If U.S.-based women-owned businesses were their own country, they would have the fifth-largest gross domestic product in the world, trailing closely behind Germany and ahead of countries such as France, the United Kingdom and Italy.

This is according to the Center for Women’s Business Research, which reported that eight million businesses in the United States are women-owned. These firms have an economic impact of $3 trillion annually, which translates into 23 million jobs — 16 percent of all U.S. employment.

Since facts prove that women-owned firms have a major impact on the U.S. economy, one would assume that we are ready for women leaders. However, some still have blinders on.

Recently, Hawaii saw this narrow vision during the nomination of Judge Katherine Leonard as chief justice for the Hawaii Supreme Court. Judge Leonard, an experienced female judge, was rejected by the state Senate.

The senators who rejected Judge Leonard said her qualifications were lacking, dwelling on her administrative experience. However, this nominee did have the appropriate experience, as many testified to the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Some are hesitant to admit that gender inequality occurred in the Senate vote. But taking a deeper look into the events, that is exactly what took place.

Women have come far since the establishment of the 19th Amendment, but a double standard still exists. Women — like Judge Leonard who handled the experience with grace and strength — bring hope, and we need to learn from their example to stay strong.

This is one of the reasons I initiated the International Women’s Leadership Conference seven years ago. The uniqueness of the stories told by accomplished women from around the globe is what makes Hawaii’s conference different from others. The event is both informative and inspiring.

Although the backgrounds and experiences of these speakers are highly diverse, there is a unifying theme at the heart of their stories. That theme is the power women have to bring about positive change in the lives of our speakers, in the lives of young women and men in their communities, and in the lives of many others in the world. These women are changing the paradigm of what leadership looks like.

Delegates to the past six conferences have learned that leaders come from all backgrounds, and that anyone from anywhere in the world can make a difference. It only takes one person to lead the way. And, in many cases, the most effective one is a woman.

The 2010 conference, to be held next Tuesday at the Sheraton Waikiki Hotel, will include speakers whose actions have changed the lives of thousands of people. They include:

» Dr. Connie Mariano, the White House physician and the first Filipino-American rear admiral in the U.S. Navy.

» Jin Robertson from Korea, a former housemaid who became a U.S. major and earned a doctorate degree at Harvard.

» Pacita Juan, a Philippines social developer and entrepreneur who campaigns for organic ways of taking care of the environment.

» Sister Rosemary, who directs the St. Monica’s Tailoring School, which educates and houses the Lord’s Resistance Army rebel abduction victims in Uganda.

» Madame Li Xiaolin, vice-chairwoman of the Chinese People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries, who is launching poverty-relief projects.

» Rhonda Begos, a victim of childhood abuse who went on to become a successful entertainer and musical healer.

» MacDella Cooper, a Liberian civil war refugee as a child who now attracts international investors to her nonprofit foundation that helps Liberian children.

» Dr. Ing Kantha Phavi, minister of Women’s Affairs in Cambodia, who is responsible for developing gender-responsive policies.

One of Hawaii’s greatest strengths is its diversity. The cross-pollination of ideas, styles and perspectives — and our location bridging the East and the West — all contribute to making our state truly unique in the United States.

However, it is important that diversity in business, government and the military encompass gender as well as ethnicity. The goal isn’t parity for parity’s sake, but rather to diversify our leadership locally and globally while bringing new perspectives to challenges.