For the past several weeks, 26 women leaders from around the world have been in Washington, D.C., taking part in the Global Women in Management Program put on by the Centre for Development and Population Activities and supported by ExxonMobil.

The idea is to bring together mid-career women in developing countries who work in civil society organizations – local NGOs, cooperatives and business women’s associations – to talk about skill development, how to start a business and how to use the local resources available to them.

At first glance, a program like this appears to have nothing to do with the oil and gas industry. But in many of the countries where we work, there can be substantial challenges in regard to economic and social development. Studies show that women are catalysts for economic and social change, so we’re investing at the grassroots level to give women the power to strengthen their communities – so that we can strengthen the climate for business in the long-term.

At the course, women from 16 countries throughout Africa, Asia, the Americas, and the Middle East are learning best practices in areas such as fundraising, leadership and financial management. The goal is that these women will take what they’ve learned at the course back to their home countries, replicate the programs and reach even more women leaders.

From the achievements of the program’s alumnae, I’d have to say it’s working. Take, for instance, graduate Sandra Gyaama Boateng. She took the skills she learned and applied them to her work in Ghana with a youth development organization called the Philip Foundation of Accra. There, Sandra trains women in micro-credit opportunities and holds workshops about best practices for business development and growth. Her organization has trained 1,250 Ghanaian women in financial resource management. Since 2008, 70 percent of those women saw substantial gains in their businesses.

Other alumnae have risen to top leadership positions in their nations, becoming cabinet and parliamentary leaders, founders and heads of non-governmental organizations, successful businesswomen and leading journalists.

The Global Women in Management Program is just one of the efforts we support through our Women’s Economic Opportunity Initiative, established in 2005. To date, we’ve invested more than $36 million to help women participate in local economies. Ultimately, we believe that giving women the tools to get down to business is good business for us.