[1]Executive Director of the Women’s Economic Agenda Project, Ethel Long-Scott has fought in every arena, from legislative bodies making public policy to the lowest income streets, to bring about permanent progress in the elimination of poverty, the human right to healthcare and the advancement of women’s economic, social and cultural rights. For over 40 years, Ethel has worked in various positions, in collaboration with political, economic and civic establishments, to increase social and economic justice. She has worked with labour and community groups at a grassroots level constantly maintaining a keen understanding of current public policy and politics. Thus, Ethel has generated a great deal of media interest in the plight of the poor and the goals of the Women’s Economic Agenda Project, working cooperatively and effectively with all kinds of people, across racial and class lines.
Ethel’s reputation as an effective leader, who is inspiring, focused and direct, speaks for itself. She regularly participates in international conferences on social and economic justice, including the Fourth World Conference on Women held in China in 1995, a 2004 conference in India on integrating human rights, and a 2009 conference in France on the access of low-income networks to the global arena. Ethel writes on the Web, gives speeches to thousands, works one-on-one, trains activists and participates in college classes.
When asked why she is interested in the Building Global Democracy Programme, Ethel answered:
It can help us build lives with dignity as a part of securing human rights, in a time when despite the impact of the global financial crisis, for the first time in history we have the capacity to end poverty, to meet human needs, to guarantee human rights. Building Global Democracy is crucial in a period of electronically-controlled globalized production and distribution, when far more goods are produced by far fewer people. This has resulted in fundamental changes to the nature of work and the situation of workers on an international level. There has been a historic polarization of wealth & poverty on a global level. Hundreds of individuals hold more wealth than nation-states. With these developments come new threats to democracy. We have a historic opportunity to identify the core values for a new and more democratic 21st Century social contract to replace the one being destroyed by globalization. A new social contract must help heal the planet as well as improve the human condition. Every human being should be able to contribute and to thrive not merely survive. We have an opportunity to contemplate values and measures to secure everyone's economic human rights.”
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