Sheryl Wudunn - Leadership in the Face of Oppression. Willow Creek Global Leadership Summit, Session 5

Sheryl Wudunn and her husband and taken on the tragedy of the global scourge of sex trafficking. They wrote the book, "Half the Sky" that exposes and addresses these atrocities.

Young girls in China are sold into sex slavery to make money for the parents because they cannot afford them and they do not provide financial resources. There is "gender inequity." The girls are forgotten and drop out of school and are abused because they do not have any ability to be an asset. The central moral challenge of our time is gender inequity. Sheryl and her husband spearheaded a project to help rural Chinese girls get an education. When they got the education, then they went back and got salaried jobs and helped their families and became an asset.

The problem in the developing world is that the boys get the resources, food, and have the hope for the future of the family. The girls are left behind, do not get educated, and they do not get the resources. Sheryl Wudunn believes that educating women/girls is actually a help to society instead of a problem. They are the solution, not the problem.

Girls, of no use to their communities, are then trafficked into slavery. During the time of the Trans-Atlantic African Slave Trade, 80,000 slaves were brought across the Atlantic Ocean per year. Now, there are 800,000 slaves that are trafficked across borders each year. African slaves cost around $40,000 each, adjusted for inflation. The current price of a slave is $150-250.

Female infant mortality is very high in the developing world as well as women dying in pregnancy. There is not much political will to address this because the women are poor and they are women.

Microfinance and Microsavings: this is a significant way to empower women in developing countries by putting tools in the hands of rural women so they can become self-sufficient and help others as well. When we put tools in the hands of others, one thing leads to another. People are given tools and they improve their own lives and their children and then they help others who help others and a rising tide lifts all boats. It is called the Virtuous Cycle.

We have to create sustainable models and teach people how to fish instead of just giving away the fish.

With our great fortune comes great responsibility. Every American has won the lottery of life. We all get to live in a country full of wealth and opportunity. What will we do with this privilege?