Asia Society’s 2012 Women Leaders of New Asia Summit, Women Leaders Driving Asia’s Rapid Growth seeks to examine how women are shaping and being shaped by this growth.  We view this through the lens of rapidly evolving urban centers outside of the major metropolitan cities in Asia.  Over the next 15 years, second-tier “middle-weight” cities are expected to account for the largest share of global GDP growth and set the pace for global commerce.  A significant number of these cities will be located in Asia, in particular, China and India.  In an effort to explore this growth first-hand, after gathering in Shanghai for the release of a report on the state of women leaders in the Asia-Pacific, the Summit moves on to nearby Zhenjiang, Jiangsu Province.  We then take a detailed look such as women at the bottom of the pyramid, women as leaders and consumers, and the need for balancing multiple roles, among other pertinent issues, with a clear objective to:

Now in its third year, Asia Society’s Women Leaders of New Asia Initiative seeks to develop a growing cross-sectoral community and network of senior and emerging women leaders from the Asia-Pacific region to find practical solutions to problems, by promoting connectivity, communication, collaboration, and catalyzing action across all sectors. Through group discussions, sharing of best practices, and developing specific action items, this core group will work towards preparing women leaders to navigate the path to successful global leadership, while also encouraging them to use ideas from the conference in their own work.