Every Wednesday, we highlight an article, book or a blog in our “What We’re Reading” series. We feature works that are noteworthy, inspiring, educational or relevant to the work we do at Opportunity. We welcome your comments in the comment field below–tell us what you’re reading, or respond to the piece we’ve highlighted. The following post highlights piece in Sunday’s Washington Post entitled “Goldman Sachs Program Raises Up Women Worldwide” by Kathleen Parker.

“Every morning, I stand in front of the mirror and say, ‘I am a woman and I am powerful,’” says Fatima, an Afghan business owner and recent graduate of Goldman Sachs’ 10,000 Women Initiative.

Fatima was honored along with three other recent graduates of the program at a luncheon in New York hosted by The Daily Beast founder Tina Brown.

In her piece in the Washington Post, writer Kathleen Parker articulates her admiration and awe for these women:

Their heads covered and their faces revealing no trace of makeup, they were soft-spoken yet commanding. Success has a presence all its own.

Parker writes glowingly of Goldman Sachs’ program, explaining that the five-year initiative, established in 2008, has reached 2,000 women in more than 20 countries since its inception, including Afghanistan, Brazil, China, Egypt, India, Rwanda and the U.S. And she lauds the philosophy, echoed by many other contemporary writers, economists and policymakers–such as Ambassador Melanne Verveer, Pulitzer Prize winner Sheryl WuDunn and more–that creating a women’s labor force and investing in women and girls is key to long-term economic growth.

To read more about the successes and the challenges faced by the women undergoing education and training through this initiative, read the entire article at washingtonpost.com.