Hillary Clinton took on a bit of an iconic mantle with human rights and women rights activists when, as first lady, she delivered a dramatic speech on women’s rights at the United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing in 1995.  Speaking truth to power, Clinton boldly criticized the host country and other nations for abuses of girls and women saying: “It is no longer acceptable to discuss women’s rights as separate from human rights,” she said then.

President-elect Barack Obama’s nomination of Hillary Clinton as the next secretary of state has energized human rights and women’s rights activists, who expect the former first lady to bring a dramatic new focus to the plight of women around the globe. I am also hoping Clinton will continue her staunch support of women’s economic progress, as I believe she will.

Clinton, a champion of global micro-credit, has said: “Although the economic plight of a poor woman in Bangladesh who wants a loan to buy a second milk cow or sewing machine may seem worlds away from that of a technology entrepreneur in San Francisco, the bottom line is this: No matter where they live, women need help breaking down the barriers to capital.”

Women have a notoriously hard time borrowing money, and we’re often forced to rely on high-interest, short-term credit, if we can get loans at all.

During Bill Clinton’s administration I participated in a White House conference on improving Latin America’s economy by counseling with and supporting women in the creation of small businesses.  What came of that was women who received a few hundred dollars to buy a sewing machine, then grew to have a factory that employed most of a village.  Women in a remote mountain village who raised geese, were empowered, with the help of an Internet connection, to begin selling goose down pillows to the United States and goose liver pate to France.

I know the Clinton’s believe deeply in economic support for women and I’m energized by the prospect of Clinton bringing that perspective to her new position.

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