妇女权益增强有助提升国家经济实力

    身处发达世界的我们，可以奢侈地哀叹一声：在财富世界500强公司中，仅有12位女性掌门人。而贫穷国家的现状是，妇女们常常无法继承财产、接受教育或获得贷款。然而，妇女更善于储蓄，而且对于贫困国家尤为重要的一点是，她们更有可能将收入花在子女的健康和教育上，从而提升社会的经济水平。

    麦肯锡公司（McKinsey）的一项调查显示，美国许多大公司现在突然领悟到，向发展中国家的妇女投资或许是件有利可图的事情。高盛公司正致力于一项在全球范围内培养一万名女性企业家的运动。可口可乐公司（Coca-Cola）也在开展一个类似的项目，打算到2020年之前，为500万名妇女提供创业支持。沃尔玛公司（Wal-Mart ）已发起一项倡议，计划将该公司从全球各地归妇女所有的企业购买的货物数量翻一番。

    美国公司的管理者也希望为其海外公司雇佣更多的妇女。“我们打算赶在本土公司醒悟之前，充分挖掘当地的女性人才，”常驻香港的通用电气公司（GE）副总裁约翰•赖斯说。

    1995年，当时还是第一夫人的希拉里在北京发表的一次演讲中称：“除非妇女的人权受到尊重和保障，否则她们就永远不会获得充分的尊严。”只需看一看刚果把强奸用作战争武器的相关记载，或读一读索玛丽•玛姆惊心动魄的自传里对柬埔寨贩卖妇女行为的描述，就能明白希拉里的这番话依然没有过时。

    但金钱就是力量，妇女也是一种劳动力资源。因此，如今贵为国务卿的希拉里通过经济角度（而不是从道德层面）为妇女权利鼓与呼，堪称精明之举。毋庸置疑的是，这种观点正在亚洲部分地区结出硕果：百万富翁阶层中不乏白手起家的商业女性的身影。希拉里无法肯定的是，她的这番呼吁能否在埃及和利比亚等国产生反响。这些国家的妇女现在只想弄明白，她们的经济潜力究竟是会随着“阿拉伯之春”的到来而获得释放，还是会被伊斯兰原教旨主义碾得粉碎。但如果说哪个地区可以因妇女加入劳动力大军而获益的话，那就是中东：研究显示，如果妇女获得权利，中东平均家庭收入有望增长25%。

    译者：任文科

    In the developed world we have the luxury to bemoan the fact that only 12 of the Fortune Global 500 companies are led by women. In poor nations women often can't inherit property or gain access to education or credit. Yet women are better savers, and -- especially important in impoverished countries -- they are more likely to spend their incomes on the health and education of their children, thereby raising a community's economic status.

     A number of major U.S. corporations are catching on to the fact that, as a McKinsey survey showed, it can be profitable to invest in women in developing countries. Goldman Sachs's 10,000 Women campaign trains entrepreneurs worldwide. Coca-Cola (KO) has a similar program to support 5 million women entrepreneurs by 2020. Wal-Mart (WMT) has launched an initiative to double the amount of goods it purchases from woman-owned businesses globally.

    American corporate managers are also looking to hire women for their overseas operations. "We want to tap into female talent before indigenous companies figure it out," says John Rice, a GE (GE) vice chairman based in Hong Kong.

    In 1995, as First Lady, Clinton gave a speech in Beijing proclaiming that women "will never gain full dignity until their human rights are respected and protected." You need only see accounts of rape used as a weapon of war in the Congo or read Somaly Mam's terrifying autobiographical account of sexual trafficking in Cambodia to understand those words still apply.

    Money is power, though, and women are a labor resource, so Clinton's decision, now as secretary of state, to make an economic rather than moral case for women's rights seems shrewd. The argument certainly is gaining traction in parts of Asia, where self-made businesswomen are part of the millionaire class. Clinton can't say whether her plea will resonate in countries such as Egypt and Libya, where women can only wonder if the Arab Spring will unleash their economic potential -- or Islamic fundamentalism will crush it. But if any region can benefit from women in the workforce, it is the Middle East: Research shows that if women there are empowered, average household incomes could climb as much as 25%.