How Gender-Responsive Media Can Help Women’s Economic Empowerment–and Business
The existence of a gender income gap in Sub-Saharan Africa is perhaps not a surprise, given the existence of similar gaps around the world, but its magnitude is still startling: according to the World Bank, the median monthly income of men is more than twice that of women. What is driving this? Women are both […]
Four Essential Elements for the “Just” in “Just Transitions”
The concept of “just transition” – a whole-of-society approach to decarbonisation that respects human rights while promoting sustainable development, the eradication of poverty, and the creation of decent work and quality jobs – has come increasingly centre stage in national and international discussions on finance, energy, agriculture, and other key industrial transitions to net-zero. While […]
To Build Thriving Cocoa Communities, Educate the Children
The theme of this year’s UN International Day of Education, “to invest in people, prioritize education,” resonates with us at Cargill as it aligns with the work we are doing in cocoa growing communities. In these communities, improving access to quality education helps keep children away from child labor and grants them the opportunity to […]
Nudges & Bridges: As Good As It Gets
The category As Good As It Gets is about a sense of joy. Think to a time when you experienced something that was just, well, as good as things can get. What mood does it put you in? How do you feel about others? Do you have a sense of wanting to connect with others, […]
Seafood’s Social Justice Problem: How to Better Share the Benefits of Aquatic Foods
The global fish and seafood sector – the world’s fastest growing food-producing industry – is at a crisis point. The narrow pursuit of profit has led not only to unsustainable growth but to the exclusion of entire communities, undermining social justice, mobility and progress. Three countries – China, Norway and Peru – account for almost a quarter of […]
New Research Reveals the Benefits and Costs of Gender-Smart Technical Assistance to SMEs and Investors
Gender lens investing includes three key entry points for investors: (1) providing capital to women-led/founded companies and/or gender-forward businesses; (2) applying a gender lens to the investment cycle, such as during pipeline development; and (3) funding and supporting the design and implementation of gender-inclusive technical assistance (TA) activities. Investors often focus on the first two […]
Why Investing in Informal Women Workers is Critical to Maintaining Resilient Supply Chains
Over 60% of the world’s employed population make their living through informal work, with no access to formal contracts or protection. Women make up a disproportionate percentage of informal workers, with 740 million women’s livelihoods dependent on the informal economy globally. Lack of secure employment contracts or social protection for these workers means that when […]
Women Cotton Farmers and Climate Solutions
I was very happy to be a part of Business Fights Poverty’s Climate Justice Summit. The topic of conversation – gender equity and its role in combatting climate change – is one of the most pertinent subjects. And it got me seriously thinking about the work we’re doing at CottonConnect, and how we can boost […]
International Migrants Day: Why Access to Remedy is Crucial
Today, on International Migrants Day, we focus on millions of people who have left their native homes, for different reasons, to live and work abroad. In 2021, the International Labour Organization estimated there were 169 million migrant workers. Anyone working, temporarily or permanently, in a country of which they do not hold a passport, is […]
Why the Burden on Business Women to ‘do it all’ Must Stop
Glorifying multi-tasking by women entrepreneurs must stop. Women the world over are often celebrated for juggling their business with childcare and household responsibilities. The assumption that a woman should be the primary caregiver and the man should be the breadwinner are norms so entrenched they remain consistently unchallenged. This needs to change. NGOs and businesses […]
The Unrecognised Intersections Between Climate Change and Modern Slavery
Modern slavery is on the rise. New global estimates of modern slavery published in September 2022 found that almost 50 million people are in modern slavery, a rise of 10 million people since the previous estimates were released in 2017. This increase has been driven by the compounding crises of climate change, the COVID-19 pandemic, and armed […]
I’ll Be There For You Even When You’re On The Other Side
I’ll Be There For You Even When You’re On The Other Side Of course, friendship is its own bridge with others, but could one be friends with someone who is your opposite? With whom you disagree on just about everything? With someone on “the other side?” The answer is yes and that’s what this video […]
Access to Menstrual Health & Hygiene Products in Rural Ethiopia
Menstrual health and hygiene (MHH) is a term used to encapsulate the broader systemic factors that link menstruation with health, well-being, equity, empowerment, and individual rights. Around the world, MHH is challenged by the stigma and shame associated with menstruation, which affects the ability of menstruators to access a myriad of resources such as accurate and […]
Making the Care Economy Everyone’s Business
Take our survey to help us better understand business motivations for addressing the care economy and how entrepreneurs innovating in this space could support your business. Are you an FMCG company, concerned about the double day women in your supply chain are working – at the factory and then at home. What does this do […]
On How Rules Become Bridges Rather than Road Blocks Or Dams
Rules can get a bad name. We often don’t like rules, but rules can actually create bridges for people in a couple of ways. First, without some rules, one cannot even have an activity. Unless one has rules, soccer or baseball or any other sport can’t exist. One has to know how to play the […]
Addressing the Future of Work for Young Africans in a Post-Covid World
Covid-19 has undeniably changed the way in which we understand the world of work coupled with unemployment numbers that have increased globally. We have undoubtedly read horrifying statics about youth unemployment and the scarcity of traditional job opportunities. It is estimated that we will witness a global figure of 73 million unemployed youths by the […]
Network of Small-Scale farmers in India Tackle Climate Change
“It was a turning point for me,” said Ruchi Jain, Founder and CEO of Taru Naturals, about her trip to the villages of small-scale farmers in India struggling with the effects of climate change. “I realized that if you want to make a big impact on the world, you have to be grassroots-based—it has to be […]
Effective Support for Women Entrepreneurs Goes Beyond Skills Training
Effective Support for Women Entrepreneurs Goes Beyond Skills Training Bernadette Sambo is an entrepreneur, wife, and mother of three in Maputo province, Mozambique. The challenge of balancing these roles is only made more difficult by restrictive gender-based social and familial expectations. “It had been very difficult to work and negotiate with my husband,” she recalls. […]
If We Want to Meet the SDGs, We Need to Ditch Empty Rhetoric and Invest in Young People
‘Youth is the future. The leaders of tomorrow. Youth will change the world’. This is all true. But the rhetoric banded around at leadership events is not being matched by actions that enable youth’s full and meaningful participation. Last month’s International Youth Day (12 August) serves as a powerful reminder that this needs to change. […]
On The Difference Between Us and Them as Opposed to Us vs Them
On The Difference Between Us and Them as Opposed to Us vs Them The words “us” and “them” typically are used to characterize problematic opposition. There is a good reason for that. But we all need an “us.” If you have an “us,” there is going to be a “them.” That’s not a bad thing. […]