On Thursday, March 26th Women’s Campaign International President Marjorie Margolies submitted testimony to the US Congress’ Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations and Related Programs.  In her testimony, Marjorie spoke of WCI’s support for the new administration’s energized approach to addressing women’s issues internationally.  She reaffirmed WCI’s commitment to support these goals and to work both at home and abroad to ensure that women’s voices are heard and respected.

In an excerpt from her testimony she writes:

“When I was elected to Congress in 1993, the Year of the Woman, I began my term at a time when groundbreaking advances were being made to better incorporate gender issues and the needs of women into policy decisions made in this country and abroad.

In 1995 I was appointed by President Clinton to serve as the Director of the U.S. Delegation to the United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing, China. Women came from all over the world to attend this conference, to unite and demand that their voice – the voice of over half the world’s population – be heard.  I saw then, in sheer numbers, how millions of women around the world faced disproportionate challenges and daunting obstacles when attempting to run for office and assume positions of leadership in their communities.  In our platform for action, the U.S. Delegation committed to working on increasing the number of women at decision-making tables around the world.

After leaving Congress, I created Women’s Campaign International (WCI), as a medium through which this promise could be achieved….During the past ten years, WCI has provided women in more than 15 countries with the tools necessary to participate fully in political, social and economic decision-making processes…With WCI’s help, women have developed the skills to address the issues that most significantly affect their daily lives, including health, education, children’s and senior’s issues, poverty, and economic inequalities.”