1. Global Women’s Leadership Network (GWLN) Concept Paper
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1. Describe the primary problem(s) concerning women and girls that your innovation or concept addresses.
FEMALE ECONOMIC EMANCIPATION: Meeting the basic requirements of survival and independence is still a
significant challenge for most of the women in the world (57 percent of the world's population lives on less than $2.50 a day;
most poor people are women and children). Globally, "women perform 66 percent of the world's work, produce 50 percent of
the food, but earn 10 percent of the income and own 1 percent of the property," according to a recent report by UNICEF.1
As
demographer Maddy Dychtwald explains, in a recent study on the growing role of women in the global economy and their
growing influence in the marketplace in the 21st
century, women’s full participation is required if a nation hopes to remain
globally competitive:
“Until the last few years, the massive entry of women into the paid workforce seemed important mostly because it was
a victory for social justice. Only recently have other large underpinnings of women’s coming success become clear:
The health of the global economy demands that women realize their full potential as economic participants. This
transformed world, where women hold economic power equal to men’s, is inevitable not only because it’s fair and just
(which it is), but because human economic success now depends on it. In the coming decades, countries that harness
women’s economic power will win; those that fail to do so will lose.” 2
Let’s highlight some that relate to leadership training. Given that this is all about women and girls empowerment, they are
sure to be inundated with all these quotes. Most of them are too “developed” world?
Today, with these high stakes in the balance, there is a heighted awareness--if not the political courage--among policy-makers
worldwide of the need to accelerate social investments to improve the lives of women and to provide them with the
technologies of self (e.g. employment, education, empowerment, leadership training, etc.) needed to fully participate as
global citizens, workers and change-makers.3
The potential ROI speaks for itself:
 In 2006, The Economist estimated that over the past decade, women’s work has contributed more to global growth
than China.4
 The Economist further noted that if Japan raised the share of workingwomen to American levels, it would boost
annual growth by 0.3% per year over 20 years.5
 According to the United Nations, economies in the developing world grow by 3 percent for every 10 percent
increase in the number of girls able to access secondary schooling.
These are but a few examples of studies showing that educating and empowering women and girls are among the most cost-
effective means to long-lasting development. Educated and empowered women and girls marry later, earn more, and have
fewer, healthier and better-educated children. Moreover, it is increasingly being recognized that there can be no peace,
security, or sustainable economic development without women’s equal participation in all spheres of society. GWLN has
long believed that empowering women is the RIGHT thing to do: it is also the best means of ending violence, reducing
poverty and creating a more just, free world.
When women are afforded the equality of opportunity that is their basic human right, the results can be striking. Chris
Grumm, president and CEO of the Women’s Funding Network, Judy Patrick, president and CEO of the Women’s Foundation
of California, and Kavita Ramdas, president and CEO of the Global Fund for Women said this in a March 2009 editorial in
the San Francisco Chronicle, “…as lawmakers and economists attempt to find a way to stop the downward spiral and rebuild
the economy, investing in women and women-led solutions must be central to any plan. Women are capable of forging
lasting change, starting with their families, then transforming entire communities and beyond.”
2. Describe the solution, concept or innovation.
MEETING THE NEEDS OF WOMEN: As an organization dedicated to a new future for humanity through social change
the Global Women’s Leadership Network (GWLN) is seeking ways to accelerate the impact being made by this historic
demographic shift towards female economic emancipation worldwide. As such, we focus our technical assistance and
capacity-building efforts for women around: 1) education, 2) entrepreneurship, and 3) leadership. We strive to engage and
empower women as leaders and agents of change by:
1. Improving the ability of women from diverse fields - particularly young women and those serving underserved
populations - to take on a transformative leadership role;
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1
UNICEF . 2007. ‘Gender Equality – The Big Picture.’
2
Quoted in Dychtwald, M. & Larson, C. Influence: How Women's Soaring Economic Power Will Transform Our World for the Better.
Voice 2010.
3
International Labour Organization (ILO). 2008. Global Employment Trends for Women, March 2008. Available from:
http://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---dgreports/---dcomm/documents/publication/wcms_091225.pdf
4
Economist. 2006. The importance of sex (April 15). Retrieved 6 February 2009 from Academic Search Premier database.
5
Ibid.

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2. Increasing the access of women to opportunities for participation in the economic and civic spheres;
3. Mobilizing our networking capability - locally, regionally and internationally through the strategic use of
information & communication technology (ICT);
4. Raising the level of awareness of the global need to unleash the power of energized and engaged women leaders;
and
5. Accelerating economic security for women through social entrepreneurship and social venture incubation.
GWLN’s strategies to accelerate and foster social justice and economic sustainability include:
1. Leadership Development – today held in the U.S. for global leaders; in the next 5 years by establishing women’s
learning centers in Africa, Asia, and the Middle East
2. Consulting: Using the knowledge and expertise of our global network to discover and support the rapid growth of
civil society and business organizations with high social impact potential. Activities will include research,
coaching, and business model development.
3. Partnering with international groups and members of GWLN to accomplish A & B while spreading awareness of
women’s impact.
4. Mentoring: Enlisting the social capital across GWLN’s “human network” to foster mentoring, coaching, sharing
and visioning between alumna and partners worldwide.
GWLN is committed to participatory and creative methods and approaches in providing quality and sustainable leadership
programming to its target groups with a focus on increasing opportunities of women and the poor based on respect for human
rights. Worldwide women represent the largest untapped source of leadership. Generally, women play a limited role in
decision-making processes and are underutilized in most economies. GWLN’s vision is a world in which capable, competent
and committed women assume leadership roles across all domains of society. GWLN’s vision and approach are built around
three core principles for creating authentic, transformative and emboldened leaders embodying the quintessence of their
character and community:
• Whole Woman -- as an individual, fulfilling her purpose (and? bridging differences, leading change)
• Whole Leader -- inspiring and enrolling others because they are needed to fulfill a vision (Or?
inspiring collaboration with men and women to bring visions to fruition )
• Whole World -- as part of a network, that is working to ignite a new future for humanity
3. What stage is your concept in?
 GWLN has been in operations for more than 5 years.
4. If your innovation has been operating for more than a year, tell us about the specific activities you have undertaken
as part of your innovation, and their impact on women and girls
Over the past 6 years, graduates from the Women Leaders for the World (WLW) program have embraced, extended, and
embodied GWLN’s vision by carrying out social justice projects that challenge and change the status quo in their
communities. The transformations take place across three spheres: 1) the individual, 2) the relational, and 3) the social
domains. Three examples of work conducted by WLW alumna instantiate these transformations across these interdependent
domains:
1) The Individual (Whole Woman): Sema Basol is a Turkish American who has lived in the United States for more
than 25 years. She had a very successful career at Mattel Toys – launching and building the Barbie Doll Clothes for
Girls product line to over $1B. She left her business career and helped to start the Turkish Space Camp for kids
from around the globe. As her family grew up and left home, she found herself thinking more and more about her
vocation. She began working with GWLN and participated in WLW. From her work there, she has started the
Turkish Women’s Initiative, which is bringing creativity and entrepreneurship to young women in universities in
Turkey. She knows that she is fulfilling her purpose – to be a bridge between the United States and Turkey. As that
bridge, she has brought representatives from Garanti Bank, KAGIDER (the Entrepreneurial Women’s organization),
independent artisan cooperatives, and Mercedes Benz to experience the program.
2) The Relational (Whole Leader): Alma Cota de Yanez is the Director of an organization called FESAC
((Fundacion del Empresariado Sonorense, A.C.) in Nogales, Sonora, Mexico. In 2005 when she came to the
Women Leaders for the World leadership education program, she was, according to her own words, a “loner with a
coffee pot and a copier”. Her project was to obtain 1 (yes, just 1!) computer for the 30 NGO’s that she assists.
Within 8 weeks of leaving the leadership program, she had obtained 27 computers to fuel the various worthy causes
she fosters. Five years later, her organization is raising hundreds of thousands of dollars to develop this border
town. Her organization is recognized for its role in ensuring that life-giving services are available to the citizens of
her city and that it does not become another “Tijuana.” Through her outreach and contact with partners, Alma

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helped reorient how people in Nogales viewed philanthropic initiatives. Her efforts changed the conversation
among her predominantly Catholic community from one focused on the piety of “individual charity” to one focused
on the need for “social investment.” Alma led a purposeful shift in moving the philanthropic community of Mexico
from a traditional culture of charity to one of investment in empowerment.
3) The Social (Whole World): Maame Yelbert-Obeng is a native of Ghana and a grant officer with Global Fund for
Women. Maame’s mission has been furthered by WLW in helping her to define her vision of implementing “a new
paradigm of leadership.” She is now dedicated to fostering a new wave of leaders that “bring all their gifts to work.”
Maame recognizes that a vision is only as powerful at its implementation. As a result, she currently utilizes her
global leader skill of enrollment rather than marketing to connect her vision to that of others to ensure the
commitment of both parties. She recently partnered with another graduate, Melinda Kramer to initiate a water
project congress in Africa. Maame found herself stepping far beyond her normal role of “grantor” into a leader at
the event helping other women to shatter the traditional role of transporting water to engineering fresh water
projects.
Women, like Sema, Alma, and Maame are only a few of the success stories. GWLN’s mission is to create a new future for
humanity through galvanizing these women leaders to bring us all to a world where there is universal economic security. We
fulfill on this mission by providing leadership education and partnering with organizations to provide other necessary
vocational and life skills. The 100+ graduates from the Women Leaders for the World program represent 29 different
countries from Africa, Asia, Latin America, Europe and USA. More importantly, about 90% of them are from not-for-profit
entities, many of them grassroots organizations. We have provided whole or partial scholarships for 90% of these women to
attend the residential program in Silicon Valley.
IMPACT OF CURRENT ACTIVITIES/ PROGRAMS
• Women Leaders for the WorldTM
(WLW) is GWLN’s flagship program. Annually WLW brings together 20-25
international participants from multiple sectors—business, government, nonprofit, academia—to explore what it is to be
a global citizen and innovation leader, and to expand women’s leadership capacity & capability. Each woman must bring
a visionary project she wants to implement, as well as the commitment to achieve significant milestones after completing
the program. Rare, among training sector offerings, WLW is a leadership program for global women leaders.
The residential portion of the program is followed by three months of coaching and mentoring conference calls. From
experience and research, we understand that the coaching during and after the classroom sessions is a key component of
the process that enables ongoing breakthrough results. WLW is focused on sparking innovation, creativity, and
breakthrough thinking; launching women into global leadership roles; and expanding women leader’s capacity and
capability for creating networks, coalitions, and alliances. The intensive, residential portion of the program includes
classroom presentations, small group sessions, reading, research, and site visits, all designed to have participants
assimilate new information that enables them to take their project to the next level. Afterwards, three months of
coaching, along with on-going communication among cohort members, supports implementation of plans formulated and
revised during the course of study.
This year, GWLN is partnering with the SCU Law School to offer a “themed” WLW program called Global Leaders for
Justice. GLJ will bring together social justice leaders including business, government, non-profit organizations, and
academia. These are leaders who have demonstrated their commitment to social justice; for example, leaders in human
rights, the environment, health care, or other areas of public interest.
• A Global Innovation DialogueTM
(GID) brings together up to 200 people for facilitated conversations around a
particular theme. Speaker presentations, from thought-leaders and innovators, provide a framework for small-group
discussions in which participants explore challenging, and sometimes counter-intuitive, ideas. Speakers have included
Dr. Nancy J. Hafkin, a leading scholar of gender and information technology; acclaimed photojournalist Paola
Gianturco; and Anne Firth Murray, a leader in international health policy and women's reproductive health.
• At the WellTM
events are designed for groups of people, in dialogue, to forge meaningful connections, to recognize and
to boldly tap into their own leadership potential. Attendees are inspired by a personal story of transformation followed
by thought-provoking conversations that guide them to discover new practices and actions in leadership. These
conversations focus on a range of life experiences, from fulfillment of personal dreams to collaboration for social justice
through economic and gender equality, and open up new expressions of leadership.
• Global Fellows ProgramTM
: Santa Clara University is dedicated to educating leaders of competence, conscience, and
compassion. The Leavey School of Business Global Fellows Program provides a meaningful 5-7 week globally oriented
work experience for undergraduate students. Approximately 30 students per year work with graduates of the Women

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Leaders for the World program in their organizations around the globe. Over the next several years, this program will be
the model for expansion into other forms of “exchanges” for both students and adults.
Longer term, programs such as the Global Fellows and Social Justice Projects provide innovative approaches with a focus on
experiential learning, networking, leadership and skill building, all designed to prepare women and men to be agents of
change in civil society, as well as social entrepreneurs and innovative business owners.
5. How have you been able to sustain this innovation so far?
LEVERAGING THE HUMAN NETWORK: Four key sustainability-enhancing strategies comprise the core work of the
WLW Training of Trainers (TOT) field-based leadership development programming. GWLN acts as the source of
inspiration and as the convening force to motivate and engage participants and WLW trainers in authentic, meaningful
leadership training and practice. GWLN has been able to sustain it innovation global peer-network by:
1. Entering into strategic partnerships with community-based organizations (CBOs), initially and primarily with
organizations serving high numbers of women and children. These partnerships allow GWLN to co-develop and
deliver "customized" learning experiences for train-the-trainer workshop participants and other partner educators.
2. Developing coherent, seamless, and extended learning experiences that link formal and informal education
channels and convey the excitement of self-transformation and actualization.
3. Providing high-quality, leadership development training to partner organizations and other area partner-
prospects.
4. Helping to scale projects and programs proven to help women succeed. In our own work, we seek to find ways
to take significant leaps forward to foster transformational change, not only at the level of the individual women, but
also at the social plane. We look to stimulate large increases in the number of people served by our partners and
ourselves. We believe that garnering massive social impact will require finding, funding, and supporting initiatives
that are ready to scale--initiatives, like the ones inspiring the WLW participants in their quest for social justice.
Part of the scaling of GWLN operations will rely on training of trainers (TOT) activities that ensures a pool of young trainers
is created and utilized for GWLN programs, particularly in Global South countries. In addition, volunteerism is highly
encouraged in GWLN and different workshops are provided to women to increase their sense of responsibility (Global
Citizenship) and ownership of their WLW project (This seems out of place here, Carlos.) According to the Foundation
Center, each hour of labor volunteered is valued at $20.61/hr.6 GWLN volunteers donate over 5,500 hours each year, valued
at over $110,000 in in-kind services. Moreover, each year we are fortunate to call upon the pro-bono services of an elite
corps of professional coaches whose services, valued at over $250/hour would normally be out of reach for most WLW
participants, but who make themselves available to WLW participants as coaches and mentors throughout a three-month long
process.
6. How will award funding help expand the success of your project? Describe expected results over the next 3 years.
GWLN’s FUTURE plans are ambitious and focused on the Global South. In quantitative terms, they are:
1. 1,000,000 people ‘s incomes are increased at least 5 fold through interaction with the GWLN Network by International
Woman’s Day, 8th
March 2013
At the heart of the GWLN culture is a passion for results. Economic empowerment means that people have more
income. The greater GWLN Network includes our program graduates, faculty, staff, partners, donors, sponsors, and
the people in the communities/organizations who these people are working with.
2. 500 Leaders in the Inner GWLN Network by International Woman's Day, 8th March 2013
The inner GWLN Network includes graduates of all of our current and future leadership training and exchange
programs. Thus, it includes the 100 graduates of Women Leaders for the World, the 75 students who have participated
in the Global Fellows program, and the 20 (men and women) who are attending the Global Leaders for Justice program
this summer. Our core staff and faculty are also members of this network. Reaching this level in the next 3 years
requires an expanded schedule of WLW programs, defining and scaling a Train the Trainer program in 2 to 3 developing
countries, and utilizing technology to enable constant communication, including the sharing of best practices worldwide.
3. GWLN is a sustainable organization by 12/31/10
Sustainable means having the funds and permanent staff required to offer regular programs and to nurture the network
without disruption. We are in the process of raising $5M by the end of December this year.
Creating a tool kit of TOT leadership and entrepreneurial training by 12/31/10
This means embracing technology as a means of delivering workshops for graduates, companies, and the general public. The
2010 grants of Webex and LINQTO will provide the initial tools to pilot and perfect various offerings using a cost-effective
Internet collaboration platform.
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6
Corporation for National and Community Service. “Research Brief: Volunteering in America Research Highlights.” (2009).

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Strategic alliances are vital to our work and plans for growth, providing assistance with recruiting and funding of WLW
courses, hosting and presenting events, and building a worldwide ICT infrastructure to employ new media and social
networking. Collaborators include Ashoka, the global association of the world’s leading social entrepreneurs; the Center for
Science, Technology & Society at SCU, CEDPA (Center for Development and Population Activities); Icon Academy in
Uganda, Women’s Funding Network, the Turkish Women’s Initiative, and KAGIDER, the Women Entrepreneurs
Association of Turkey. Further partnerships to provide economic security will be micro-finance institutions (international as
well as those in various countries), banks, the Leavey School of Business, Women’s Initiative, CEO Woman, etc.
Global Women’s Leadership Network plans to expand and deepen its already existing and successful initiatives to include
people of both sexes in a continuous process of learning and engagement. We expect to increase the number of women
involved, particularly emerging professionals, broaden the geographic reach to other cities and cover marginalized and
underprivileged women. Through its programs, GWLN will tackle unemployment, political and economical participation,
and other current critical women issues. GWLN leadership and staff feel that there is a current need to:
1. Expand the program to cover additional in-country sites and to broaden their working network to include other
Global South countries.
2. Facilitate networking, mentoring and exchange of information between WLW participants via partnership with
LINQto and WebEx to provide ICT training and technical assistance.
3. Upgrade training materials, books and video resources for GWLN while creating an online version of some sections
of WLW under a Creative Commons license.
4. Design joint programs with other in-country women’s NGOs that do programming for young women and men in
general and develop and expand international networks dealing with the status of women
5. Bring in subject area specialists for areas of network building, scaling operations, entrepreneurship, and economic
security/sustainability. .
6. Exchange best practices to enable the ongoing sustainability and scalability of successful social ventures.
GWLN will encourage the formation of an alumni network of graduates and selected members to form a WLW Advisory
Council. This council will include outstanding graduates of GWLN programs who will be responsible to support the GWLN
management with information on women needs and expectations of their respective leadership projects. They can also aid in
outreach for potential trainees, and potential supporters and advocates, as well as follow up with training graduates to
perform alumni network activities. They will come from both locally based organizations in the Global South as well as
internationally dispersed organizations such as Room to Read, Women’s Funding Network, and Global Fund for Women.
Our policy is to work for women, in partnership with men, and to create an environment conducive to broad participation.
We build bridges of trust, respect and friendship and offer advice and constant follow-up to our trainees and graduates. We
constantly strive to ensure quality, uniqueness, inclusion, innovation and long-term focus. We focus on transformational and
ethical leadership practices. We continually monitor qualitative and quantitative metrics in planning and managing outcomes.
Funding for this project would allow GWLN to put in place the infrastructure, including a small cadre of permanent staff to
broaden the impact of the programs.
BRIEF PROJECT TIMELINE
 Year 1: Infrastructure & Network
o Hire and staff GWLN to design, delivery and document program expansion and institutionalization of the
training methodology.
o Build-out IT and ICT infrastructure and network to enable streamlined communications and collaboration
among partners, coaches and trainers including online instruction that supplements the current programs.
o Market and communicate the past success of WLW participants as means for securing interest, funding and
buy-in from partners, media and other NGOs working with women.
 Year 2: International Outreach & Capacity Building
o Engage partner-candidates for in-country training of trainers (TOT) and participant training sessions.
o Travel, talk and train: provide technical assistance to partner or anchor sites to enable delivery of quarterly
WLW and TOT sessions.
o Design, develop and deliver: localize curriculum, coaching and collateral for outreach.
 Year 3 to 5: Share and Scale Best Practices
o Document, analyze and share emerging best practices in women’s leadership development training and capture
data on subsequent transformational outputs and outcomes as lessons learned among the partner ecosystem.
o Leverage ICT and other social networking technologies to accelerate adoption, implementation and
communication of WLW participant project insights, challenges, and triumphs in the field.
o Publish and present research data at sector conferences, women’s events and social justice forums.

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SUPPLEMENTAL QUESTIONNAIRE
Organization Name: Global Women’s Leadership Network (GWLN)
Contact: Linda Alepin, GWLN, Founding Director
Email: alepin@scu.edu
Organization Website: http: //www.gwln.org
Organization Phone: +1 (408) 551-1831
Organization Address:
GWLN, Santa Clara University, Lucas 316c, 500 EL Camino, Santa Clara, CA 95053 USA
Is your organization?
 A non-profit/NGO/citizen-sector organization: GWLN is a sponsored program at the Leavey School of
Business at Santa Clara University.
How long has this organization been operating (please delete those that don’t apply)?
 More than 5 years
What is this organization’s annual budget (in USD. Please delete those that don’t apply)?
 Less than $499,999
Does your organization have a board of directors or an advisory board? YES, both
Does your organization have any non-monetary partnerships with NGOs? YES
Does your organization have any non-monetary partnerships with businesses? YES
Does your organization have any non-monetary partnerships with government? NO
Funding sources. Please check all that apply:
 Friends and family
 Individual donations
 Foundations
 Businesses