I was delighted to learn yesterday that the 2011 Nobel Peace Prize has been awarded to three women. Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Leymah Gbowee, and Tawakkol Karman serve as role models to us all for their leadership in promoting peace and gender equality in Africa and the Arab world.
Awarding the prize to not one but three women sends an important message to the world about the role of women leaders in achieving just, humane, and peaceful societies. It is an illustration of the message that we live by here at Wellesley: that women can and do make a difference in the world.