Hillary Clinton Announces Innovation Honors for Female Empowerment

We all know we need to empower girls and women if we want the global economy to lift up off its butt and get going. Giving the female half rights, benefits and opportunities doesn't just benefit them, but helps entire societies prosper. The question is: What are we doing to make that happen?

One exciting answer was provided this morning by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who stood up at the Presidential Summit on Entrepreneurship to announce the launch of the “Secretary’s Innovation Award for Women’s and Girls’ Empowerment.” With funding from the Rockefeller Foundation, the Innovation Award will recognize the most innovative approaches to empowering girls and women politically, economically and socially around the world.

I love it when news like this comes along and makes my morning.

The award, to be administered by the State Department's Office of Global Women’s Issues, responds to the idea that "the major economic, security, governance and environmental challenges of our time cannot be solved without the full participation of women at all levels of society," says the State Department. The winners, who will each receive a grant of up to $500,000 to apply to their work, will be selected by a panel of eminent jurors.

The jury will include Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women's Issues Melanne Verveer, Rockefeller Foundation President Judith Rodin, Pulitzer Prize-winning author Sheryl WuDunn, who co-authored the book Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide with husband Nicholas Kristof and Nobel Laureate and founder of Grameen Bank, Muhammad Yunus.

Anyone interested in applying can request to submit an initial concept paper by June 1, 2010 at SGWIRFPInnovation@state.gov. The honorees will be announced by the end of 2010.

Photo by mckaysavage via Flickr.