The Women’s Forum for the Economy and Society was created in 2005 by Aude Zieseniss de Thuin. It aims to promote women’s vision on the key social and economic issues of our times. Geared towards leading women and men, the forum seeks to be a place for debate, exchange, reflection and action and gives women a voice on all major issues facing our societies today and tomorrow.
The Women’s Forum for the Economy and Society was ranked among the top five influential forums worldwide by the Financial Times on 24 January 2007.
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The Women's Forum for the Economy and Society was established in 2005 to bring together women leaders and their male peers to discuss ways of enhancing women's contribution to the global economy and society. The group's focus is on "building the future with women's vision" and is dedicated to projects in the areas of education; performance and parity in corporations; and employment for women. In 2005, the forum held its first Global Meeting and in 2008, the first edition of its Women's Forum Asia was held.
The founder, Aude Zieseniss de Thuin, is a psychologist by training and founder of other major events including International Direct Marketing Week. After expressing interest in joining the World Economic Forum in Davos several years ago, and receiving no response, she decided to launch the Women's Forum with a vision of fashioning the forum "in the spirit of promoting women's ideas and actions, a tribune where women can debate and express their views, where women of all generations and cultures can discuss socio-economic issues to help build the future." The Women's Forum is overseen by a Global Council "composed of leading international business, civil society and media figures representing the five continents," which aims to "contribute to the strategic orientation and to the content of the Forum, and to make recommendations on the international positioning of the Forum." Today, the forum operates under its values of "progress through diversity; reconciliation of antagonisms; transformation by example; [and] permanent connection with the realities in the field." The Women's Forum is supported in part by corporate partnerships with its events.
The Women’s Forum for the Economy and Society holds various events.
The Women’s Forum Global Meeting is held in Deauville (France) each year in October. It welcomes around 1200 participants to discuss various themes on gender diversity.
The first edition was held on 13-15 October 2005. The theme of the first year was "The new dimensions of power and influence". Speakers included Sheikha Lubna al Qasimi, Cherie Blair, Barbara Hendricks, Hung Huang, Anne-Marie Idrac, Taslima Nasreen, Simone Veil, Muhammad Yunus and Zhang Xin.
The second edition was held on 5-6 October 2006. The theme was "Women’s new responsibility for improving our societies". H.M. Queen Rania Al-Abdullah of Jordan, Massouma al-Mubarak, Michèle Alliot-Marie, Antoinette Batumubwira, Peter Brabeck-Letmathe, Carlos Ghosn, Diane Kurys, Christine Lagarde, Nicole Notat, Patricia Russo, among others, were speakers at this edition.
The third edition was held on 11-13 October 2007 under the theme "Building trust in our societies". The main speakers of this edition were: Dora Akunyili, May Chidiac, H.E. Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, Ayo Obe,[1] Ana Palacio, Rama Yade, among others.
The fourth edition was held on 16-18 October 2008 under the theme "Progress to share, Future to dare".
The 5th edition was held on 15-17 October 2009 under the theme "Think again, think ahead! It is time for action change and hope." Main speakers of this edition: Irina Bokova, Clara Rojas, Fadela Amara, Meglena Kuneva, Karen Kornbluh, Anousheh Ansari, Louise Arbour, Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, Carlos Ghosn, among others
The 6th edition will be held 14-16 October 2010 in Deauville, France.
The first edition of the Women’s Forum Asia was held 15-17 May 2008 in Shanghai. It welcomed more than 700 participants to discuss the theme "Growth and Sustainability: How women are making a difference". A special Brainstorming Meeting was held on 13 May 2009 gathering 80 participants; Joseph Stiglitz was one of the main speaker of this event.
The first Talents Day by the Women’s Forum will be held in Paris at the Musée du Quai Branly on 8 July 2008. This event was meant to gather the feminine talents of tomorrow and allow them to network, debate with diversity managers from big companies and meet exceptional leading figures debating on gender diversity.
The Women’s Forum has also initiated concrete projects to support women all over the world, and in various spheres.
The Cartier Women's Initiative Awards is an international business plan competition for women created in 2006 by Cartier and the Women's Forum with the support of the consulting firm McKinsey & Company and INSEAD business school. Five female entrepreneurs, one per continent, are rewarded annually. Each receives coaching support for a full year, a $20,000 grant and an exclusive trophy designed by Cartier. The competition comprises two rounds: the selection of the finalists in June based on their short business plans and the selection of the Laureates in October based on their detailed business plans.
Rising Talents aims to distinguish highly talented young women who will become influential figures in our economies and societies in the future. The initiative is an example of the values illustrated by the Women’s Forum since its creation. It was launched in 2007 under the impulse of Aude de Thuin, Founder and CEO, as a corporate and personal commitment to promoting women leaders and bringing the vision of rising generations to the Forum. Each year, 20 to 25 young women are invited to attend the Women’s Forum Global Meeting and join the Rising Talents network.
SciTechGirls aims to encourage girls to embrace scientific and engineering studies and careers. It was launched in 2007 following the alarming observation that scientific, technological and engineering careers fail to attract and retain women. Though many initiatives have been designed to answer that issue, so far they have had limited impact on the situation.
The Women for Education award rewards a leading figure and an outstading action implemented to promote education and training of women and girls all around the world. A theme will be chosen each year: Peace and conflicts prevention, Health, Democracy, Etc. In 2007, the NGO Afghanistan Libre, chaired by Chékéba Hachémi, was awarded. The winning association in 2008 was Basha Trust, represented by Surekha Devi. In 2009, two NGOs were rewarded: El Camino (Mexico) and Accueil d'Enfants Ethiopie (Ethiopia).
The following people are working with the Women's Forum.