WHICH INNOVATIONS ARE MOVING THE NEEDLE ON WOMEN'S ECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT?
Clare Twelvetrees, CEO of Cherie Blair Foundation for Women
When it comes to women’s economic empowerment, there are many reasons to be optimistic.
Last year the UN established its first-ever High Level Panel on Women’s Economic Empowerment – a clear signal that this issue is now firmly fixed on the global development agenda. Across the world, governments, policymakers, and partners in both the public and private sectors are waking up to the fact that empowering women to play a more active role in our economies is not just the right thing to do - it’s also the smart thing to do. Research from the McKinsey Global Institute shows, for example, that eradicating gender gaps in economic activity could boost global GDP by as much as $28 trillion by 2025.
At the Cherie Blair Foundation for Women, we know that women are a powerful force for change. We focus specifically on supporting women entrepreneurs in developing and emerging economies because we believe that these women have a special role to play in driving development in their own communities. Our work targets what we call the ”three C’s”: raising women’s confidence, capabilities, and their access to capital.
It’s an exciting time to be working in this space. There are a number of innovations that are breaking down the barriers that keep so many women out of the labor market. Here are some of the developments I believe are accelerating progress on women’s economic empowerment.
The power of technology
Many organizations are harnessing the power of technology to increase women’s access to economic opportunities. WEConnect International, for example, runs a searchable online database that allows qualified corporate buyers to find women suppliers of products and services based in over 100 countries. Our own Mentoring Women in Business Programme pairs women entrepreneurs in developing countries with mentors who are sometimes, quite literally, on the opposite side of the globe. Using online tools to communicate over the course of a year, our mentees work toward achieving specific business goals with the support of their mentor. Our global community of mentees and mentors also have access to a huge range of opportunities for learning and exchange via a bespoke online platform. Working in partnership with the Self Employed Women’s Association (SEWA) and the Vodafone Foundation in India we also developed a mobile application to support women associated with an agricultural cooperative in Gujarat. The service allows women to place orders and manage their sales through a basic mobile handset, helping them to save vital time and money.
Finance disrupted
Technology also has a particularly powerful role to play in disrupting traditional models of banking in ways that enhance women’s access to financial services. In Nigeria, Diamond Bank partnered with Women’s World Banking to create “BETA Friends” – female bank agents who attend open-air markets with mobile devices, enabling women to set up accounts and make deposits and withdrawals without having to travel to a bank. Crucially, BETA savings accounts have no minimum balance requirements and no fees. Also in Nigeria, we partnered with the ExxonMobil Foundation to develop an exciting project called Road to Growth, which delivers financial literacy training to 500 women through a combination of classroom teaching and online modules. This “blended learning” approach enables women to benefit from peer support as well as allowing them to learn at their own pace and convenience.
Many women are locked out of formal finance because they struggle to meet stringent collateral requirements. The Tanzania Women's Bank developed an interesting solution to this problem by lending registered plots of land to female entrepreneurs, which can then be used as security against bank loans. Other approaches include using moveable collateral registries, which enable women to use assets such as machinery, livestock, and inventory.
Stronger together
Finally, there is a growing realization that closing the gender gap in economic activity will be impossible unless the load is spread between multiple players. The final goal of the UN’s Sustainable Development framework – Goal 17 - is devoted entirely to this concept of collaboration. It’s a concept that is enshrined in everything the Cherie Blair Foundation for Women does. Over the last year, for example, we have partnered with American corporations, Nigerian universities, Rwandan NGOs, and Lebanese chambers of commerce – to name a few. Other bodies are also finding strength in numbers, whether it’s campaigning groups like the Alliance for Affordable Internet or multilateral bodies like the UN’s High Level Panel.
The message is clear – women’s economic empowerment is an issue that affects us all. We all have a part to play in creating a world where women have the skills and tools they need to thrive.