For anyone interested in sustainable development and clean energy, International Women’s Day brings a unique opportunity to see where we’re headed for the future. This is the purpose of the second annual World Woman Hour, a digital series honoring 60 female leaders worldwide, launched by the World Woman Foundation in partnership with Schneider Electric — the global leader in the digital transformation of energy management and automation.
This is the second edition of World Woman Hour’s ‘#myLEADhER — See It. Dream It. Do It. event, featuring women who are creating a more sustainable, peaceful, equitable, and healthier world for women and girls everywhere. The online event premieres on March 8 at 1 p.m. EST and can be viewed on-demand on worldwomanhour.com, as well as streamed on Facebook Watch.
In this year’s edition, World Woman Hour gives a substantial amount of screen time to women who are leading transformative efforts in sustainability. World Woman Foundation’s headline partner Schneider Electric has helped to identify and honor women working at the frontiers of sustainable energy systems.
These remarkable women include Sophie Borgne, Senior Vice President of Digital Power at Schneider Electric; Bhavani Amirthalingam, Senior Vice President and Chief Digital Information Officer at the U.S. energy company Ameren; Zanelle Dalglish, Director Sustainable Development & Academy, Anglophone Africa Cluster of Schneider Electric’s Sustainable Development & Academy programs in Southern Africa; and Angie Redondo Herrera, Digital Marketing Specialist at Schneider Electric and recent winner of Schneider’s annual GoGreen student competition. Herrera is now helping to lead a sustainable energy project for a rural area of Colombia.
The sustainability session will be headlined by Damilola Ogunbiyi, CEO of Sustainable Energy for All, Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for this global action group, and co-chair of UN-Energy.
Speaking on this partnership, Rupa Dash, CEO of World Woman Foundation, says, “We can’t imagine an equal future for women and girls without making access to energy a top priority on our agenda. Access to reliable and sustainable energy is a game-changer in accelerating gender equality in a bold new way. In partnership with Schneider Electric is timely to honor women energy heroes who are taking audacious goals and igniting news for a sustainable future that works for all.”
Together, these women provide multiple insights into how everyone can build a sustainable future and why it is so important. They also serve as role models for younger women and girls who wish to become tomorrow’s change-makers. Here is a brief preview of their main messages.
Energy is the fuel of life. It’s needed everywhere and it must be sustainable.
Several of the female leaders are working to provide reliable, sustainable energy across the parts of their worlds. This is vital because, as Bhavani Amirthalingam, SVP, Chief Digital Information Officer at Ameren, puts it: “Empowering the quality of life for the communities that we live in — no matter where that may be — energy is a fundamental need, especially when you think about folks in dire circumstances and for them to be able to progress forward. Access to education, access to health care, access to the basic necessities that you might have — it becomes a very fundamental piece of the ecosystem. From my standpoint, access to energy is a basic human right.”
All are invited to come aboard when the digital event premieres at 1 p.m. EST on March 8. For the latest additional news and information, visit worldwomanhour.com any time.
