According to recent numbers provided by the United Nations, women account for half of the world’s population, do two-thirds of the world’s work, earn one-tenth of the world’s income and own one-hundredth of the world’s property.

At the third annual Santa Barbara International Women’s Festival this Friday and Saturday, hundreds of women from all over the world — and from all walks of life — will converge on the Earl Warren Showgrounds, 3400 Calle Real in Santa Barbara, to prove that although numbers don’t lie, they don’t always tell the whole story.

Since the early 20th century, March 8 has officially been recognized as International Women’s Day, commemorated by the United Nations and designated as a national holiday in many countries. In honor of the ongoing struggle for women’s equality and to further worldwide solidarity, Women’s Festivals was co-founded by Patty DeDominic and Mary Schnack, both entrepreneurs and women’s rights advocates.

Appropriately, the theme for the 2010 festival is “connectivity.” Throughout the two days, women from a range of professional and personal backgrounds will have the opportunity to connect with one another, as well as share tools and resources that will help them prosper in all aspects of their lives.

The festival is a nonprofit event that will feature female leaders from the worlds of business, arts and politics, and will focus on the five critical areas of women’s lives: personal, professional, philanthropic, political and planet — otherwise known as the “five Ps.” It will include a business expo, an art auction, roundtable discussions, entertainment, and prominent speakers from all over the globe.

Schnack said Women’s Festivals provide a huge springboard to success for all of its attendees.

“The Women’s Festivals are a unique opportunity for everyone who attends to be up close and personal with many of the most influential thinkers making a positive difference in the world today,” she said.

This year’s extensive panel of thinkers is slated to include keynote speaker Mimi Donaldson.

Donaldson has excited and entertained audiences in more than 50 percent of the Fortune 100 companies, and has shared the stage with such figures as Colin Powell, Elizabeth Dole and Maya Angelou. She is a former president of the National Association of Women Business Owners, and she will share both her business acumen and her famed wit as she talks about her most recent book, Necessary Roughness: New Rules for the Contact Sport of Life.

Saturday will feature the California debut of Sing for Hope, a nonprofit organization that mobilizes more than 600 world-class artists — from classical musicians to photographers to Broadway performers — who donate time and talent in volunteer service programs that benefit schools, hospitals and communities.

There will also be an art auction, with a percentage of the proceeds going to help the women of Haiti. A portion of the total proceeds from the festival will go to this year’s nonprofit partners, including the NAWBO, SCORE, Girls Inc. of Greater Santa Barbara, Girls Inc. of Carpinteria, Future Women CEOs, Women’s Economic Ventures, the Global Organization for Leadership and Diversity, the Women’s Foundation of California, the Wiedemann Foundation, the Profant Foundation for the Arts and the Santa Barbara Region Chamber of Commerce.

Click here to purchase tickets online; a scholarship application is available for women who would like to attend but don’t have the financial resources to purchase a ticket.

“We don’t want price to be an issue for women,” festival associate producer Nitana Sanchez said. “The past two years have been extremely successful, but we’re really hoping to get the word out and make this year’s event bigger, better and more inclusive than ever.”

— Kevin McFadden is a Noozhawk contributor.