The power of women… to change the world features the exploits of extraordinary women around the world who have become catalysts to a new model of leadership for the 21st Century. This feature documentary and 2 one-hour television special celebrates the rise of women’s leadership, as it takes a bold and profoundly moving look at the state of the world’s women and children.

It is of great historic significance, that women’s leadership is gaining momentum around the world, as witnessed by the recent election of the first female head of state in Liberia, Germany, and Chile, with Peru and others on the cusp.  We will meet firsthand a select number of the world’s political leaders, from Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, who is not only the first female president of Liberia but also holds the distinction of being the first woman elected president in Africa, to Michelle Bachelet, President of Chile, first female president in South America, to German Chancellor Angelina Merkel. Does their distinct perspective and compassion for social issues lay a foundation for a new type of leadership?

This is a road trip around the world. We will see how women are using and defining power and  explore the cultural challenges to removing the roadblocks to full and equal political power. We’ll examine the role media plays in defining women, the challenges women face in conceiving of themselves as leaders, and profile the remarkable women leaders who have dared to go where few have gone before.

The film will intercut between the race for the U.S. Presidency in the lead up to 2008 election, the UN leaders deliberation to the critical issue of creating an effective U.N. agency for women, a call to action initiated by Canadian Stephen Lewis, former U.N. Envoy for AIDS in Africa. "In the midst of this carnage of women — who are losing their lives in such heartbreaking numbers — there has to be something in the world that has a voice for them, and an operational force on the ground that can respond. They make up more than half of the world's population but efforts to address their problems have been a travesty.”

Harnessing the energy of women is the greatest unused asset in the world.  When you see that women in the U.S. are driving the economy at twice the national rate, it becomes self evident that one of the critical factors in the growth in global productivity is unleashing the potent potential of half the world’s population.

We will clock the phenomenal rise of women in business in America, and how the financial liberation of women is creating a whole new market place.  We demonstrate clearly that when women are educated and empowered with economic opportunity in any part of the world, the children are fed and educated, and the entire community flourishes. The world knows this.  It’s proven over and over that the empowerment of women is the key to alleviating poverty.

So why is so little progress being made in spreading equality of opportunity?
 
We will meet some of the world’s leading social activists, unstoppable women who without fame or fortune, have triumphed over almost insurmountable challenges to accomplish Olympian feats in changing their corners of the world.   We will also meet up close the world’s leading Goodwill Ambassadors, political leaders, and the Council of Women Leaders who are convening a historic International Women’s Summit in November in New York. 

The Visionary women we have been privileged to meet along the way have presented a powerful call to action. It is our hope to have raised awareness about the issues involved to inspire a growing political force to mobilize a ‘Global Movement’ to alleviate poverty and violence against women, and unleash the creative power of women around the world.

We BELIEVE empowering women is the key to ending global poverty. Experience shows that a woman's achievements yield dramatic benefits for her entire family.

We CARE about winning the fight against poverty, AIDS and oppression. We know these disproportionately affect women, and we know they are within our power to change.

It's time to TAKE A STAND. This is an historic moment for the advancement of women’s leadership.  Together we can begin a movement to support human rights, justice and freedom for women around the world.  Women are an untapped and formidable force for progress and positive social change. 

Women, Power & Leadership
In the sixties and seventies, the women's movement changed the world as we knew it. A developmental potential emerged that was so powerful it called into question everything we thought we knew about the female gender. Women were vehicles for an impulse to reach higher, break free, and rise up. But where are we now? 

While there are remarkable women doing great work for humanity around the globe, there is a surprising absence of the female gender at the leading edge of cultural change, so says Dr. Elizabeth Debold.  Is that true?  

The Power of Women to Change the World is a provocative and challenging film that tackles this conundrum head on. From the opening exhilarating synopsis contrasting where women were not so long ago with where they are today, to where they are headed if they dare choose to go, the thrust of the film is to open our collective eyes to what is possible when both genders, as equal partners, guide our planet and its many people into the best of possible future worlds. 

The Perception of Women As Leaders The Role of Media Visibility is viability. Perceiving women as leaders is the first and most important step to real change, because we all have a great psychological barrier to seeing what we don’t believe we can see. We will look at the important role media plays in advancing women’s leadership through the lens of pop culture. How has film and TV reframed the perception of women as realistic leaders?

A New Model of Global Leadership in the 21st Century
When women leaders bring their voices, values, vision and leadership to the table alongside men, are policies more inclusive and sustainable?  How is this being played out on the world stage? Are women changing the face of power politics?
     
This is precisely what President Michelle Bachelet of Chile has done. She broke barriers with her victory in Chile by bringing together a nation divided, and by establishing a gender-balanced cabinet and administration. Half of her cabinet are women, in a land that insisted there were no such competent women available.

How are other countries seeking new leadership and implementing democratic change nationally and through political parties to increase the number of women in politics?

Is the U.S. Ready for A Woman President?                
The issue of women’s leadership in the lead-up to the 2008 elections is clearly a question that will challenge the American nation. “Recent polls show that Americans are hungry for a new kind of leadership and are now more than ever ready for a female President,” says Marie Wilson, head of The White House Project, a national, nonpartisan, organization, which works to advance a diverse, critical mass of women into leadership positions, up to and including the U.S. Presidency.

What does it take to succeed, to run and win, to build winning campaigns, turn out voters, work for progressive change. We will feature a glimpse at a weekend training “Go Run” that demystifies the political process and provides the nuts and bolts of running for political office.   

With all the gains women have made in North America in achieving equality, out of 187 countries why does the U.S. rank 66th in the world in terms of women's representation in national legislatures or parliaments, as of March 2006? The scenario is not much better in Canada. Why the disparity?

The State of the World’s Women
Today’s leading humanitarians present a bold and profoundly moving focus on the state of the world’s women and children. Behind the glamorous image of many celebrities beat hearts of compassion. We will feature the following goodwill ambassadors in the field, and find what are the important issues they are trying to bring to global attention.