Rethinking Impact: A Call to BPW on the Sustainable Development Goals

This month, I had the honor of representing BPW International as a member of the United Nations Standing Committee at the UN High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development in New York. While I, along with other members of our UN Standing Committee, carried the flag for our global sisterhood in those formal sessions, this reflection comes from my position as International Liaison for NFBPWC, speaking to all of us who are committed to ensuring our work has real, measurable impact.

The reality we faced throughout the week was sobering: globally, we are not on track to meet the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030. In fact, we’re falling behind. Climate instability, widening inequality, weakening institutional trust, and increasing resource scarcity are stalling or reversing hard-fought progress. The sense of urgency at the UN was palpable, and the takeaway was clear. This is not the moment for symbolic gestures or vague goals. This is the moment for precision, discipline, and outcome- driven action.

Good intentions are not enough. Across BPW, we are engaged in important projects that align with the SDGs. But alignment alone isn’t the goal. We have to move from intention to quantifiable impact, and that requires narrowing our focus. It will also require us to produce a BPW annual global impact report, which will elevator our ability to gain and maintain our credibility as a multilateral organization of impact.

Too often, we frame our projects around themes that are important but expansive. Terms like “climate action” and “gender equality” carry weight, but without clear focus, our efforts can become scattered. When we try to tackle everything at once, it becomes difficult to measure the true impact we’re making, risking the perception that we’re trying to boil the proverbial ocean. The work we do matters: to women, to youth, to the underserved, to those in war- torn regions, and to individuals facing forced migration for countless reasons. It matters to entrepreneurs and innovators, to business and professional women around the world. But it must translate into tangible outcomes. By narrowing the scope of our projects, we can sharpen our efforts and deliver impact that is not only visible, but deeply felt, sustained, measurable, and well-documented.

BPW has an opportunity to be regarded as a global thought leader, standing shoulder to shoulder with the other large, trusted multilateral organization. We have the global reach, credibility, and access to some of the world’s most critical policy forums. That isn’t just a privilege, it’s a responsibility. And if we want to lead, we must move beyond regional discussion and impact and become active contributors to the global conversation, together.

One of the most important mandates we must embrace across the organization is the consistent writing of position papers - documents that articulate our mission with clarity, evidence-based insights, and focused language that establishes our position in the areas where we’re making measurable impact. These papers should not stay internal. They must be circulated to UN working groups, policy stakeholders, elected officials worldwide, and the broader public. In parallel, we need to equip and encourage our members to write LinkedIn articles that articulate our work, our perspective, and our vision. We should be speaking at summits, publishing in journals, and showing up in the rooms - virtual and physical - where thought leadership is shaping global agendas. We also need to prioritize our digital presence: improve our SEO, strengthen our brand capital, and grow our generative capital. People won’t know our value unless we tell them. We must actively draw others into our conversations, inviting them to listen, learn, and engage from the outside through open webinars, panels, and master classes. BPW must not only have a global voice, we must ensure that voice is visible, accessible, and impossible to ignore. Being visible isn’t about recognition. It’s about influence. Organizations that are seen as drivers of real solutions are the ones that attract support, funding, partnership, membership, and contribute to the next generation of leaders.

As an organization for business and professional women, our work must reflect not only our commitment to women’s rights but also the issues that matter most to women in leadership, entrepreneurship, and the global workforce. Our projects should be designed at the intersection of gender equity and professional advancement, where our members live and lead every day.

BPW has made meaningful strides in promoting equal pay and economic mobility, but we have the opportunity to deepen that impact by developing shared toolkits for advocacy, including templates for members to write op-eds and LinkedIn articles that spotlight our efforts and expertise. For business and professional women, the real value lies in practical, visible action. So at our BPW conferences, we should prioritize programming that supports this. Include sessions focused on how to advocate for pay equity in the workplace, how to build partnerships across industries, and how to use our voices to influence policy and corporate practice. Just as important, we need a “Get to Know Us” session at every event - structured time where members introduce who they are, what they do, what they need, and what they can offer. Real collaboration and business growth don’t come from online directories - they come from being in the same room, making eye contact, and finding the spark of opportunity through conversation.

What is the ‘why’ behind our work? When our members see that their contributions drive measurable progress, they stay engaged. When external stakeholders see BPW as a serious voice in global development, they come to the table. And when our efforts are focused and disciplined, we stop simply responding to the world’s challenges, and we start reshaping them.

The SDGs are not abstract metrics. They represent the future of our communities, our rights, and our planet. We must treat them with the seriousness they deserve.

BPW doesn’t need to be everywhere. We don’t need to be everywhere. But we must be deeply present somewhere,  whether  that’s  advancing  women’s leadership in corporate governance, addressing energy poverty in rural communities, building resilience for women in climate-impacted industries, or driving legislative change around pay equity. “Somewhere” means choosing a focused area where our collective voice, skills, and resources can drive measurable change. When we commit fully to that space, we not only make our presence count, we make it impossible to ignore.

Larisa Miller

BPW GALWAY & BPW USA NFBPWC INTERNATIONAL

Relations Chair (2024-2026) International Liaison

UN Standing Committee