Women's Economic Empowerment

"When a woman has greater productive resources and agency, she transforms her prospects in all areas of her life including employment, education, health, housing, social and political participation, and physical security. Empowered women are better able to break out of the cycle of poverty and exercise a greater voice in political, economic and cultural spheres..."

This report highlights 2 approaches to catalysing women's economic empowerment. The first is supporting women-led businesses through greater access to credit and other financial services. The second is supporting women's access to secondary and tertiary education and vocational skills development so that they can effectively compete for high-quality work in the labour market. This summary focuses on the communication elements of the second approach as outlined in this report from CESO (Canadian Executive Service Organization), which has mentored thousands of women over what is, as of this writing, its 45-year history. Through this experience, CESO has refined its partnership model, which works by aligning client needs with the expertise of its "volunteer advisors". The premise of this work is rights-based: "Economic empowerment is a critical means of righting the imbalances between men and women that have so far marginalized the welfare of one half of the world's population....Research from a range of countries indicates that increased economic participation by women, particularly through improved access to education and employment, strengthens the pool of labour that economies can draw on and generates productivity gains, improving national economies and the living standards for both men and women..."

It is noted here that the focus on education and women's empowerment has often been confined to strategies to increase primary school enrollment rates among girls. According to the report, as many countries have achieved or are close to achieving this goal, there is growing recognition that women's access to secondary and tertiary education and vocational skills development is also key to giving them an equal footing with men in the labour market. An example provided here is that of CESO's partner in Senegal, the African Network for Integrated Development (RADI, in French), an organisation that works across Senegal to empower individuals with information about their legal rights. Through a multi-year collaboration with RADI, CESO has completed a number of assignments that have specifically focused on promoting the well-being of women. In 2011, a CESO Volunteer Advisor traveled to Senegal to deliver technical workshops to UGPR members on developing a plan on processing and marketing fruit and vegetables in the local market. "At the end of the three-week assignment, the women of the UGPR noted immediate results. The association had successfully developed a method to increase production that allowed them to compete effectively in the market and raise revenues."

Another example of the importance of fostering opportunities for learning and training described in the report is CESO Volunteer Advisors' partnership with the Pomeroon Education Project (PEP), an organisation that assists young people, the majority of them girls, to meet their educational goals in the north of Guyana. Access to secondary education is extremely limited in Pomeroon, with some children living as far as 40 miles away from the only high school in the region. The PEP requested CESO's assistance to prepare a strategic plan to help them implement vocational training services in agriculture and engineering. CESO's Volunteer Advisor developed an action plan that included details for the new curriculum and qualifications for instructors. "Equipped with this plan, the organization has been able to attract significant financial and in-kind contributions that have allowed them to move ahead with the creation of a vocational training institute."

Another communication-centred strategy explored here involves supporting women's collective action in exerting pressure to address structural barriers to their economic advancement. "Women's associations and civil society groups have the potential to raise the profile of women's issues in the public and private sector and thus contribute to changes in laws, institutions, and social norms. In groups, women are also in a better position to access collective loans, own assets, and enhance income-generating activities." In this spirit, CESO partnered with the Women's Consortium of Ukraine (WCU), a union of 32 women's organisations established with the goal of assisting the cooperation of women's groups in the country. Over a period of 2 years, "CESO Volunteer Advisors completed assignments that have improved coordination within the WCU's network by creating standard procedures for its reporting to membership. CESO has also provided WCU staff with public relations training in order to raise its profile and spread greater awareness about the issues affecting women in the Ukraine."

In conclusion: "Women's work, either paid or unpaid, must be made visible. Women's contributions to economic processes matter, not only to women but also as a means of achieving broader development outcomes. No single initiative alone can independently fulfill conditions for empowerment, and not all strategies will fit to all contexts. The most effective programs will be those that listen to the needs of potentially impacted women and carefully evaluate their resources, strengths, and vulnerabilities. These partnership-based programs will transform the economic choices available to women by providing them with the tools to build their own economic success."