I have heard many organisations are saying ‘Well, we have so many important issues that diversity really isn’t something we can focus on right now’, that’s just the opposite of the truth, because in a crisis time you need the most creative ideas and the most differing experiences and perspective, which is what diversity provides.

Laura Liswood

Laura Ann Liswood (born March 8, 1950) is Secretary General of the Council of Women World Leaders, which is composed of 72 women presidents, prime ministers, and heads of government. It is the only organization in the world dedicated to women heads of state and government. In August 1996, she co-founded the Council with President Vigdís Finnbogadóttir of Iceland. The work of the Council expands the understanding of leadership, establishes a network of resources for high-level women leaders, and provides a forum for the group to provide input and shape international issues important to all people. The Council's mission is to promote good governance and enhance the experience of democracy globally by increasing the number, effectiveness, and visibility of women who led at the highest levels in their countries. The Council is an affiliate of the United Nations Foundation and is currently chaired by President Dalia Grybauskait? of Lithuania. From 1992-1996, as director of the Women's Leadership Project, Liswood identified global leadership contributions by women heads of state. She interviewed 15 current and former women presidents and prime ministers, which is chronicled in her book and video documentary, Women World Leaders (1996, 2007 and 2009, HarperCollins). Her quest was to find out what it would take for a woman to become President of the United States. In 1997, Liswood co-founded The White House Project, which is dedicated to electing a woman President of the United States. Her work with women presidents and prime ministers was the inspiration for the Project, which seeks to change the cultural message in the United States about women as leaders. In 2001, Liswood was named Managing Director, Global Leadership and Diversity for Goldman Sachs, a premier global investment bank. Then from 2002 to 2015, Liswood held the position of Senior Advisor at Goldman Sachs, a global investment bank.

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