1. Leading in the
Community
Lynn McKenzie
Zonta International President
Wellington, New Zealand

2. Zonta International is
Global organization of executives and professionals
improving the lives of women and girls through global and
local service and advocacy
• 66 countries
• 1,200 Zonta club
• 30,000+ members
• Business &
professions
• Nearly 100 years old

3. Zonta’s Objectives
Make this world a
better place for
women & girls
through service &
advocacy

4. Gender Matters
“Investing in
women is the
right and
possibly the
smartest thing to
do”
Ban Kee Moon
Secretary General, UN

5. Gender Matters
World Bank 2012 report that:
• Healthier, better educated mothers have healthier better
education children – future productivity
• Income in hands of women positively affects children’s health
• Education is really important – linked to growth
• Violence against women extreme loss of freedom and
contribution

6. Gender Equality &
Women’s Empowerment
For gender equality to become a reality, women’s voices must be heard.
We must work together to achieve this – BPW, Zonta & others
Zonta supports and advocates for adherence to international agreements
and agendas to uphold and enhance women’s rights including:
• Universal Declaration of Human Rights
• Commission on the Status of Women
• Beijing Declaration & Platform for Action
• Millennium Development Goals
• CEDAW
Zonta has General Consultative Status with UN’s ECOSOC & participatory
status with the Council of Europe.

7. Believe and Make it Happen
2011 Nobel Peace Winner

8. Believe and Make it Happen
Amelia Earhart
"Please know I am quite
aware of the hazards,"
she said. "I want to do it
because I want to do it.
Women must try to do
things as men have tried.
When they fail, their
failure must be but a
challenge to others."

9. Is she:
• Loved, happy, healthy, safe, fed,
• What sort of world do you want her to live in?
• What role are you playing in her journey?
Think of a baby girl born this year

10. What is she doing now?
Is she:
• Loved, happy, healthy, safe, fed, at school?
• What does she want to be when she grows up?
• What role are you playing in her journey
She is now 6yrs – its 2020

11. What is she doing now?
Is she:
• Loved, healthy, safe, fed, at university, married with
children?
• What does she want to be?
• What sort of world does she want to live in?
She is now 20yrs – its 2034

12. Is it:
• Government?
• Private sector?
• Public sector?
• Community and family?
Who has the greatest influence on that little
baby girl as she grows?

13. WOULD it be different?
HOW would it be different and
WHY would it be different?
Is it okay to be different?
Gender equality?
Would it be different if it was a baby boy?

14. Leading in Community
Empowering women
• See ourselves as “life size”
• Promote women in decision
making- government, private
and community sectors
• Vote – register and vote at
national and local elections
• AGMs – shareholders - ask
questions- women on
boards and senior leaders
• CEDAW country report

15. Zonta invested US$26 + million to support projects and
programs to improve women’s lives around the globe.
These programs provide a “hand up”, not a “handout”.
Zonta – empowering women
An Amelia Earhart scholar studying
meteorites in Antarctica

16. Zonta empowering women
Empowering women in developing countries
• Elimination of obstetric fistula in Liberia – prevent, treat,
rehabilitate by providing income generation skills
• Prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV and gender-
based violence in Rwanda
• Prevention of violence against women in Bangladesh, Nigeria
Honduras, Samoa & 9
additional countries in
Africa and Asia
• Safe cities for women in
Honduras
Edutainment project to address
VAW in Benin, Nigeria

17. Zonta - locally
Empowering women & girls in our local communities to
improve their lives and, in turn, their families’ lives and the
communities in which they live and work

18. Zonta-empowering women through education
Empowering women through education –US$1.1M in 2012-14
• Amelia Earhart Fellowship
• pursuing a Ph.D. in aerospace-related sciences or engineering
• Jane M. Klausman Women in Business Scholarship
• pursuing an undergraduate or master’s degree in a business-
related field
• Young Women in Public Affairs Award
• young women who demonstrate exceptional leadership skills and
a commitment to public service and civic causes

19. Violence against Women (VAW)
Globally, 1 in 3 women will experience violence in their lifetimes.
In 2012, Zonta International launched Zonta Says NO, a global advocacy campaign
to raise awareness of and say NO to violence against women and girls in all its
forms.
60% of Zonta’s more than 1,200 clubs worldwide participated, and the momentum
continues.
VAW social and economic impact- happens everywhere, our own backyard

20. Believe and Make it Happen