Department to advance women’s entrepreneurship and empowerment that
it would take an entire book to fully chronicle her efforts,” said Adrienne
Watson, a spokeswoman for the group. “Correct The Record put together this
‘Breaking Glass’ record analysis to highlight Clinton’s many successes,
including several multilateral partnerships and programs which raised the
profile of women’s issues and resulted in greater economic engagement of
women around the world.”

BREAKING GLASS: WOMEN’S ECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT

*Sec. Clinton championed women’s empowerment, entrepreneurship, and
investment in women’s economic potential. **As Hillary Clinton states in
Hard Choices, creating **opportunity*
<http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/189379.pdf>* for women and
girls throughout the world “directly supports everyone’s security and
prosperity, and should be part of our diplomacy and development work.” As
Secretary of State, she followed through on a lifetime of championing
women’s causes by expanding women’s economic prospects, initiating
programs **dedicated <http://www.state.gov/p/wha/rls/fs/2012/199130.htm> **to
<http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2012/06/192208.htm> **entrepreneurship*
<http://www.state.gov/s/d/rm/rls/perfrpt/2010/html/153725.htm>* around the
world. Through international partnerships, Sec. Clinton **elevated*
<http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2012/09/24/fact-sheet-equal-futures-partnership-expand-women-s-political-and-econom>*
women’s
political and economic prospects and **raised*
<http://www.csmonitor.com/Commentary/Opinion/2013/0308/Advice-for-Secretary-Kerry-on-International-Women-s-Day>*women’s
issues “at all international economic forums.”*
ELEVATED POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT FOR WOMEN AND GIRLS

Sec. Clinton worked “to raise women’s issues at all international economic
forums.” According to an op-ed by former Ambassador-at-Large for Global
Women’s Issues Melanne Verveer in the Christian Science Monitor, “Clinton
worked to raise women’s issues at all international economic forums – from
APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation) to the G20 to the OECD
(Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development). She launched
regional networking and training programs for women entrepreneurs and
formed many robust public-private partnerships to promote women’s economic
empowerment.” [Melanne Verveer, Christian Science Monitor, 3/8/13
<http://www.csmonitor.com/Commentary/Opinion/2013/0308/Advice-for-Secretary-Kerry-on-International-Women-s-Day>
]

Sec. Clinton told delegates of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation Women
and the Economy Summit that empowering women meant a stronger, more stable
world economy. According to San Jose Mercury News, “Empowering women means
a stronger, more stable world economy, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary
Rodham Clinton said Friday to the largest diplomatic gathering in the Bay
Area since the United Nations charter was signed here in 1945. And although
the past half-century has seen tremendous progress, there’s still much to
be done to ensure women have the opportunity, information, resources and
legal rights they need for economic success, Clinton told delegates to the
Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation Women and the Economy Summit.” [San Jose
Mercury News, 9/16/11 <http://www.mercurynews.com/news/ci_18911619>]

Sec. Clinton: “The United States is committed to advancing opportunities
for women as entrepreneurs and business leaders.” According to video
remarks at an event for the Organization for Economic Cooperation and
Development, Sec. Clinton said, “Businesses owned by women make
considerable contributions to national economies. But too often, their
growth is limited by unfair barriers. The United States is committed to
advancing opportunities for women as entrepreneurs and business leaders. We
view it as both a moral and strategic imperative for the 21st century.
That’s why we are helping women entrepreneurs with business training and
mentoring; and support policies that improve women’s access to finance,
technology, and networks.” [Remarks at OECD Event on Women’s
Entrepreneurship, state.gov, 11/1/11
<http://www.state.gov/secretary/20092013clinton/rm/2011/11/176210.htm>]
CREATED PROGRAMS TO ACHIEVE GREATER EMPOWERMENT FOR WOMEN

Sec. Clinton launched the Equal Futures Partnership to fight for women’s
political and economic empowerment.According to a White House fact sheet on
the Equal Futures Partnership, “A growing body of evidence shows that
women’s political and economic empowerment are critical to fostering
international peace and security, growing vibrant market economies, and
supporting open and accountable governance. Recognizing that no country can
realize its potential if half its population cannot reach theirs, President
Obama issued a challenge before the United Nations General Assembly in
September 2011 to break down barriers to women’s political and economic
empowerment. […] In response to this challenge, on September 24, 2012,
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton launched the Equal Futures Partnership
on behalf of the United States along with 12 other founding members
(Australia, Benin, Bangladesh, Denmark, Finland, Indonesia, Jordan, the
Netherlands, Peru, Senegal, and Tunisia; as well as the European Union).”
[“Fact Sheet: The Equal Futures Partnership to Expand Women’s Political and
Economic Participation,” whitehouse.gov, 9/24/12
<http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2012/09/24/fact-sheet-equal-futures-partnership-expand-women-s-political-and-econom>
]

Under Sec. Clinton, the Asian-Pacific partners of APEC agreed to the “San
Francisco Declaration,” an agreement to take concrete actions to realize
the full economic potential of women. In 2011, Secretary Clinton brought
together representatives from APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation)
nations to agree to the “San Francisco Declaration.” The Declaration
stated, “We, APEC ministers and senior government officials, along with
private sector leaders, met in San Francisco, California, September 16,
2011 for the High Level Policy Dialogue on Women and the Economy, under the
Chairmanship of U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton. […] In 2011
and beyond, APEC economies will take concrete actions to realize the full
potential of women, integrate them more fully into APEC economies, harness
their talents, remove barriers that restrict women’s full economic
participation, and maximize their contributions towards economic growth.”
In 2012, Sec. Clinton traveled to St. Petersburg, Russia, where she “led
the U.S. Delegation to the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation’s Women and
the Economy Forum (WEF). During this event, participants focused on
leadership and skills and capacity building, two main areas of the San
Francisco Declaration on decreasing barriers to women’s economic
participation, as they relate to innovation, STEM, entrepreneurship, and
healthy lifestyles.” [APEC.org, 9/16/11; state.gov, 6/30/12]

Sec. Clinton’s Strategic Dialogue with Civil Society project brought
activists in the Middle East and North Africa together to discuss “how to
further women’s political and economic engagement.” According to a press
release from the U.S. Embassy in Amman, Jordan, “Ambassador-at-Large for
Global Women’s Issues Melanne Verveer arrived on a four-day visit to Jordan
today. While in Amman, Ambassador Verveer will host a regional convening of
the Working Group on Women’s Empowerment. Under Secretary Clinton’s
Strategic Dialogue with Civil Society, the Working Group brings together
activists from across the Middle East and North Africa to discuss how to
further women’s political and economic engagement in the region.” [U.S.
Embassy Jordan, 6/24/12
<http://jordan.usembassy.gov/pr_ambassador_melanne_verveer_062412.html>]
PROMOTED WOMEN’S ENTREPRENEURSHIP AROUND THE WORLD

Sec. Clinton launched WEAmericas to help women in Latin America and the
Caribbean start and grow small businesses. According to a State Department
fact sheet on WEAmericas, “Recognizing that investing in women is not only
the right thing, but also the smart thing, President Obama announced and
Secretary Clinton launched the Women’s Entrepreneurship in the Americas
(WEAmericas) initiative at the Summit of the Americas in April 2012.
WEAmericas leverages public-private partnerships to increase women’s
economic participation in Latin America and the Caribbean by reducing
barriers women often confront in starting and growing SMEs: access to
training and networks, access to markets, and access to finance.” [“Women’s
Entrepreneurship in the Americas (WEAmericas),” state.gov, 10/12/12
<http://www.state.gov/p/wha/rls/fs/2012/199130.htm>]

Sec. Clinton’s State Department created the African Women’s
Entrepreneurship Program to “provide women with the tools and skills” to
implement the African Growth and Opportunity Act. According to a State
Department report on women’s and girls’ issues, “In conjunction with the
2010 AGOA Ministerial (African Growth and Opportunity Act), the Department
created the African Women’s Entrepreneurship Program to provide women with
the tools and skills they need to more successfully implement AGOA and its
benefits for building businesses and markets. The Department secured
$200,000 from Exxon-Mobil to fund follow-up entrepreneurship training to
support building businesses.” [“Sidebar on Women’s and Girls’ Issues,”
state.gov, 11/15/10]

Under Sec. Clinton’s leadership, the Invest for the Future program focused
on improving women’s entrepreneurship and economic situations across
Southern and Eastern Europe and Eurasia. According to the Invest for the
Future website, “The Invest for the Future program was initiated by the US
Department of State under the leadership of Secretary of State, [Hillary]
Clinton and Global Ambassador-at-large for Global Women’s Issues, Melanne
Verveer. IFTF was conceptualized to focus on improving the economic
situation for women across Southern and Eastern Europe and Eurasia. Through
a series of events it brought together women entrepreneurs, educators,
policy-makers, and civil society leaders to foster development and overcome
barriers to fully realize the promise of gender equality and ‘smart
economics’, as investing in women profits all of society.” [Invest for the
Future, accessed2/4/14 <http://www.investforthefuture.biz/about_us.aspx>]

Sec. Clinton founded the U.S.-Pakistan Women’s Council with American
University and the Organization of Pakistani Entrepreneurs of North America
“to promote economic opportunities for women in Pakistan.” In her remarks
at the Equal Futures Partnership launch, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton
said, “I’m pleased to announce that the State Department and American
University, along with the Organization of Pakistani Entrepreneurs of North
America and our counterparts in Pakistan, are founding the U.S.-Pakistan
Women’s Council to promote economic opportunities for women in Pakistan.
The Council will connect businesses, universities, and individual donors in
both the United States and Pakistan. And I’m very pleased that Pakistan’s
Ambassador to the United States is here with us today.” [Remarks at the
Equal Futures Partnership Launch, state.gov, 9/24/12
<http://www.state.gov/secretary/20092013clinton/rm/2012/09/198115.htm>]

Sec. Clinton held a conference for women entrepreneurs through the Pathways
to Prosperity program. According to her remarks at the Pathways to
Prosperity Women Entrepreneurs Conference, Sec. Clinton said, “Part of what
we are trying to do here in the State Department with all of you is to make
the case that empowering women is a key to progress and prosperity and
peace. Bringing together the mentors and the entrepreneurs is one way of
creating even more support for all of you in business to be able to spread
the benefits of women taking leadership roles. I’ve heard about some of the
work that you are doing in your own lives, and I am very touched by the
courage and the commitment that so many of you have already shown.”
[Remarks at the Pathways to Prosperity Women Entrepreneurs Conference,
state.gov, 10/9/09
<http://www.state.gov/secretary/20092013clinton/rm/2009a/10/130862.htm>]