People and Community

Felicia Knaul presents at global leaders forum

The inaugural Women Leaders Global Forum in Iceland is providing a platform to discuss ideas and solutions on how to improve society.
Women Leaders Global Forum

Dr. Felicia Marie Knaul, professor in the Department of Public Health Sciences at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine and director of UM’s Institute for Advanced Study of the Americas, is in Reykjavik, Iceland, participating in the Women Leaders Global Forum, a three-day event exploring ideas and solutions to “further advance society, increase equality between women and men, and promote and positively develop the number of women in leadership positions.” 

The inaugural event began Monday and concludes Wednesday. Knaul, UM's First Lady, is presenting a talk Wednesday titled, “The Power of Beauty,” which is scheduled to take place at 9:35 a.m. Eastern time. 

CBS News is live streaming the event, which can be found here: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/women-leaders-global-forum-watch-live/ 

Felicia Knaul (right) with Vigdís Finnbogadóttir, former president of Iceland, and her daughter, Mariana Frenk-Knaul, who is attending as a delegate of the forum's Girls2Leaders initiative.
Felicia Knaul (right) with Vigdís Finnbogadóttir, former president of Iceland, and her daughter, Mariana Frenk Knaul, who is attending as a delegate of the forum's Girls2Leaders initiative.

The forum will be held annually and is hosted by Women Political Leaders and the Government and Parliament of Iceland. The theme for this year’s event is “Digitalization,” and how our increasingly interconnected world has changed how we live. The 400 attendees to the invitation-only event come from more than 100 countries. 

“This is an important forum worldwide,” said Knaul. “Even in Iceland, which ranks first in the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Survey, there remains considerable room for progress. Evidence shows that increased participation of women in leadership positions is key to closing this gap, which will promote economic growth and gender equity.” 

Knaul noted that a recent study showed that closing the gender gap by 25 percent by 2025 would have a positive effect on the global economy, resulting in a global bump in GDP of $5.3 trillion. 

“The gains for Latin America and the Caribbean would be truly significant,” Knaul said. “I also believe that there is an important opportunity to identify the pathways to reduce discrimination and that these are important lessons to share with our students of all genders.”