Women in Global Development

Tonight I remembered how much I enjoy using my brain in learning. I've spent a few hours reading up on individuals involved in foreign policy, social entrepreneurship, and/or social justice. I admire the two women who spoke in the TED talks I've just posted.

The first, Sheryl WuDunn is the co-author of Half the Sky. She and her husband, Nicholas Kristoff, were the first couple to receive a Pulitzer prize for journalism for a previous book about the Tienanmen Square protests in 1989. She was a banker, then a journalist, and is currently a business executive and lecturer. I believe that she has two children. Her husband is a journalist for The New York Times.

Jacqueline Novogratz also comes from a banking background and has extensive experience in that arena, including being a consultant for the World Bank. In addition to other nonprofit ventures, she founded the Acumen Fund which "uses entrepreneurial approaches to solve the problems of global poverty." Jacqueline is currently the CEO of the Acumen Fund and also speaks. Oh yes, she also wrote a book chronicling her journey from banking to social entrepreneurship. She is married to the host of TED and has three daughters.

As you can see from the videos, both women are lovely and well-spoken. They've also both kept their last names. Although I admire how both couples seem to work well together, I find myself wondering how their families manage to balance two flourishing careers with children.

When I read about people like this, particularly women, I feel that I should be much more accomplished. Yet, relationships are more important to me than work. Sometimes I am concerned that if I ever am finally able to work full time in relief and development work, I will feel guilty for not working, say, 60 hours a week. Sometimes I think I should be working 60 hours a week as I genuinely believe that my life is not about me. Pop told me last week that I always think of hypotheticals. That quality has been a weakness this past year, but I think it's a strength too.