152:The Self-Empowered Woman: UNC & ZONTA

Dear Followers,



I've been out of touch recently because--thanks to force of nature Sonia Cooper (Cooper & Holly)--Tony and I (plus the ever-enjoyable Ed Broderick) spent the last week in Colorado, where I had two keynote speaking engagements. The first was at the University of Northern Colorado (Greeley), where I spoke at the graduation ceremony for Las Chicas Matematicas, and met amazing young girls (14-18) who knocked my socks off with their ability to problem solve and work with numbers.

The next event was a Meet The Author fundraiser where I met local Colorado writers, and learned about the amazing work that ZONTA International does on behalf of women everywhere. ZONTA was founded in 1919, and has over 30,000 members in more than 1,200 clubs in 68 countries (see the map above). Some of the statistics they use to remind women why they should join ZONTA appear below: 

70% of the world's 1.3 billion "absolute poor" are women

2/3 of the illiterate adults in the world are women

2/3 of the children not in school are girls

60 million women who would be alive today are "missing" due to gender discrimination violence

Every year, over 40,000 women in developing nations die from pregnancy-related causes

To remedy those depressing statistics, ZONTA International strives to:

IMPROVE the legal, political, economic, health, educational and professional status of women through service and advocacy; 

WORK for the advancement of understanding, goodwill and peace through a world fellowship of executives in business and the professions; 

PROMOTE justice and universal respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms;

BE UNITED internationally to foster high ethical standards, implement service programs, and provide mutual support and fellowship for members who serve their communities, their nations, and the world.

For more information: http://www.zonta.org/

It was an honor to speak to so many enlightened and enthusiastic women last week, and the memories of my Colorado author tour will stay with me forever.

Looking forward to your comments...