Anne-Marie Slaughter

Global Hot Spots and Blind Spots

When we read the news about crisis zones and foreign threats, we typically see only half of the story. We focus on the chess game played between great powers, and miss the web of relationships and networks that connect rather than separate us.

From Russia to the Middle East to North Korea, we must learn to pay attention both to the geopolitics and to the flows of people, goods, money, weather, information and energy underneath the surface of what we see and hear. Understanding the world this way – as a chessboard and a web – also changes the way we understand power, leadership, and global problem-solving.

The web world is particularly important for CEOs, NGO leaders, philanthropists, university presidents, faith leaders, mayors and governors to grasp, as it is the world in which they can create coalitions, alliances, and covenants that link the public, private, and civic sectors to tackle problems that affect us all and require all our energies and capabilities to solve.

The Future of Foreign Policy

Trade wars, space wars, terrorism, nuclear proliferation, cyber-attacks – who’s in charge of the global system?

The state-centric global order created after World War II was designed for a small number of great powers, mainly the five permanent members of the UN Security Council, the principal contributors to the IMF and the World Bank, and members of the G-7 and the G-20. But these institutions are only as valuable as the results they deliver. If the UN, the EU, or other regional organizations do not address global or regional problems, then they must be replaced or supplemented with rules and institutions that do.

For several decades, a seismic shift has been occurring in the global order — from one of top down power and influence to one of bottom up energy and activism, in the form of alliances, coalitions, initiatives and networks. This new de-centralized and inclusive diplomacy is led by NGOs, CEOs, mayors, governors, foundation presidents, faith leaders, and committed citizens coming together. Examples include the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization, Bloomberg’s Global Covenant of Mayors, and Hamdi Ulukaya’s Tent.

Defenders of the current global order must recognize that national governments will continue to play a role, but as fellow travelers as much as drivers. The levers of global peace and prosperity will increasingly be in all of our hands.

What real Equality looks like

Across our society, from politics and the boardroom to universities, Wall Street, and Silicon Valley, real parity for men and women would look nothing like the world we are living in. It would result in very different policies and business choices made by both women and men.

It would be a world in which men were as free or as constrained to choose family over career as women are, and a world in which women would value men who support them with time and care as much as men would value women who support them with money. It would be a world in which traditional women’s work – care work of all kinds, from coaching to teaching to childcare – would be valued and compensated as highly as men’s work. A world in which employers would see the vast pool of women (and a growing number of men) ready to boost their careers after child-rearing as a ready and valuable source of talent. And it would be a world in which we would spend as much on education, particularly early education, as we spend on defense.

In this discussion, I explore the ways in which marriages, relationships, and companies will have to adapt to more flexible and uncertain work arrangements and work to ensure that equality is realized across all sectors of society.

Balancing Family and Work

Anne-Marie Slaughter gives an inspiring life-balancing speech with thoughtful insight into how incorporating more family time will result in greater productivity at work. Her moment of truth was time lapsed, because while the woman she thought she was would’ve jumped at the opportunity of a promotion, she admits it didn’t feel like the right decision. Ultimately she made her decision by accepting what was most important to her — family — and decided she wanted to be closer to her home.

Slaughter is committed to the idea of a flexible workplace. She says, “If family comes first, work does not come second — life does.” Those who are more active in their family endeavors and those who attend their child’s extracurricular activities are more inclined to indirectly socialize and network at functions, as oppose to those who stay working at their desk.

A flexible workplace and one that values the importance of families creates an environment that is less stressful and has employees who are more engaged with each other, and thus more proactive. Furthermore, there should be more equality and support that men choose to make be it breadwinner or caregiver. While there is a revolution in human equality, how fast it happens is ultimately up to us.