SEMINAR VIDEO: WHY IS THE PANDEMIC DISPROPORTIONATELY AFFECTING WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS?
PROFILE Ute Stephan is Professor of Entrepreneurship at King’s College London, Visiting Professor (Organizational Psychology) at TU Dresden, Germany, Honorary Professor at Aston Business School and at UCL, and a Fellow of the International Association of Applied Psychology. WHAT THIS SESSION COVERS In this session Professor Ute Stephan talks about her research project on Entrepreneurship […]
Seeing Purple!
Perhaps like me, your heart was touched by the story last month of Chris Nikic. The 21 year old American entered the Guinness Book of World Records by becoming the first person with Down Syndrome to complete the Ironman event: swimming 2.4 miles, cycling 112 miles and running a 26.2-mile marathon. “You have shattered barriers […]
How Women Farmers and Entrepreneurs Can Build Resilience during COVID-19
Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, Virginie Adounon faced significant challenges with her business. In 2017, the 30-year-old mother of five decided to open a beauty salon in Bohicon, a city in southern Benin. Her shop was constructed out of bamboo, and during the rainy season, water would pour in from the ceiling. “I had no […]
Listening to women cotton farmers’ voices: The human cost of climate change
In my role with CottonConnect over the last six years, I have worked on social impact programmes to improve the health and livelihoods of women cotton farmers, and am aware of the specific needs of women in these communities. What I’m seeing now is how climate change contributes to the vicious cycle of poverty, from […]
Gender equality matters to business
We are living in challenging times. Uncertainty, complexity and the speed at which everything is moving around us, has forced us to reflect on our societies, our priorities within business and the future of our planet. The recent pandemic has lead businesses and individuals to evaluate their focus and in some cases their ultimate goals […]
How to boost GDP in emerging economies? Invest holistically in girls
When women are given greater opportunity to participate in the labour force, economies grow, and societies prosper. But until now, very little research has gone into the economic potential of girls, in particular, adolescent girls, in achieving growth and prosperity. New research from Citi Global Perspectives & Solutions (Citi GPS) and Plan International shows that […]
Covid: no ‘great leveller’ when it comes to women workers’ rights
Measures to tackle COVID-19 have exacerbated gender inequality across the globe. That’s the damning verdict of a recent report from the UN Foundation, which highlights the pandemic’s impact on women and girls everywhere. As we mark the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence, it is an opportune time to remember that while we have […]
How the development of women leadership generates positive impact
For more than two years I have been working directly with projects linked to gender equality in multicultural contexts. Explaining inequalities and its structures is crucial to understand how we engage on an agenda of development toward a future where people can thrive in balance with the planet. To comprehend the origins of gender inequality, […]
The COVID-19 Pandemic is Jeopardizing Women’s Ability to Earn a Living. Here’s How We Can Respond.
Elisabeth Atchade’s cashew orchard in central Benin feels like a world away from the epicenters of the COVID-19 pandemic. But when the government instituted lockdowns and travel restrictions in an effort to stop the spread of the disease, the impact on the mother of four was very real. “The start of the COVID-19 pandemic coincided […]
The Business Fights Poverty Fortnightly Round-Up
Over the last fortnight, Business Fights Poverty has been alarmed by reports that the Treasury is due to cut foreign aid spending from 0.7% of GDP to 0.5% in 2021. The cut, due to be announced on Wednesday, comes on top of a £2.9 billion reduction in foreign aid spending over the course of this […]
Addressing gendered and other inequalities will be central to COVID-19 recovery
Beyond COVID-19: grassroots visions of change This article is part of an IIED series that brings together forward-looking responses on specific themes in reaction to the coronavirus pandemic, drawing on our partners’ insights and providing a platform for voices from the global South. Here, IIED researcher Alice Sverdlik looks at the impacts of the virus on women and girls. Lamented as a […]
Making agricultural trade unions accessible to women workers
“We are worried everyday regarding our children. It has become very difficult to run the family with this little wage.” “The government has provided us shelters recently. But how can humans live in a 16 ft home? They are more suitable for cows and goats.” These are the words of women working on tea estates […]
Anti-Racism in Business: Examples and Actions to Drive Real Change
Tackling Racism As Accountable Business Leaders Through Commitment and Action “We cannot credibly build an inclusive economic system without addressing the fundamental injustice, inequity and violence that disproportionately impacts Black people and other People of Color. Racism is pervasive in the very systems in which our businesses operate and in our communities, and it is […]
Let’s open a conversation on research into modern slavery in business supply chains
We all want business supply chains to be free from exploitation and modern slavery. Businesses are no different. From executives, who want their businesses to be free from risks of such egregious practices tainting its operations, to workers across all tiers who are the ones affected by exploitation, preventing modern slavery is in everyone’s interest […]
What we need to transition to a circular economy
Circularity has become a trending topic in the business world in recent years. The climate crisis has woken us up to the urgency of moving away from a linear economy towards one that designs out waste and keeps products and materials in use. Earlier this year, 50 CEOS signed a letter to the Financial Times […]
Unlocking the potential of young entrepreneurs to navigate COVID-19
COVID-19 will disproportionately impact young people, women, and other underserved groups in the same way that the 2008 global financial crisis did. Two out of five under 30s have already reported a reduction in their income since the start of the pandemic and for many this will be the second global economic crisis that they […]
Renewable energy investments can boost the Caribbean’s sustainable recovery: Innovative financing approaches
Unlocking an economic boost by investing in renewable energy can be a pillar of the COVID-19 recovery, but will require significant work to align actors across the sector. From a technical point of view, financial mechanisms and instruments can be designed to de-risk projects and the region can expand its ability to attract investment dollars […]
The Business Fights Poverty Fortnightly Round-Up
Last week, as the US Presidential election played out, the Business Fights Poverty team spent some days reflecting on the events of the past six months and looking ahead to the future. We were all struck by the way that networks such as Business Fights Poverty can provide a source of insight and resilience, as […]
Demonstrating a business case for agroecology
In April 2019, Practical Action announced the start of a partnership with the IKEA Foundation designed to demonstrate that a business-led approach to agroecology is possible. Agroecology is a form of regenerative agriculture that is based on the principle of WORKING WITH rather than WORKING AGAINST nature. In practice, this means harnessing the synergy between […]
Vilified or Vaulted? How the private sector is our best hope for a more sustainable future
On the surface, those in the private sector have seemingly done a terrible job of being stewards of the environment and humanity. It seems like we’ve never evolved out of the Industrial Revolution. You’d imagine the inside of a factory at, say, Walmart to look like something from a Jacob Riis novel. And I wouldn’t […]