First Summer Institute of the Women in Public Service Project Held at Wellesley College

This week the inaugural institute of the Women in Public Service Project was opened at Wellesley College in Massachusetts. The two-week program is hosting 49 women delegates who are emerging political leaders in 21 countries that are undergoing major political reforms. Many of the delegates are from the Middle East and North Africa. The delegates will attend workshops and networking sessions with women who have been successful in the public arena such as Hillary Clinton and Madeline Albright.

The Women in Public Service Project was founded last year by the U.S. State Department and five women’s colleges: Wellesley, Barnard, Mount Holyoke, Smith, and Bryn Mawr. Summer institutes will be held on the campuses of the five women’s colleges on a rotating basis.

Three other women’s colleges, Mills College, Scripps College, and Mount St. Mary’s College, have also joined the project. The goal of the project is to increase the percentage of women in political leadership positions worldwide from the present rate of 17.5 percent to 50 percent by 2050.

More information on the Women in Public Service Project is available here.