The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) is one of the most important human rights tools ever created. Adopted in 1979 by the United Nations General Assembly, it is often described as an international bill of rights for women. These essays and personal reflections, from individuals who have served on the committee that monitors CEDAW, introduce readers to the issues and the activism. Only a handful of countries have refused to ratify CEDAW; the United States is the only industrialized country among them. The Circle of Empowerment reveals the profound impact the convention has had on women's lives around the world and its potential to affect American women. With examples and moving reminiscences from Japan to Tunisia to the Caribbean and beyond, this readable collection addresses CEDAW's impact on women in Islam, labor markets, migration, violence against women, human trafficking, women in politics, and more. Hanna Beate SchApp-Schilling has since 1989 been a member of the CEDAW committee, where she has held the positions of rapporteur and vice chair. She is a lecturer and consultant on women, gender, youth, and human rights in Europe and Asia. Cees Flinterman, a member of the CEDAW committee since 2002, is a professor of international law at Utrecht University in the Netherlands. He is director of the Netherlands Institute of Human Rights (SIM) and the School of Human Rights Research. He has served as a representative of the Netherlands to several UN human rights commissions.