Boosting Women's Economic Empowerment – Women Deliver

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Boosting Women’s Economic Empowerment

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Women are resilient and resourceful economic agents, who overcome persistent gender-based barriers to advance their careers, their financial livelihoods, and their wellbeing. Women succeed in spite of laws, policies, social norms, and institutions that hold them back. Removing barriers — to education and training, access to financial services, fair leave policies, and equal pay —  provide women the opportunity women the chance to reach their full potential. When women thrive, we all stand to benefit.

So what is women’s economic empowerment? The answer is not simple one. It means many things. It is the ability to open a bank account or receive credit. It is earning as much as a male colleague. It is equal access to technology, social protection through labor laws, and sharing the burden of unpaid work like childcare. It is being able to control one’s own economic destiny.

This month, join Women Deliver as we unpack the complex topic of women’s economic empowerment. Hear from the CEO of IKEA Switzerland Simona Scarpaleggia on why simply hiring more women isn’t enough, analyze alongside Hewlett Foundation ways to make jobs work for women, learn how empowering women along the value chain presents unique business opportunities, and discover the incredible power of mentoringLet's create a world in which all women have a fair opportunity to learn, earn, and thrive.

For evidence and strategies to help you advocate for women's fair opportunity to earn click the links below:

Featured Content

Women Deliver President/CEO Katja Iversen conducted an interview with Simona Scarpaleggia. Ms. Scarpaleggia has been CEO of IKEA Switzerland since May 2010, is a passionate campaigner for all issues surrounding women’s empowerment, and was recently appointed Co-Chair of the UN High Level Panel on Women Economic Empowerment.

The Cherie Blair Foundation has developed an innovative solution that combines mentoring with technology to offer cross-border support to women entrepreneurs. In the blog above you’ll learn about Anja, who joined the Foundations Mentoring Programme in June 2013

In the video above President of the World Bank Group Jim Yong Kim and Her Majesty Queen Máxima of the Netherlands discuss the importance of investing in women's economic empowerment to end poverty.

Solutions in Action: Boost Women’s Economic Empowerment

Partner Resources

This report marks the completion of the International Finance Corporation-led SheWorks global private sector partnership to advance employment opportunities and improve working conditions for more than 300,000 women by 2016.

A new McKinsey Global Institute report finds that $12 trillion could be added to global GDP by 2025 by advancing women’s equality. The public, private, and social sectors will need to act to close gender gaps in work and society.

This report from the UN High-Level Panel on Women's Economic Empowerment is a call to action. To realize the Sustainable Development Agenda, there is a pressing need to step up actions to close gender gaps and ensure the full economic empowerment of women.

This collaboration betweenBSR, Women Deliver, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands is a framework which examines how to create business opportunities that accelerate women’s health, rights, and wellbeing in global value chains.

For more solutions that are helping to boost women's economic empowerment, download the Solutions Panorama, a collection of 100 programs, initiatives, and strategies that were shared at the Women Deliver 2016 Conference.

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