Esther Wojcicki, Dean of Harmony Plus, was invited to participate in the Forbes 50 Over 50 Celebration Event held last week in NYC during which another major announcement was made - all the women that have previously received the Forbes 30 Under 30 honor, as well as the newly established 50 Over 50 honor, are set to gather in the United Arab Emirates. This spring, over a three-day period, they will congregate and celebrate the ongoing empowerment of women and align in ways that will further inspire women. The event is so large in scale that it is expected to even inspire future yet-to-be-born generations of women. It is to be called the "30/50 Summit".
“This is a big step for the rise of women.” - Esther Wojcicki
Photo: Daniel Olah (Abu Dhabi)
Speaking of Forbes, the founders of the summit, she clarified that “through all their efforts, Forbes is doing a lot to help women entrepreneurs be respected and funded. And this is a big step in the rise of women - men should be excited to have a partner to comprehensively engage along the journey of fulfilling all of their wishes and dreams.”
Upcoming 30/50 Women's Summit Add Now Seen on Nasdaq billboard
The event will take place during the International Women’s Day period, March 6th-9th. Mika Brzezinki will chair the event in Abu Dhabi. In addition to starring as the co-host of NBC’s weekday morning broadcast show Morning Joe, Mika has ambitious plans for further strengthening the female cause worldwide. Mika is the founder of the Know Your Value initiative, which is an empowered community that helps women recognize, and be recognized for, their personal and professional values by developing and inspiring their individual growth.
Mika Brzezinski to chair Abu Dhabi Summit in March
While the upcoming summit is very groundbreaking, the integrated Forbes tradition is not all that new. Initiated in 2011, starting with the 30 Under 30 section of the list, Forbes set out to recognize young leaders in the world. The number recognized directly or indirectly through the initiative has grown in number to surpass 10,000 at present, and the honorees collectively represent women of more than 50 countries. On the tenth anniversary of the founding of the 30 Under 30 list, the perception shattering 50 Over 50 list was established. Bringing both generations of the world's Frau agents of change together every year from now, starting this March, will make for a new tradition as much unprecedented as it will be impacting.
Labor Force Participation of Women in the USA, 1955-2005
Data Source: US Census Bureau
Labor Force Participation of Women in the UAD, 1990-2019
Data Source: unknown
It was also clarified that the 30/50 Summit location has been confirmed within the UAE and will be hosted in city of Abu Dhabi three times over the next three years. This is a city that aims to become a sustainable city (interestingly, recent studies argue that the empowerment of women will in fact directly lead to gains in multiple facets of the United Nations SDG program). According to Our World in Data numbers, up until the present, the Middle East still has a significantly male-dominated workforce. However, in recent years it has changed in a few countries, such as the UAE. The Summit being hosted there may very well have cascading effects in terms of social norms and perceptions regarding women entering the labor force around the region.
Harmony Plus Dean Esther Wojcicki's participation in the NYC event, as well as being invited to the Abu Dhabi Summit, and her overall successful leadership profile all exemplify her distinguished qualities as a role model for learners both young and seasoned. These are ideal coaching qualities, all of which will all be of high reference to learners that participate in the upcoming Harmony Plus Overseas Parenting Course. Since she joined our teaching initiatives, learners and parents of other Harmony Plus services have also found Esther Wojcicki and her teachings to be a great source of inspiration and motivation, as well as life-changing and transformative.
Learners of Harmony Plus can refer to the contributions of the female warriors which have been included in the Forbes 30 Under 30 List and Forbes 50 Over 50 List in order to get more inspiration to serve as case studies regarding the advantages and challenges of the TRICK family cultivation method for their own lives. We encourage each and every learner to research the backgrounds of these individuals and their family backgrounds. The categories follow below:
30/50 Categories
Talented Women Impacting Politics
Photo: Tania Malrechauffe
Talented Women Driving Social Entrepreneurship
Photo: Priscilla Du Preez
Talented Women Reshaping STEM
Photo: Christina
Talented Women Innovating the Arts
Photo: Edu Lauton
Talented Women Reshaping Finance
Photo: Jason Goodman
Talented Women Beyond (an open-ended category for atypical talent)
Photo: Ian Schneider
Commenting on the strategically chosen location of the three upcoming annual summits, Esther expressed that, “it will be as much unbelievable as it will be incredible. The reason it is so unbelievable is that it is happening in a country where women do not have a lot of rights. This will really do something for the cause of letting men stop seeing women as a threat, and at the same time, it will help men to see that women only want to work to make the world better. So many are trapped or rather occupied with household affairs and intensive housework without a moment to seek out work opportunities and fulfill their dreams. So for this, I want to say that both UAE as a country and the city of Abu Dhabi are amazing and that we should thank them.”
Photo: Guille Álvarez
It is also worth mentioning that there are further related developments in the works coinciding with the arrangement of the Forbes 30/50 Summit. For example, candidates for continent-specific 50 Over 50 lists are now under development, starting with the 50 Over 50 Asia and Europe lists. Then it is likely that it will be expanded to include other continent-specific lists, such as a list aimed for recognition of women from Africa and elsewhere. Many exciting things are already on the horizon.
Last Thoughts from Esther on the Upcoming Summit
Photo: Forbes
Firstly, we must reflect from the point of view of our internal educational initiatives. From the thoughts and impressions shared by Esther, we can actually see that these activities are closely related to the activities of Harmony Plus. First, the summit will open the door to the expansion of various women's leagues. In the near future, Esther will open parenting courses and share relevant stories, and this will undoubtedly provide more resources and inspiration for Harmony Plus learners. Second, due to the outcomes of these activities, Esther, an activist of the women’s movement and educational equity, will have more opportunities to share her TRICK method with schools in low-income areas. Harmony Plus learners are welcome to participate in the exchange and discuss how collaboration might be possible to carry out such activities. Third, people are becoming more and more aware that the role of women has changed and will continue to change. In Esther’s view, Harmony Plus can make its own contribution to solving some of the world’s biggest challenges in the future. Everyone is welcome to join Harmony Plus. The online overseas parent class will be launched. More details will be launched soon!
Secondly, we must reflect from a humanistic view in consideration of the general betterment of society from all sides. Without a doubt, the stories Esther has shared with us upon returning from New York inspire each of us to have enthusiasm and hope for the women's movement. At the same time, these stories encourage learners to work hard in their own studies, to fight for their dreams and the future, because they understand that they will be supported and encouraged by a worldwide society that is increasingly concerned about and championing women's empowerment - and ultimately more equal in ways that benefit the true potential of women as much as it does men. Moreover, that it will allow us to finally thoroughly reflect on the plethora of troubled leadership dynamics in world politics today for which there are so many problems perceived to be simply caused by the unfair occupation of political leadership positions, while it may very turn out to be more so caused by unequal representation (female and male balance) within political leadership positions. When asked for a final comment about the complex technological dangers the world now faces, Esther replied with shining confidence to ensure us that upon returning from the conference, we have much to be hopeful about because this big step in the rise of women will bring about many new solutions for both age-old societal problems and emerging ones.