NEW YORK—With their husbands in meetings at the U.N. General Assembly, the first ladies of 13 African nations were across First Avenue Wednesday conducting their own summit. The women were working on ways to use their high-profile positions to create effective changes in their home nations.
The first ladies are a part of the RAND African First Ladies Initiative (AFLI), a group that has been partnering with the spouses of presidents and prime ministers for four years to provide them the resources to be effective champions of change.
“We believe first ladies are the agents of change,” said Charles Ries, vice president, international at the RAND Corporation. “The intent of it all was not to ask first ladies to support any particular issue, but to offer support for first ladies to whatever issue they choose to make their own.”
The role of the first lady is not defined by the U.S. Constitution, and around the globe it often comes without regulations or rules. It is a job no woman applies for but is instead required to take. The job carries with it a powerful voice that often reaches beyond political lines.
“They have total access to everybody. Not only can they talk to their husbands, but they can pick up the phone and no one is going to turn down that call,” said Gery Ryan, director of RAND AFLI.
The audience is built in, but without a guidebook to encompass their undefined jobs, many first ladies are unable to harness that audience effectively.
