Rosario Perez, chief executive officer of the women's development organization Pro Mujer, spoke to HuffPost Live at Davos about the importance of economic gender equality.
Perez said the issue is important "for productivity, economic development, health care, you name it." Perez also said economic gender inequality is a cultural issue that needs to continue to evolve.
"Sometimes the mothers tell [women], 'I was abused, and I took it on the chin, so you have to do the same,'" Perez said. "We have to change that."
"Until you're independent financially, all those cultural things, you can't get away from," Perez added.
Perez said it's not just important for women to be empowered financially, but also for men to be passionate about economic gender equality.
"There's no single magic bullet, but I think that also as more men begin to realize, not just because it's convenient, but because truly they are passionate about it, when men are passionate about it things in this area move very fast," Perez said.
Below, more updates from the 2015 Davos Annual Meeting: