INTERNATIONAL: Economic Growth and Security Tied to Women's Status

Women's entrepreneurship and empowerment are keys to solving the world's most pressing challenges, Melanne Verveer, the first U.S. Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women's Issues, said in appearances in Seattle this week.

The U.S. is making women a cornerstone of foreign policy because "issues from the economy to climate change to the conflict in Afghanistan cannot be effectively dealt with unless women are participating in all levels of society."

Verveer addressed Global Washington's annual conference and a breakfast hosted by the Seattle International Foundation, Washington Women's Foundation and the Women's Funding Alliance.

She pointed to "a mountain of data that has been accumulating and showing us the direction," including reports by the World Economic Forum that rank countries by measuring the gender gap.

"I believe we can no longer afford to relegate these issues to women's issues, a nice issue, a soft issue on the side if you can get to it," she said. "No country can get ahead if it leaves half its people behind."

But Verveer, who began serving in the newly created State Department position last year, acknowledged that women in the U.S. hardly rank at the top of the world when it comes to equality. The U.S. ranked 17, behind Ireland and ahead of Costa Rica, in a report measuring economic participation, economic opportunity, political empowerment, educational attainment and health and well-being.

Locally, a report by the Women's Funding Alliance, Washington State is ranked 42nd lowest in the nation for equality of earnings between males and females working full-time.

In the Puget Sound area, women consistently make about 75 cents for every dollar men earn, even when accounting for educational level and occupation, the four-county study found.

On Wednesday, the Paycheck Fairness Act, S. 3772, failed to advance in the Senate. The bill needed 60 votes to proceed and failed on a 58-41 vote.

"Despite years of progress, our country has still not yet completely eliminated discrimination and unfairness in the workplace," Sen. Patty Murray, co-sponsor of the bill, said following the vote.

One region where women could be making a far greater economic contribution is Asia, Verveer said.

Restricting job opportunities for women costs the region between $42 billion and $46 billion a year in GDP growth, according to the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific Countries.

That would also translate into better opportunities for Washington, since the growth of Asia has a disproportionately strong influence on the state.

It might also bring greater leverage from countries such as China to bear on one of the toughest places on earth for women -- the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where rape has become a tool of war used to decimate communities and gain access to minerals, Verveer said.

"Nobody pays a price for it," she said, because the justice system doesn't function. UN-backed troops have been accused of murdering and raping villagers and looting homes in an area of eastern Congo where more than 300 people, including children, were raped two months ago.

Verveer said she raised the issue of violence against women in Congo during meetings of the U.S. China Strategic and Economic Dialogue, with China's head of International Organizations, as well as at the UN Security Council and in Africa-China talks.

Tonight, the role of women in global leadership is the subject of a talk by Barbara Spraker, associate faculty at Antioch University's Center for Creative Change, who will discuss her work supporting women's leadership across many cultures.