Inside Hillary Clinton's New Women's Initiative

Hillary Clinton has launched a new project to advance women’s rights and equality in the United States and around the world.

The former Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, says women aren’t equal in society just yet, but that’s something she’s working to change with her new Women’s Initiative.

The project is a part of the School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA)’s Institute of Global Politics at Columbia University. Its goal is to produce high-quality, actionable research and policy proposals across four pillars: women’s economic opportunity; women’s health; women’s safety and security; and women’s leadership, democracy, and human rights.

Ultimately, the initiative aims to produce actionable policy recommendations at the state, federal, and international levels that will advance women’s full and equal participation in society.

Clinton launched the initiative alongside Columbia Dean Keren Yarhi-Milo at a live-streamed event Monday. Healthnews tuned in to the event, which featured speeches and panels from a wide variety of politicians, policymakers, and advocates who highlighted some of the greatest barriers facing women in today’s society and provided solutions to some of these challenges.

“We need this IGP women’s initiative because women are not free or equal yet,” Clinton said during the event. “Rights are important, but they are nothing without the power to claim them”

Among the issues covered during the event were online disinformation and harassment, lack of affordable childcare, loss of reproductive rights, gender pay gap, lack of support for caregivers, and the ways in which women and girls disproportionately bear the brunt of global crises.

The speakers argued that women’s rights are human rights, women’s issues are world issues, and they deserve to be treated as such.

“Women are not just victims of violence and inequality — we are agents of peace and progress,” Clinton said.

Women, Clinton argued, ought to be included in every conversation that impacts their future. While this isn’t the current reality in the U.S., this initiative aims to make it so.

“Alongside the Institute of Global Politics’ world-class scholars and policymakers, this Initiative will train the next generation of women leaders and advance new solutions to the age-old problems of sexism and gender-based discrimination,” Clinton said. “Equality for women is the great unfinished work of the 21st century — and I am proud that this first-of-its-kind project will play a key role in helping get it done.”