One of my privileges as governor of Hawai'i is meeting and working with many extraordinary women — whether high school girls from Hawai'i competing in robotics, collegiate athletes at the University of Hawai'i, the eight women on my Cabinet, or the women I have been fortunate to cross paths with during my trips to Korea, the Philippines, Japan, China, Indonesia and Israel.

I first decided to host an international women's leadership conference during a trip to Japan several years ago. My motivation was to provide to all the people of Hawai'i an opportunity to hear inspirational stories of women from around the world.

This year we have speakers who represent nine different nations and as many professions, including Kristie Kenney, U.S. ambassador to the Philippines; Capt. Vernice Armour, the first female African-American combat pilot in military history; Cathy Lanier, the first female chief of police for the District of Columbia; Cristeta Comerford, the first female White House executive chef; Moira Cameron, who was appointed the first female Yeoman Warder at the Tower of London in 2007; and Aduei Riak, a paralegal in Boston who was one of 4,000 Sudanese refugees as a child.

I am also excited that this year's conference will feature a panel discussion with education leaders from Uganda, China, Japan, Hawai'i and the Mainland U.S.

Over time, I have come to realize the futility of trying to define set issues that connect women from different countries and walks of life. It is the uniqueness of the stories told by our women speakers that make the International Women's Leadership Conference informative and thought-provoking. That said, there is a unifying theme at the heart of their stories, which is the power women have to bring about positive change in their lives, the lives of young women and their communities.

My hope with every conference is that more women participants will be motivated to pursue leadership positions, to overcome self-perceptions of not being qualified, and to think about power in a positive light and as a tool to create a better life, a better day and a better future for their families, the state of Hawai'i, and the world.

One of our state's greatest strengths is its diversity. The cross-pollination of ideas, styles and perspectives — and our location bridging East and West — have contributed to making Hawai'i truly unique in the United States. However, it is important that diversity in business, government and military encompass gender as well as ethnicity. The goal isn't parity for parity's sake, but rather to diversify our leadership and invite new ways of looking at things in order to move our state forward.

Regardless of whether we are men or women, all of us have an obligation to cultivate leaders for tomorrow. I value the conference for providing local women of all ages with an opportunity to connect with each other and establish mentoring relationships.

Leilani Williams was one of hundreds of attendees at the International Women's Leadership Conference in 2007. She describes the conference as having made an "amazing difference in (her) life," and says it inspired her to overcome obstacles that had gotten in the way of her success in the past. Today, she is a respected sales manager at Clear Channel Radio and a positive role model for other younger women.

Leilani's story illustrates an overarching concept behind the conference: In helping each other and sharing our wisdom with younger generations, we are not only assisting individuals but contributing to the realization of a brighter future for our entire state.

Gov. Linda Lingle wrote this commentary for The Advertiser.