Summary of the Opening Address by Her Excellency Epsy Campbell-Barr, Former Vice President of Costa Rica
The former Vice President of Costa Rica, H.E Dr. Epsy Campbell-Barr opened by thanking the organizers and staff of the Forum, emphasizing that the world is navigating a period of profound crises and rapid transformation.
In this context, women’s leadership is not simply desirable it is essential. It brings the compassion, cooperation, and collective vision needed to redefine how we lead.
She highlighted persistent global inequalities: 2.4 billion women still lack equal economic rights, and fewer than 20% of landholders are women, despite producing nearly half of the world’s food. In the United States, women receive less than 2% of venture capital funding, and in Latin America, the financing gap for women entrepreneurs reaches 100 billion dollars.
She urged a rethinking of leadership itself moving away from models rooted in hierarchy and control toward approaches grounded in collaboration and empathy, where women naturally excel by listening, building bridges, and cultivating strong teams.
She concluded that women must be central actors in addressing today’s global challenges, because every barrier placed before them represents a missed opportunity for our societies and economies.
