Barbara Anne Ferris, Founder and President of the International Women's Democracy Center (IWDC), is the featured speaker at the next League of Women Voters public meeting set for Thursday, March 4, 2010, 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m., at Trinity Commons at Trinity Cathedral, 2230 Euclid Ave., Cleveland. It is open to the public free of charge, with free parking behind the Cathedral off Prospect Avenue.

The International Women's Democracy Center was established in 1995 to ensure that women worldwide have the necessary tools and skills to participate in politics, policy and decision making within their own democracies. Its offices are in Washington D.C., Ohio, Botswana, Northern Ireland, and Tajikistan.

According to the Inter-Parliamentarian Union based in Geneva Switzerland, of the 40,000 elected parliamentarians worldwide, less than 18% are women, and in the United States less than 17% of Congress is represented by women. Moreover, the number of women elected to state legislatures across the United States has decreased from 28% to 22% in the last decade.

Ferris's talk on March 4 is titled "Altering the Political Landscape." Barbara Anne Ferris has been a director for the Peace Corps, advisor to the United Nations, candidate for U.S. Congress, and has visited over 100 countries. She is a sought-after expert on how governments, organizations and communities can ensure that women are equal partners in the economic, social and political development of their countries.

For more information on the IWDC, visit www.iwdc.org.  For details on the March 4th event, visit http://www.LWVCuyahogaArea.org or call the League office at 216 781-0555.

Joan Hirsh lives in Bay Village and is a member of the League of Women Voters Cuyahoga Area.