We Finally Have an Official Climate Emergency. But is that the full picture?

We are just midway through the year and yet 2019 has already seen several unprecedented weather events from Cyclone Fani, which evacuated more than a million people in India, to the two storms that devastated the Mozambican coast. These disasters have thrown into sharp focus just how much climate change is compounding our already complex […]

Not Just a Women’s Issue

What are some of the causes and consequences of violence against women? What role do men play? How can men unite to ensure the world is safer for everyone: women and girls, men and boys? In the inaugural presentation of the Clayman Institute’s 18-month symposium on breaking the culture of sexual assault, noted educator, author […]

Business Briefing on Unpaid Care and Domestic Work

There is growing evidence that business leaders and managers understand that the unequal and heavy share of unpaid care and domestic work done by women and girls is an issue which matters for the effective (ongoing) operations of their firms. Some companies have already taken practical steps to address the issue by supporting employees along […]

Ivanka Trump Could Shape African Women’s Entrepreneurship

After decades of working with women entrepreneurs in Sub-Saharan Africa, I am hopeful that Ivanka Trump’s initiative will deliver change, provided the interventions are designed for lasting results. To effectively meet the program’s ambitious goal of supporting 50 million women in developing countries by 2025, we will need more than the usual generic, short-term approaches […]

Business Urge for a Robust New Global Law to End Violence and Harassment at Work

30 leading business networks and individual brands are calling for negotiators to deliver a new international law to end violence and harassment in the workplace that genuinely benefits business and employees world-wide. A statement, initiated by the NGO CARE, and supported by Business Fights Poverty, The B Team, BSR and individual brands Unilever, Marks & […]

Pakistani Businesses Need to Hire and Retain More Women to Flourish

Pakistan has made progress in boosting women’s education levels over the past several years—yet less than 8 percent of the country’s workforce are women. Closing that gap will represent a huge economic opportunity for our country. I’m excited that the private sector is taking steps to address the problem. At the Pakistan Stock Exchange on […]

We Won’t Take This Lying Down: Women, Business and Equality in 2019

Based on the current rate of progress, it will take 202 years to close the economic gender gap globally, according to research from World Economic Forum. And so, it was with trepidation that I stepped into the University Women’s Club, London, to learn more about how the Foundation intends to close the gap, faster. If […]

Making Supply Chains Safe for Women Workers: Where Compliance Programs End, Supplier Relationships Matter

The Guardian reported on a recent study of Vietnamese clothing, footwear, and outdoor wear manufacturers, which found that “workers in Vietnamese factories have been harassed, groped, and even raped”. This was both sadly shocking and sadly predictable. Though compliance programs are in place, they have not guaranteed harassment-free work environments. The prevalence of harassment is sadly shocking: […]

Gender Equality: Closing the Gap in the Private Sector Around the World

Let’s be honest, in the world of development, the private sector has not always been our partner of choice in the race to achieve gender equality. There has been a perception that business actions in this area are merely front-line measures or meagre efforts that simply impose quotas on boards of directors. These assumptions are […]

Giving Women Better Access to Finance Could Unlock $330 Billion in Annual Global Revenue

Lack of access to finance remains one of the major barriers facing women entrepreneurs in marginalised communities across the world. 80 per cent of women-owned businesses with credit needs are either unserved or underserved – a US$1.7 trillion financing gap.  CARE International is responding to this injustice by launching our ‘Access Approved’ campaign.  We are […]

We Learned Simple Ways to Improve the Local Environment and Our Income

In the Nawa region in Côte d’Ivoire, Mondelēz International’s Cocoa Life partners with Impactum and CARE International to engage women and address climate change and deforestation through a Green Entrepreneurship pilot project. They are helping women learn the knowledge and skills needed to create a sustainable future for cocoa farming communities, and generate income for […]

Helping Women Thrive: Give a Loan, Create a Community Role Model

Most of these women have simple dreams and plans for themselves, whether it is to provide food for their children, obtain books to go to school or access clean water. And microfinancing organizations and crowdfunding platforms like Kiva are helping women achieve them. Kiva is an international nonprofit based in San Francisco with a mission […]

Why Addressing Gender-Based Violence is an Imperative for Business Today

As part of our latest Challenge project, we are asking our network, and beyond, to contribute important insight into how businesses are, can or should be tackling gender-based violence – whether in the workplace, or supporting employees who are victims and survivors of domestic violence. Your insights will help in the creation of a toolkit, […]