If curious about the rise of women business and government leaders around the world, look at the attendance roster of the Global Summit of Women. It is the who’s-who of women’s success.

What do 1,240 women from 82 countries, 35 women government ministers, and the former women presidents of Finland, Malta, and Kyrgyzstan have in common? Answer: All were present at the 2014 Global Summit of Women, hosted by France for the first time in 24 years. On the Global Summit website, Irene Natividad, President of the Global Summit of Women describes the Paris event as a time to share “...best practices on how to accelerate women’s impact on the global economy.” Backed by unstoppable enthusiasm, event presenters and attendees made it clear that women already play key roles in global leadership and economics. Most importantly, the best is yet to come in future women leaders who envision building stronger, more equitable, and more successful economies and societies.

Tapping Skills, Experiences and Talents of Women

It was by design the 2014 Global Summit returned to France, a Eurozone country that has assumed a leadership position in rebuilding the region’s economic strength after the Great Recession. France is recognized for its strong approach to diversity on corporate boards, in the workforce, and in supply chains. There is no better place to showcase the power and strength of women bringing new perspectives and approaches to problem-solving in a world where problems seem to accumulate with regularity.

The Global Summit was held at Paris Marriott Rive Gauche Hotel And Conference Center and began with a conference that celebrated the presence of women on boards and in leadership positions. It was a big celebration as 40 prestigious women board directors and executives set the tone for following serious conversation on topics like managing a multi-generational workforce, redefining corporate social responsibility, and entering the corporate supply chain. “There are a lot of takeaways from the Global Summit,” said Ursula Schwarzenbart, the Director of Global Diversity, Management Performance, and Potential Management at Daimler AG. “I get so many inspiring ideas out of this one event by talking to companies operating all over the world in Europe, Asia, Africa, and America. Gender diversity is an issue no matter where you go in the world. There has never been a better time for companies to overcome gender inequality.”

To enthusiasm, add unstoppable optimism. The women attending the Global Summit have no doubt they can tackle any issue. The agenda proves it. There were sessions on creating economic opportunities, building business sustainability, entering global supply chains, growing Generation Y entrepreneurs, and developing authentic leadership. Many of the women presenting and attending have reached the highest levels within their respective governments or organizations. Present at the Summit were presidents of countries, government ministers, CEOs, and executives.

Leaving Political Correctness at Home

The event was filled with thought-provoking panel discussions, designed to be inclusive and refusing to cater to political correctness so participants could honestly tackle the true barriers to the success of women. For example, the panel discussion named “Redefining the Marketplace: The Business Case for Gender Equality” was purposely led by six white males representing energy, legal, and banking industries. A panel of all men at a conference for women caused an uproar on Twitter. The panel makeup represented a belief that all leadership must be recruited to fight gender inequality and to ensure the recruitment, development, and advancement of talented women is a priority. As Irene Natividad tweeted in response to the uproar, “We need EVERYONE involved in this important conversation. These CEOs advocate for gender equality in the workplace….Wanted them to share insight & successful initiatives.”

Irene’s deep understanding of what it takes to break down barriers to success are critical to achieving real progress. The breadth and depth of the female leadership represented at the Global Summit for Women showcases a fact that often gets overlooked: There are extremely successful women around the world who have paved the way for expanded efforts in gender equality. Their current positions and titles mirror the progress that has already been made. Attending were women such as the Hon. Marie-Therese Abena Ondoa nee Obama of Camaroon, the Minister of Women’s Empowerment, and the Hon. Agnieszka Kozlowska-Rajewicz, Poland’s Secretary of State for Equal Opportunities, to name just two. Also attending was Kosovo’s President, H.E. Atifete Jahjaga; Vietnam’s Vice President, H.E. Nguyen Thi Doan, and others in equally powerful positions. Women CEOs were present, including Patricial Barbizet, CEO of Aremis; Bola Adesola, the CEO of Standard Chartered Bank in Nigeria; and Clara Gaymard, CEO of GE France.

Pay Attention

Joe Keefe, CEO of PAX World Investments spoke about the development of a new fund named the “PAX Elevate Global Women Index Fund” which invests in the companies that are highest rated in the world for advancing women’s leadership through gender diversity on boards and in senior management. He said this about the Global Summit: “Women here are engaged on a lot of different levels, countries and cultures, and there are many different strategies that work. My message is that the strategy that is not being deployed as effectively as it should be is one of mobilizing investors. Ultimately, corporations have to listen to their own shareholders. If shareholders become engaged on sustainability issues and engaged on gender equality, then corporations are going to have to listen to and represent the shareholders. If shareholders say they care about gender diversity as much as they care about other issues, corporations will have to pay attention.”

Women in leadership positions are actively seeking others to join them in redesigning workplaces, starting new businesses, bringing innovation to the marketplace, redesigning cities, leading top-ranked corporations, and guiding nations. Women bring new perspectives, ideas, creativity and solutions to the business and government arenas. Irene Natividad says, “I am most proud of making diversity real at the global level with each Summit. Women have limited experience of ‘global,’ although it is talked about constantly in business. One level of learning to accomplish at each Summit is to have everyone experience ‘global’ through the people they meet at meals, in hallways, and during events, and by listening to Global Summit presenters who are coming from different parts of the world.”