VIDEO: How can business harness technology to support women entrepreneurs?
Hashitha Abeywardana is Senior Technical Advisor at Chrysalis, an organisation that helps communities and institutions to embrace diversity and catalyze inclusive growth for women and youth. In this session, Hashitha explained how companies can harness technology to support women entrepreneurs and to address gender based violence. Also, he listed several good examples of initiatives that […]
UK Aid Cuts Jeopardise Sustainable Development and Multi-Stakeholder Partnerships – Girls’ and Women’s Needs are At Risk
In May 1946, the first 20,000 CARE Packages arrived in France. These critical deliveries of basic supplies such as flour, soup, tinned meat and chocolate, helped feed families in post-war Europe. Around 400,000 had? arrived in Britain when we needed them most. Altogether, more than 100 million CARE Packages were packed and shipped to Europe, […]
Five reasons why digital work may help promote inclusion of youth with disabilities
Digital jobs are opening up important new work opportunities for youth with disabilities in developing countries. The COVID‒19 pandemic has accelerated the expansion of jobs which offer flexibility, accommodations for disability and functional access for remote communities. In our new report “Digital Jobs for Youth with Disabilities,” S4YE highlights strategies that programs have used to increase inclusion of […]
Unpaid and unrecognised – tools and examples on how business can tackle invisible labour.
At a time of global economic downturn, when record numbers of women have lost their jobs and with more women than ever having to juggle paid work and unpaid care responsibilities, taking action to support these women and recognise their work has never been more urgent. The excessive amount and unequal distribution of this invisible […]
Young leaders offer wisdom for the road ahead
The COVID-19 pandemic is leaving a deep socio-economic impact on young people. Nevertheless, young people are among the most active responders: not only as frontline health workers, but as researchers, activists, communicators and innovators lifting up their communities. Despite their contributions, young people are often neglected in the decision-making process. Youth deserve to actively participate in solutions […]
Over 300 practical tools to make your youth employment initiative a success
Youth unemployment in developing countries is a pressing problem – youth face multiple constraints that affect both their decision to enter the labor force and their access to employment. And the Covid-19 has further exacerbated these issues. According to the World Bank youth and women are particularly negaitively impacted by the effects of the pandemic. […]
Building the next generation of responsible businesses and leaders
Everyone has the right to decent work. Meaning, a job which delivers a fair income in a safe environment with prospects for the future and social integration. A job which offers social protections if you are sick, have family commitments or are injured. A place where you have the freedom to express your concerns, organise […]
Women entrepreneurs make changing norms the new norm
As we’ve noted before, success in the social sector is usually seen as “scaling out” — as described by Iman Bibars, regional director of Ashoka Arab World. This male-dominated “franchise model” often results in big budgets and large numbers of beneficiaries. But many women take a different, incredibly successful approach: “scaling deep.” “When women adopt a […]
Business Partnerships as a Force for Good
Business Partnerships for Global Goals (BP4GG) is a UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office programme which invests in partnerships with businesses to test and scale shared value initiatives that support achieving the SDGs. Managed by Mott MacDonald, the programme hosts the Vulnerable Supply Chains Facility, a rapid COVID-19 response facility partnering with 20 international agricultural […]
Business Fights Poverty Fortnightly Round-up
Last week, our Rebuild Better Virtual Summit on Gender brought together experts and practitioners from across sectors and continents to ask what business can do to support women, particularly in view of the disastrous impacts of COVID-19 on gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls. Between 9-11 March, we explored three subject areas that […]
A day in CottonConnect’s Women in Cotton programme: Practical training, tangible changes
International Women’s Day is always a day for celebration at CottonConnect, as we recognize the capable women leaders within our own and partner organizations, and renew our focus on improving the lives of women in cotton farming communities. This International Women’s Day, we want to give an insight into a day in our Women in […]
Companies Can’t Ignore the ‘She-cession’ Created by the COVID-19 Pandemic
“Stronger engagement on gender equality is key to a sustainable global recovery from the COVID-19 crisis and building fairer, more inclusive, more prosperous societies. Women and girls are in the frontline of the pandemic and must be put in the driving seat of the recovery.” In this statement, Jutta Urpilainen, EU Commissioner for International Partnerships, stresses […]
Seminar Video: What can companies do to include and support women farmers?
PROFILE Esther Ngumbi is an author, researcher, educator, mentor, speaker, and a champion for change around the issues of hunger, gender, education, youth activism, agriculture, sustainability, and public service. She works as an Assistant Professor, Entomology and African American Studies, at the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign. She is the founder of organizations that […]
Seminar video: What can business do to help tackle Gender-based violence?
PROFILE Claudia Eger is Assistant Professor at the Department of Management, Politics and Philosophy at Copenhagen Business School. Her research explores the challenges and complexities of business in society with a focus on how social norms and values shape labour market inequality. In her recent work, Claudia studies the intersection of gender and violence in […]
Seminar Video: What can companies do to help unleash the power of women’s enterprises?
PROFILE Shiela Yabo is a Business Strategist, Venture Builder, and Project Manager with a passion for building inclusive ecosystems. With experience of entrepreneurship from both Africa and recently from Silicon Valley, she has a wealth of experience in new venture launch and support, and systems thinking and leadership through mentorship. She is currently Programme Manager […]
A new dawn for women smallholders in India
The work of a female farmer begins well before dawn, and continues well after dusk, and yet in terms of empowerment, agency, and ownership, many women farmers are still in the dark. In India, 85% of rural women are engaged in agriculture, yet only about 13% own land. Overcoming the gender gap with support and empowerment […]
Supporting Women-owned Businesses in the Time of COVID-19
When we think of lifting people out of poverty we generally think of traditional acts of charity: donating to organizations that provide food, water, clothing, shelter and medical supplies to the millions who are in critical need, often as a result of natural disasters or economic calamities. Unfortunately, COVID-19, a global pandemic with an economic […]
The Fourth Industrial Revolution Needs Equality Tech
The Fourth Industrial Revolution is characterized by a fusion of technologies that is blurring the lines between the physical, digital, and biological spheres. It is impacting all disciplines, economies and industries, altering how companies, governments and individuals operate, from the way we live, work, and relate to one another, ultimately leading to societal transformation.[1] The impact […]
Gender is a significant factor in private sector and disaster management
One of the key considerations of gender in private sector disaster management is that women are overrepresented in the economic sectors that are hit hardest in disasters, as well as in the informal sector which is specifically vulnerable to disasters. Some might say the selection of career is a personal choice. But is it? The World […]
Putting Women in the Driver’s Seat
In many traditional farming communities, women handle most of the manual work in addition to having responsibilities for home and family management, as many of them have never driven a car. They are consigned to work in planting, weeding, and drying beds while also managing the feeding, education, and healthcare of their immediate and often […]