Hillary Clinton starts project to empower women

PHILADELPHIA (AP) Hillary Rodham Clinton is launching a new project called "No Ceilings" to empower women worldwide in the 21st century.

Clinton told the Pennsylvania Conference for Women on Friday that the Clinton Foundation initiative will look at progress made by women and girls and chart a path toward their full participation in the economy and society.

Polls have shown Clinton as the leading Democratic contender for president in 2016 if she decides to run.

The ex-secretary of state made no mention of a future campaign. But the project's title is reminiscent of her endorsement of Barack Obama in 2008.

In that speech, Clinton said though she didn't shatter the White House's glass ceiling, it had 18 million cracks in it a reference to the votes she won in Democratic primaries.

Clinton said Friday that too many women face ceilings "that hold back their ambitions and aspirations."

"I believe that women everywhere can be and are agents of change, drivers of progress, makers of peace," she said. "All we need is a fighting chance to show what we can do in every part of life."

She said the new initiative will look at progress made by women since the 1995 United Nations conference on women in China that she addressed as U.S. first lady. She said it would work with partners in the technology industry to create a "digital global review" of data that will be used by advocates, academics and decision-makers to "see the gains and see the gaps."