The Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs hosted a virtual discussion on September 14, 2020, entitled United States and Republic of Korea: Women's Economic Empowerment Business Roundtable. Assistant Secretary for Economic and Business Affairs Manisha Singh opened the meeting, and the Secretary's Office of Global Women's Issues, led by Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women's Issues Kelley Currie, provided an overview of the Women's Global Development and Prosperity (W-GDP) Initiative.
Attended by U.S. and Korean business representatives and government officials, the roundtable highlighted private sector approaches to support women's economic empowerment in the workplace and in the larger business ecosystem. Both sides offered recommendations on how to improve women's participation in the economy and strategized next steps. The discussion showcased the strong partnership between the United States and Republic of Korea and our continued commitment on this topic.
The roundtable was implemented as part of the Bureau's women's economic empowerment initiative, POWER (Providing Opportunities for Women's Economic Rise). The POWER initiative supports the goals of W-GDP, the first whole-of-U.S. government approach to supporting global women's economic empowerment. Through POWER, the State Department regularly engages the private sector to build networks to support women's economic participation in the United States and worldwide and to reduce barriers to those activities. POWER promotes efforts to support women as entrepreneurs and business leaders, particularly in high-tech sectors.
