Ann Doyle Empowering women across the globe

What, is more important to note, however, is that Doyle has worked for approximately 50 years empowering women. She transformed the field of journalism in the US as one of the first female sportscasters and a lead executive at Ford Motor Company in the 1970s to 80s.

Doyle visited TT, for a second time, as part of a two-day workshop hosted by the Public Affairs Division of the US Embassy, Sweet Briar, St Clair. The workshop was held on August 23 and 24, respectively. Doyle believes that a second wave of women ‘waking up’ is at hand. She told WMN that a new generation of aware and conscious women were preparing themselves for leadership roles throughout the world.

Doyle is also the author of Powering Up: How America’s Women Achievers Become Leaders. It is described as an, “inspiring field guide that offers aspiring women the practical steps, focus and courage required to lead.”

But Doyle’s story was also born out of deep personal tragedy. At 22, she emotionally told the small gathering of NGO’s at the workshop, her sister, Mary gave up on herself. The dedication to her book reads, “For my sister Mary, who gave up on herself before she discovered how magical she was.”

She told the participants that they were all Mary’s to her - one of her reasons for becoming so involved in the feminist movement, as well as growing up in the age of feminism and having strong parents devoted to the cause. Her father was Detroit Sports Broadcaster, Vincent Doyle. For Doyle this work, “is the true fire in my belly.”

To her, many of the women were Mary’s. When given the chance again to return to TT this year, Doyle readily accepted [She first to TT in 2013 as part of the International Women’s Day celebration].

The experiences of women in TT are not far removed from other women the globe over, Doyle said. To create change, she added, a sense of consciousness and urgency had to be created to stress that this was unacceptable. Violence against women and children brought down the community and society. More people, Doyle said, needed to act, particularly more women. Men, she added, needed to be reconditioned to respect women.

“These issues [ issues of violence against women and children] are all over the world and I believe that this is nothing new. This has been going on, I believe, perhaps since the beginning of time. But we are at a moment of history of women’s empowerment, of women rising and their ability to do something about it. We are also more connected in the world as a human family,” she said.

Women and the men who support and love them have the ability to become stronger together, Doyle said.

With another American presidential election at hand, Doyle believes that Hilary Clinton as the country’s next president would bring a sense of female empowerment to the world. “We have a track record of knowing what she has done for 50 years. This has been a priority of hers since she graduated from law school. When she was Secretary of State for the US, she made it a priority of US foreign policy - that had never been done before - to say addressing and lifting up girls and women all over the world is an important policy of the US because it makes the world safer.”

One of the best indicators of the stability and status of a country is the status of its women, Doyle said. “I am not saying any woman [to hold positions of power] but I am saying a woman who is conscious about this and understands this. We need women in powerful roles who can affect policy. Do we need men allies-absolutely right. I believe God got it right. Men and women are like two wings of a bird. You need both wings to fly and, right now, the world is dysfunctional. We have been flying with one wing for all of history. The human family has had one wing tied behind its back because women have been prevented from getting educated, developing their full potential and bringing their perspective.”