« Back to TED.com

Program Talking about women's ideas in 2010…

Important. Dated. Bold. A good start. Bad for my career. Inspiring. Necessary. Unnecessary. Soooo 1970s. Asking the wrong question. Irrelevant. Relevant. Risky. Too little too late. A great way to start a fight. Soooo 1960s. Just like a woman. Essential. Inspiring. Key to economic growth. Dangerous. Interesting. Ughhhh. Just like a man. Better than nothing. Embarrassing. Soooo 1920s. The last thing I want to do on a perfectly good Tuesday. Modern. Sexist. Controversial. Illuminating. An idea worth spreading.

When we started thinking about this conference, we ran through all these words and more. We heard from many friends who questioned the need for a TEDWomen. Weren’t there enough women’s conferences already? We also heard from those who questioned the motivation: Why TEDWomen 2010 and why now?

Something interesting is happening in the global story of women ... across cultures, generations and many different sectors of life, women and girls are emerging as important architects of change, as innovators offering new approaches to everything from financial systems to food security, and as leaders forging new directions for their communities and countries.

The thread of this story runs through collapsed nations, where women are essential to bringing peace, to low-income nations, where data shows that investing in women (and girls) bears fruit. Then there are the emerging economies, where the education of women often makes a critical, competitive difference. And the “developed” nations—or the “Old West”—where powerful women are writing new rules for finance, business, art, politics...

At TEDWomen, we’ll meet some of the women and girls reshaping the future. And yes, men will take the TEDWomen 2010 stage too. Because when good ideas win, everyone wins.

 

Get involved