It is time for multinational corporations to come to the same realization -- funding education and training female business leaders is good for business.

Isobel Coleman discusses the role of women in the Arab Spring.

Isobel Coleman says the recent women's protest in Egypt may breathe life into a movement that desperately needs new energy.

Isobel Coleman argues that in Libya, Egypt, and elsewhere, overthrowing male dominance could be harder than overthrowing a dictator.

Isobel Coleman discusses the importance of leveraging new resources, such as commitment accounts and mobile technology, for poverty alleviation.

USAID Deputy Administrator Donald Steinberg discusses the challenges facing the organization in an environment of constrained budgets.

Isobel Coleman and Gayle Tzemach Lemmon argue that U.S. investments in midwifery programs in Afghanistan promote sustainable development in Afghanistan and allow the United States to keep its promise to bring a responsible end of the war.

Pakistani human rights lawyer Asma Jahangir discusses U.S.-Pakistan relations and the fragility of the Pakistani democracy.

Isobel Coleman argues that increased access to voluntary family planning is one of the most cost-effective ways to improve health and reduce poverty.

Isobel Coleman argues that a stable, prosperous Libya undergoing a process of democratization will enhance the chance of successful transitions in neighboring countries such as Tunisia and Egypt.

Cherie Blair, founder of the Cherie Blair Foundation for Women, discusses the gender gap in access to mobile technology. Research conducted by Blair's organization has found that the gender gap is particularly wide in the Middle East, Africa, and Asia.

In awarding the prize to three women activists, the Nobel committee is honoring the fact that women's full participation in society is essential to peace, says CFR's Isobel Coleman.

Expert Robin Wright discusses the unfolding developments of the Arab Spring with CFR's Isobel Coleman. Wright argues that a "counter-jihad" is happening, which is "challenging the political status quo."

Investment in maternal health in Afghanistan provides a cost-effective way to promote strategic U.S. foreign policy objectives including reducing maternal and child mortality, improving public health, empowering women, and fostering economic stability, and therefore, as part of a responsible drawdown in Afghanistan the U.S. government continue its commitments to training midwives and improving other maternal health programs to expand the advances made in women’s health since 2001.

Isobel Coleman and Gayle Tzemach Lemmon say the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan places maternal health programs for Afghan women in jeopardy.

This video is part of a special Council on Foreign Relations series that explores how 9/11 changed international relations and U.S. foreign policy. In this video, Isobel Coleman, Senior Fellow and Director of CFR's Civil Society, Markets, and Democracy Initiative, discusses how the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2011 influenced a debate over social and economic challenges and opportunities in the Middle East.

Isobel Coleman discusses the Women2Drive campaign in Saudi Arabia and says the next generation of Saudi rulers will have to face the issue of women's rights.

Isobel Coleman says "virginity tests" performed on women protesters in Egypt are a new twist in the longstanding mistreatment of Egyptian women by military and civilian men.

Isobel Coleman, Director of the Council on Foreign Relations' Civil Society, Markets, and Democracy Initiative, discusses new initiatives announced by President Obama in support of the democratic transitions in Egypt and Tunisia, including trade, investment, debt forgiveness, and loan guarantees.

Isobel Coleman says that while President Obama sought the middle ground in his speech on the Middle East, it may leave both sides disappointed.

Osama bin Laden's death has raised pointed questions over the legitimacy of Pakistan's counterterrorism efforts and the viability of its relationship with the United States. Four experts discuss whether, and on what terms, the United States should continue aiding Pakistan.