An ILO Convention on Gender Based Violence in the Workplace
Why businesses should support the proposed ILO Convention on Ending violence and harassment against women and men in the world of work The ILO is now in a process of considering whether to establish a new instrument or instruments on “Ending violence and harassment against women and men in the world of work”. This is […]
Translating the UN High Level Panel on Women’s Economic Empowerment into Action
Business Fights Poverty welcomed the creation early last year of the UN High Level Panel on Women’s Economic Empowerment. Not surprisingly, women’s empowerment is an issue of great importance to many members of the Business Fights Poverty community. In support of the Panel’s work we crafted a Challenge on Women’s Economic Empowerment, in partnership with […]
Financial Education for Girls: Breaking Cycles of Poverty
On September 13, 2017, we will be holding an event with guest speakers Eva Halper from Credit Suisse Global Education Initiative and Aukje te Kaat from Aflatoun International to discuss the Credit Suisse initiative around financial education for girls. In addition, two Plan International managers from China and Brazil who are directly implementing the program […]
A New Way of Working with SMEs to Tackle the Refugee Crisis
By Kathryn Taetzsch, Senior Relief Coordinator & Private Sector Engagement Lead, Global Humanitarian Operations, World Vision International The scope of the challenge… a people-centered approach with “new actors” Out of about 65.3 Mio people who have been forcibly displaced, 21.3 Mio refugees worldwide require humanitarian assistance in recurrent or protracted crises. The international community is […]
Empowering Women in the Economy: Major Event for Business Leaders and Global Experts, London 6 Sept 2017
On Wednesday 6 September, business leaders and global experts will convene in London to discuss how the private sector can advance the 2017 recommendations of the UN High Level Panel on Women’s Economic Empowerment. Why does it matter, and what will it mean for women – and for business? CARE is really pleased to be […]
Enabling Youth Entrepreneurship in West Africa
An Interview with Isaac Aggrey, CEO, African Social Entrepreneurs Network BFP: First of all, please introduce yourself to the Business Fights Poverty community. I am passionate about providing effective financial solutions to benefit local entrepreneurs, social impact investors, and most importantly, people at all levels of society, especially women entrepreneurs. I am the CEO of […]
Bridging the Gap – Supporting Youth Employability
By Hester le Roux, Challenge Director, Business Fights Poverty We are pleased to announce the launch of a new guide to business support for youth skills development. “Bridging the Gap: Supporting Youth Employability” was produced as part of the Business Fights Poverty Challenge on Youth Employability, which is supported by Anglo American, Barclays, BRAC, Citi, […]
Family Planning – It’s Everyone’s Business
To achieve the ambitious and urgent goal of reaching 120 million women with family planning will take significant political and financial will by governments – which is why the forthcoming Family Planning Summit is so welcome. But what about the role of business? How do we convince them that family planning is something that directly […]
Empowering Smallholder Farmers to Improve their Incomes
By David Norman, Challenge Director, Business Fights Poverty Millions of smallholders live in poverty, unable to meet basic needs. Smallholder farmers need to improve their incomes and competitiveness if they are to achieve and sustain a decent standard of living, reinvest in their farms, and continue to supply a sustainable crop to multinational companies. The […]
For Sustainable Solutions to the Refugee Crisis, Business will be Key
Anyone who follows the news is well aware that we are in the midst of a global refugee crisis of massive proportions. What may be less apparent from the coverage is that this crisis is long-term in nature. According to the UN Refugee Agency, by the end of 2015, there were 21.3 million refugees around […]
Why Should We Care About Menstrual Hygiene?
The theme of this year’s International Menstrual Hygiene Day (MHD) was education. The founders of MHD argue that education on menstrual hygiene changes everything. They call for improved information and menstrual hygiene education for boys, men, teachers, health workers and other professionals so that they can break down negative social norms and provide accurate information […]
The UPS International Disaster Relief and Resilience Award – Meet the Shortlist
The frequency, intensity and complexity of disasters will increase over the coming decades. Globalisation means the impacts of those disasters on business and communities are increasingly evident, and businesses are being called upon to scale up their response to such events by internal and external stakeholders. Through their actions, businesses have demonstrated that business and […]
Q&A with MCC Resident Country Director for Niger: Bolstering Niger’s Agricultural Sector
In July 2016, MCC signed a $437 million compact with the Government of Niger to improve access to water for agriculture and livestock and expand access to markets. In this interview, MCC Resident Country Director for Niger Kristin Penn discusses how, together with the Government of Niger, MCC is building stronger institutions and making foundational […]
Empowering Women through Corporate Value Chains: Getting the Data to Drive Scale
In certain circles, it is taken virtually as given these days that business culture and practices will need to change to achieve gender equality and empower women. Companies have become more open in acknowledging that unconscious bias and other, structural factors make it harder for women to succeed, and at the same time, they are […]
How Ethiopia’s Nascent Apparel Industry Can Build a Strong, Empowered Workforce
“In today’s global economy, brands must understand the industry needs in the new countries they source from. At The Children’s Place, our aim is to support the development of the new garment workforce in Ethiopia and do our part to bring sustainable business practices to the region.” —The Children’s Place Today, Ethiopia is a small […]
Why Greater Financial Inclusion for Africa’s Women is Smart Policymaking
This blog is published as part of the 2017 WEE Global Learning Forum Blog Series. Join Winrock International, ACI and USAID at the 2017 WEE Forum for the Peer Learning Session, Different Perspectives, Shared Goal: Accelerating Women’s Financial Inclusion in Africa Imagine that you are unable to open a bank account or access a loan […]
Why Do So Few Companies Invest in Gender Equality?
Businesses that invest in gender equality often see notable returns. Take Banco BHD León (BHDL) for example in the Dominical Republic. In the bank’s home market, women make up 70 percent of university graduates and more than half of all primary household providers but remain underserved in the financial sector. By targeting women’s specific needs […]
How Can Microfinance Contribute to Women’s Empowerment?
An Interview with Naila Kabeer, Professor of Gender and Development at the Gender Institute, London School of Economics and Political Science Gateway: From the very beginnings of microfinance, women’s empowerment has been discussed as one of its main social goals. In your experience, have you seen that microfinance initiatives can achieve this goal? Naila: One […]
Meet the Shortlist: Unilever Global Development Award, supported by Business Fights Poverty
Adopted on 25 September 2015, 193 world leaders agreed to 17 Global Goals for Sustainable Development to end poverty, protect the planet, and ensure prosperity for all. If these Goals are completed, it would mean an end to extreme poverty, inequality and climate change by 2030. Businesses are a key enabler of global sustainable development […]
New BSR Guidance Integrates Gender Equality into Supply Chain Codes of Conduct
With women holding 60 to 90 percent of jobs in the labor-intensive stages of the apparel and fresh produce global supply chains, it would make sense for companies in those industries to consider women’s specific challenges when focusing on ethical supply chain management. However, until now, women have rarely been a focus of such strategies, […]