I recently returned from some wonderful, eye-opening, and unforgettable experiences in India and Ethiopia. In my previous blog I talked about the incredible energy at the WEF India Economic Summit. I was inspired by the passion and a number of girl champions that emerged from the plenary session--both on the...

I sit on the flight from Delhi to London unable to sleep from all the excitement of the past few days, really the whole year. I am returning from the World Economic Forum's Summit in India and once again, as at previous economic summits, the importance of girls in the...

The Annual Meeting of the Clinton Global Initiative, which just wrapped up, was a key moment in the movement to get girls on the global agenda and drive resources to them. Those organizations who have been doing this work for years were thrilled to see that we're finally beginning to...

Last week The New York Times' Nick Kristof wrote about a Pakistani girl named Assiya Rafiq who, at 16, was held captive and raped and beaten for a year. She finally made it to the "refuge" of a police station, where four officers took turns raping her all over...

A quick note from Maria: the Nike Foundation's Managing Director, Lisa MacCallum suggested we take a moment to comment on World Population Day. Following is her take on things.

Today, Saturday, July 11, is the 20th annual World Population Day. Its whole goal is to raise awareness of global population...

I mentioned last week that girls would be front and center at the World Economic Forum on Africa's session entitled "The Girl Effect in Africa." By all accounts, it was an amazing session. The Nike Foundation's Managing Director, Lisa MacCallum, served as moderator and shared this report:

For those not...

As anticipation builds for this week's World Economic Forum on Africa, many are not aware that another important summit took place in Cape Town last week. It didn't get the same attention, but its impact on Africa's future is equally profound.

The African Youth Summit, hosted by the British...

It's no secret I'm a passionate, shout-it-from-the-rooftops advocate of the girl effect - the positive social and economic change brought about when girls have the opportunity to participate. I wholeheartedly believe in the ripple effect that investments in adolescent girls have on everyone around them. I believe that girls have...

March 8th is International Women's Day. First proposed by German political Clara Zetkin in 1910, it was officially adopted in 1911 as a means to celebrate the economic, social and political achievements of women.

As we approach the centennial, it's time to start thinking about how the women of...

"The Girl Effect on Development" ranked fourth in session sign-ups among all panels at this year's World Economic Forum. In a meeting where people were tripping over each other to hear ideas about how to move beyond this economic crisis, CEOs and heads of state wanted to learn what girls...

This year's Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum has been unprecedented on many levels. I've blogged about the apprehension in the air, but I've also written about how the world leaders at Davos seem to be open to new ideas in a more significant way than ever before.

I've had some interesting conversations in Davos that underscore how the world's current failures are linked to our tendency to look at things one-dimensionally.

The other night I went to a dinner called "36 Hours in September: What Went Wrong?" The panelists were all men who had held positions...

It's a whole different Davos this year. In the past, the first day has typically been laid back. Everyone knows they're in for a long week and they build up to it. Not so this year.

There's a frenetic energy all around and a sense of urgency to hear...

I promised to blog about the girl effect from Davos, but I have to admit I didn't expect the buzz to surface before the World Economic Forum's Annual Meeting had even started.

Yesterday I had coffee with Geeta Rao Gupta, President of the International Center for Research on Women....

This week I'll be heading off to Davos, Switzerland with my colleagues from Nike, Inc. for the World Economic Forum's Annual Meeting. It's no surprise that the entire meeting will be focused on the global economic crisis. All the big names from business, government and the media will spend the...