Plenary 1: Leading from the Top (Government / Policy)

9-10:20 a.m. on Saturday, May 24 at the ICC Jeju, Jungmun.

Moderator

Tess Mateo (CEO, CXCatalyst; BPW UN Representative)

Discussants

Albert, Delia (Ambassador; former Secretary of Foreign Affairs of the Philippines and ASEAN region)

Lu, Annette (President, Taiwan Alliance for Green 21; former Vice President, Taiwan)

O'Neill, Patti (GENDERNET Co-ordinator, OECD)

Suh, Young-kyung (Deputy Governor, Bank of Korea)

A review of Sunday's second plenary is available here. - Ed.

On Saturday, May 24, the BPW International Congress 2014 held the first of three the plenary sessions entitled “Leading from the Top.” The event on the second day of the congress at the ICC Jeju, Jungmun, brought together Young-kyung Suh, the Deputy Governor of the Bank of Korea; Annette Lu, former vice-president of Taiwan; Delia Albert, former Secretary of Foreign Affairs for the Philippines; and Patti O’Neill, coordinator of the OECD organization, Gendernet. It was moderated by Tess Mateo CEO of CXCCatalyst.

Jeni Klugman of the World Bank introduced the session by mapping the overlapping constraints - economic, social, and cultural - that public policy makers face, particularly in Africa, South America, and Asia.

Young Kyung Suh painted a picture of the unenviable position of women in Korea, with female economic engagement running much lower than the OECD average.

Annette Lu gave an expansive account of women’s role in history, from China’s Empress Dowager Cixi to Germany’s Angela Merkel; from the battle against feudalism in Korea to her own activist struggles in 1970s Taiwan, which earned her a prison sentence of 13 years. She finished by noting that though women make 85 percent of consumer choices, their role as producers is as yet unrealized.

Delia Albert recounted how she came to be a top diplomat, drawing strength from the matrilineality of Filipino society. She urged the audience to adhere to the “5 Ds” in the pursuit of their careers: Dream, Desire, Direction, Determination, and Dedication.

Patti O’Neill of the OECD shared her reflections on the unfinished business of the Millenium Development Goals, targets that are due to be re-launched in upcoming U.N working groups. Turning to South Korea, she argued that ‘as long as work-based cultures include long working hours, after-hours socializing, and promotion based on seniority, social policy reform will have limited success.’

The session wrapped up with questions from the audience about the intractability of negative cultural attitudes towards women and the prevalence of sexual harassment in the public sphere.