Past Events 2006
Women: Leaders of Change
On November 27, 2006, U.S. Ambassador to Hungary April H. Foley participated in the roundtable discussion organized by the Central European University (CEU) Gender Studies Department "Women Engineering Change", moderated by CEU Professor Allaine Cerwonka.
In her opening comments, Norwegian Ambassador Bente Angell-Hansen explained that the current enviable state of affairs in Norway, where half of the members of the government, 30% of the business leaders, 21.4% of the boards of directors, and 20% of the Members of Parliament are women, is the result of the affirmative action measures introduced in the seventies to ensure gender equality.
U.S. Ambassador April H. Foley, herself deeply committed to encouraging women to take leadership positions, pointed out that in Hungary, just like in the United States, there is still a lot to be done, as Hungarian women leaders, with equally good education, for equal work only receive 52% of the pay their male colleagues get. Ambassador Foley also gave some practical advice: she encouraged women never to give up their dreams, not to lower their expectations, to apply to higher positions, and to take personal responsibility for their own financial independence.
Romanian Ambassador Ireny Comaroschi and Polish Ambassador Joanna Stempinska shared the experience from their own countries, while Dr. Klára Dobrev, who is the chairperson of the board of trustees of the Foundation for Healthy Cities highlighted the fact that in smaller communities it is mostly women who are the local engineers of change. Hungarian Ambassador-designate to the UK Borbála Czakó, one of Hungary's most successful businesswomen said that women leaders could help a lot their female colleagues to get ahead, primarily as role models and mentors. CEU Professors Éva Fodor and Andrea Pető gave comments ranging from recounting experiences from their own professional lives to sharing successful models of affirmative action.
In the question-and-answer session following the presentations, CEU students were able to discuss various aspects of the complex issue of women in leadership positions.