Five Ways to Advance Women’s Economic Empowerment Around the World
In order to build a more sustainable future for all women and girls, their families, and the world, here are five ways to promote women’s economic empowerment.
1. Make sure women have the tools they need to fully participate in the economy.
Women are less likely than men to use loans and open official bank accounts. Even if women have their own accounts, it’s possible that men will still decide how to spend the money. Ladies additionally frequently need admittance to other monetary administrations like reserve funds and protection because of an absence of monetary training. Women cannot open a bank account in some countries without the consent of a male family member.
Women can benefit from access to financial services like bank accounts and credit. Improved gender-disaggregated data, financial literacy programs, promoting the development of digital payment systems, and laws that allow women to apply for loans without the consent of a male relative can all contribute to the promotion of women’s financial inclusion.
Five Ways to Advance Women’s Economic Empowerment Around the World
2. Women’s policies and social security systems should be enforced.
Social protections like pensions, unemployment benefits, maternity protection, and equal pay are less likely to be available to women. In order to level the playing field, it is essential to close the gender pay gap, which currently stands at between 60% and 75% of what men earn.
Childcare is a game-changer for families who cannot afford to miss work to care for their children. To balance the burden of domestic labor in a more equitable manner, workers with children benefit from flexible work arrangements regardless of gender. Poor women would especially benefit from paid maternity leave and child care. Any economy grows by 6% for every 2% investment in child care.
Five Ways to Advance Women’s Economic Empowerment Around the World
3. Consider unpaid labor to work.
Cooking, cleaning, collecting water and fuel, child care, and elder care are examples of unpaid care work that are typically performed by women. Every day, 16 billion hours are spent on unpaid caregiving, according to estimates. Domestic and unpaid caregiving work do a lot for a country’s economy but are not considered real work.
It is estimated that unpaid domestic and caregiving work contributes between 10% and 39% of GDP. It is possible to lessen the burden placed on girls and women by counting unpaid caregiving work, recognizing its place in the economy, compensating women for their contributions, and taking unpaid caregiving into account when making policy decisions.
4. Invest in female-owned businesses and organizations.
Worldwide, grassroots women’s movements and organizations lack funding and are targeted. Nearly 70% of women-owned small and medium-sized businesses in developing nations need more financial support.
Five Ways to Advance Women’s Economic Empowerment Around the World
Women also have a lower chance of starting their own businesses and face more challenges. Women’s groups are assisting efforts to lessen inequality and expand opportunities for their communities, but without funding, they are unable to continue doing so.
Since women typically devote 80% of their income to the well-being of their families and their children’s education, investing in women’s businesses helps pave the way for future generations.
5. Provide women with decent work.
In rural areas without protection or living wages, women are more likely to work in the informal labor force and are overrepresented in domestic work. Ladies should get equivalent admittance to instruction, preparation, new abilities, new advances, the executive’s positions, advantages, and business ventures. In addition, workplaces must be safe, and up to health standards, promote equal pay and be free of sexual harassment and violence. Businesses have been shown to expand and perform better when there are more opportunities for women to work in management positions.
