What I Learned

For seven years I served as president of Ireland, and after that I became the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. In 1996, when I was president, during a summit of world leaders in Stockholm, we formed the Council of Women World Leaders. There are currently 36 members—past or present prime ministers and presidents—including Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel, Chile's President Michelle Bachelet and Liberia's President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf.

In November we are bringing 75 women leaders to a summit on issues that affect women, focusing especially on human security.

I am also involved in the Elders, working with people like Nelson Mandela, Jimmy Carter and Graca Marchel. We are all senior statesmen trying to tackle issues like climate change, AIDS and global conflict. There are 13 members of the Elders; we have a symbolic seat left open for Aung San Suu Kyi.

When I was the High Commissioner I had to stand up to bullies—warlords and corrupt leaders—and look them in the eye and tell them what they were doing was wrong. It was not a disadvantage to be a woman, standing up to them. My husband and I would notice when I was president and he would come on trips with me, that women in some countries were astounded that I was the leader and my husband was in the second-place role. It was very interesting to see their reactions. I think it is good for the world to have both men and women leading it. But we still very much need those voices of women to be amplified.

We need to make leadership for women more visible. Next year we are making a huge initiative behind President Johnson-Sirleaf to support what she is trying to do for Liberia. This is a new form of collective leadership and support. We see there is appalling savagery toward women across the globe, and women tend to suffer most during wars. But now is the time: women have the power, we have the jobs in government and in business and we can really tackle some of these global issues. But we must start by helping our sisters at the bottom of the heap. It is important to enable leadership that plays to women's strengths like being good negotiators, communicators and networkers to encourage women to be more ambitious.

Valerie Amos
Labour peer, British House of Lords