Archive for category: Women and Female Empowerment

information and Stories about woman and female empowerment.

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Ellen DeGeneres And Zoella Team Up With Gap For GIRL Line

Ellen_DeGeneres
Famous YouTuber Zoe Sugg, also known as Zoella, and Talk Show Host Ellen DeGeneres have teamed up with Gap to release a new line of clothing for female empowerment.

The clothing line, called Gapkids x ED, encourages women of any age to feel strong and to voice their opinions. DeGeneres’ clothing brand, ED, has worked with Gap to combine comfy fabric and trendy styles with motivational quotes and symbols that inspire courage and confidence.

To show her support for the campaign, called GIRL, Sugg took a few minutes out of one of her vlog videos to flash one of her favorite t-shirts from the line. The British 25-year-old donned the GapKids x ED Energy Bolt Tee while introducing her involvement in GIRL to her nine million subscribers.

“This was something totally different, and I really, really loved this campaign. And I really wanted to get behind it and share it with you guys,” Sugg said in the video.

Expressing her backing for GIRL, DeGeneres said that one of the reasons she joined the campaign was because she shares some of the same ideals as Gap.

“Gap has always encouraged people to be themselves, and I love that they have the same values that I have; to be true to who you are and to wear cute pants,” DeGeneres said.

Not only do Gap and DeGeneres believe in sporting fashionable trousers, but they also think that self-image is a key step in female empowerment. DeGeneres said that she knows from experience that being true to yourself is important for growing and changing and that this campaign is demonstrating this notion by shining a light on real girls doing unique things.

GIRL focuses on three talented girls who each have something different to offer and demonstrate. The webpage for GIRL hosts three videos of each girl. Alexey, a young, bold and strong drummer, can be seen expertly beating her drum set. When asked what advice she has for girls, the little rocker gave a mature statement.

“Just follow what your heart says, and you can achieve it,” the 12-year-old said.

The other two girls featured by GIRL can also be seen in videos on the webpage. Torrae, a nine-year-old robotic hand technician, said that she is powerful because of her imagination. Twelve-year-old entrepreneur, Asia, started her own company when she was five and plans to start classes teaching kids her age about business.

Asia has big plans for her future. In her video, she proudly said that she wants to be a dancer, a singer, a rapper, a college graduate and the president of the United States.

Another girl representing the influence of personal voice is Sugg. With more than 700 million views on both of her YouTube channels combined, Sugg has been able to reach girls from all across the globe with her take on feminism in her fashion, beauty and life videos.

“So often, you can kind of get swept up in this world where you feel inferior or you feel like you should be doing something specific or you feel like you’re not doing something right. And it’s just a whole campaign basically to support girls to be who they are, and to be who they want to be. And I just think that that’s really amazing” Sugg said.

Like Sugg has done with her YouTube videos, DeGeneres said that this campaign has the ability to “break the internet.” GIRL encourages wearers of the brand to take selfies of themselves in the clothes and to share the pictures, as well as speak their views of feminism and equal rights.

DeGeneres added that there is also a collection by Gap x ED because they “believe in equal opportunity cuteness.”

– Fallon Lineberger

Sources: Gap 1, Gap 2, Paste Magazine, YouTube 1, YouTube 2
Photo: Google Images

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UN Sustainable Development Summit Highlights Women’s Rights

Sustainable_Development_Summit
Global economics, health and sustainability are some of the usual discussion points at the United Nations. However, at the recently held U.N. Sustainable Development Summit, Ban Ki-moon, the U.N.’s secretary-general, put the spotlight on women’s empowerment.

“We cannot achieve our 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development without full and equal rights for half of the world’s population, in law and in practice. We cannot effectively respond to humanitarian emergencies without ensuring women and girls are protected and their needs prioritized,” said Ban Ki-moon during an event hosted by U.N. Women and China.

The Sustainable Development Summit discussed the Sustainable Development Goals, which are a follow-up to the Millennium Development goals created in 2000. These Sustainable Development Goals include the goal to “achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls.”

To this end, Ban Ki-moon asked leaders to commit to ending gender inequality, pointing to “This means urgently addressing structural barriers, such as unequal pay.” He also discussed other gender inequalities, such as the importance of women’s bodily autonomy, gender violence and the encouragement of women’s participation in the workforce.

The United Nations, founded in 1945, began addressing gender inequalities prior to this summit. In 2010, The United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women, or U.N. Women, began. U.N. Women helps to streamline the U.N.’s efforts in advancing gender equality in all member states.

This past summer, the United Nations Security Council condemned the use of sexual violence during wartime, in reference to Syria and Iraq.

To help encourage gender equality to reality by 2030, businesses pledged millions of dollars At the Business and Philanthropy Leader’s Forum, co-hosted by U.N. Women, The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the Alibaba Group.

Now global citizens wait to see how many of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals will become a reality. With the recent attention to women’s rights, the United Nations starts the journey to make gender equality a reality within member states.

– Rachelle Kredentser

Sources: UN 1, UN 2, UN 3, UN Women, UN 4, UN 5
Photo: Pixabay

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Meet Flo

Meet Flo
When living in poverty, girls beginning the transition into puberty can face difficult challenges. Due to being unable to access affordable sanitary items, many young girls have to use reusable menstrual pads, and the process is often time-consuming and dangerously unsanitary. The lack of access to cheap and affordable sanitary products is a scary thought for many women, and for these young girls, it has consequences beyond hygiene.

In many countries with extreme poverty there are stigmas against puberty for women, and many young girls fear their menstrual cycle and will drop out of school in order to hide at home. The students from the Art Center College of Design created a solution to this problem.

Meet “Flo”, an invention that allows young women living in extreme poverty a multi-purpose device for more effectively dry, sanitary and discreetly concealed reusable menstrual pads. Flo was created by the James Dyson Foundation, which released a video explaining how the device makes periods safer and less disruptive to young women’s lives.

On the website, the James Dyson Foundation talks about what makes Flo so unique. A statement released states, “Girls will have access to dry, clean pads that can reduce illness and will be more comfortable, both physically and emotionally. Girls will be able to work around their menstrual cycle and be in control…By having control over their menstrual cycle, girls do not have to give up their dreams and can be empowered to pursue what they want to become.”

– Elizabeth Steadman

Sources: GOOD, Metro, James Dyson Award,
Photo: Flickr

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World Bank Grants $11.6 Million for Sahel Women

Sahel_Women
On April 23, 2015, The World Bank Group granted the Sahel Women’s Empowerment and Demographic Dividend Project (SWEDD) $11.6 million, and an additional $23.2 million credit, to include Burkina Faso into the program.

Due to the political instability in Burkina Faso late October 2014, negotiations to add Burkina Faso to the SWEDD project were delayed. Currently, Burkina Faso is the sixth Sahelian country to be added to the project; others include: Chad, Cote d’Ivoire, Mali, Mauritania and Niger.

The Sahel region would gain a great economic boost from a demographic dividend through a rapid decline in fertility and infant mortality rates; the addition of Burkina Faso expands the effectiveness of SWEDD.

The program aims to increase access to reproductive, child and maternal health services for women and adolescent girls in participating countries in the Sahel region of Africa. SWEDD also intends to educate women on gender and their own reproductive health.

In Burkina Faso, the Total Fertility Rate (TFR) is 5.8. With only 15 percent of married women aged 15-49 using contraception the maternal mortality ratio, per 100,000 live births, is 300. Moreover, the under-5 mortality rate, per 1,000 live births, is 108.

The high fertility rate, which worsens population pressure, coupled with poor health services are preventing Burkina Faso from garnering the benefits from a demographic dividend.

Burkina Faso’s involvement in the Sahel Women’s Empowerment promises great outcomes. The issue of child marriage in Burkina Faso is linked to poverty, the tradition of gender inequality and lack of education.

Involving women in the working age population will accelerate Burkina Faso’s demographic dividend because comparably the number of dependents would be lower.

SWEDD will empower women in Burkina Faso through promoting their academic education, and involving more women in life-skills programs, making women more independent.

This will consequently decrease the child marriage rates, which are at an 86 percent prevalence in the Sahel region of Burkina Faso, and 76 percent in the East region.

World Bank Country Manager for Burkina Faso commented on the addition of Burkina Faso to the Sahel Women’s Empowerment Project saying: “Educating adolescent girls and improving health services for women will certainly reduce poverty and boost shared prosperity in Burkina Faso.”

– Marie Helene Ngom

Sources: The World Bank 1, The World Bank 2, Sahel Women Empowerment Outline, Burkina Faso Child Marriage
Photo: Wikimedia

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Launch of W20 for Women’s Economic Empowerment

W20
On September 6, financial leaders from the G20 countries met to discuss issues within the global economy. During this meeting, they launched W20, an engagement group focused on advancing women’s economic empowerment.

W20 will work in conjunction with U.N. Women, the IMF and other international bodies to promote women’s involvement in financial decision-making and monitor the G20’s commitment to women’s education and entrepreneurship initiatives.

Because G20 countries hold two-thirds of the world’s population and produce 85 percent of the world’s GDP, holding these countries accountable to their pledges for gender equality sets the standard for how women should be treated globally.

The launch included speakers such as the U.N. Women Deputy Executive Director Lakshmi Puri, IMF Chief Christine Lagarde and Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu.

Generally, speakers remarked on the connection between women’s economic empowerment and the well-being of a community, and thus a country. In the words of Davutoglu, “If the women are smiling… you can be sure that their country is happy.”

With the 2014 pledge from the G20 to improve gender equality in the labor force, international bodies and governments have much to do, and the assistance of W20 will be a critical resource in guiding their success.

If the goal is reducing the gender gap in labor force participation by 25 percent, more than 100 million women will be added to the labor force. To do so, issues of maternal health, unpaid care work and access to education must be addressed.

In addition, the recently-passed Sustainable Development Goals include gender-sensitive targets in 12 of the 17 goals, adding further significance to the launch of the W20.

“Addressing the significant underinvestment in gender equality and women’s empowerment is critical in and of itself,” Ms. Puri said at the launch.

“The W20 has the potential to influence economic governance and promote gender-inclusive economic growth in a more potent way than has ever been possible in the G20 until now.”

The W20 will be led by Gulden Turktan, one of the founders and the president of the Women Entrepreneur’s Association. The two-day inaugural summit will be held on October 7-8 in Istanbul.

– Priscilla McCelvey

Sources: UN Women, US News   

Photo: Wikipedia

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Opportunities Bloom for Women in Gaza

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The United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) Job Creation Program (JCP) gives women in Gaza the opportunity to work from 6:30 a.m. -12:30 p.m. on a carnation farm, which in turn, allows them to support their families.

A typical day begins with women picking flowers in the cool hours of the morning before later retreating into their tents. There, flowers are carefully bundled into decorative bouquets to be exported and sold at local Gaza markets.

According to an article in the UNRWA, 34-year-old worker Ghanda Na’ana’ has finally found a way to provide for her children in the absence of a husband through her employment with the farm.

“The chance to work here is life-saving for me. I am truly happy to be able to work on this farm together with other women. My husband left me three years ago for another woman; I am the only one who supports my children. We survive because of the food assistance we receive from UNRWA,” she says.

An overarching goal and initiative of the UNRWA JCP addresses the problem of female unemployment while also supporting the agricultural sector of the region.

The UNRWA aims to improve the “quality and output of production by increasing manpower to assist with planting, maintenance and harvesting crops while reducing labor costs, which presumably translates into a reduction of market costs for the consumer and ultimately contributes to local food security.”

According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, in the first quarter of 2015, female unemployment in Gaza reached 55.2 percent. This can be attributed to the 2007 blockade which limited exports, obliterating trading opportunities with the rest of the world and severely affecting the agricultural sector of the region.

Raza Hijazi, the owner of the farm where Ghanda works, formerly employed 20 laborers before he was forced to reduce that number to only three. With the 2007 blockade, his business opportunities dwindled as he could no longer export his flowers to Europe. Only with support from the UNRWA, was he able to increase his business and number of employees.

Overall, the JCP has significantly improved the livelihoods for many since its inception in 2006 when 18,385 opportunities were created in the agricultural sector alone (6,350 for female and 12,035 male). Of this number, 2,571 were counted for in the carnation sector.

As of 2014 the UNRWA has calculated that “a total of 20,545 refugees were employed through the JCP, and UNRWA injected US$ 18.1 million into the Gaza economy. In the first quarter of 2015, the Agency created 12,646 JCP opportunities and injected US$ 7 million into the Gaza economy.”

With tremendous efforts currently underway by UNRWA’S JCP, hope is alive for both business owners and women seeking jobs in a country with one of the highest levels of unemployment in the world.

– Nikki Schaffer

Sources: UNRWA, Reuters
Photo: alarabiya

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NEMA Issues Delivery Kits to Displaced Pregnant Women

NEMA
Nigeria’s National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), issued 410 delivery kits to internally displaced pregnant women housed at camps in Maiduguri, Borno State. Among the delivery kits were a wax print and infant feeding bottles along with a mattress, a blanket and a net for the expected newborns.

The kits also included a baby bag, diapers, a basket, a towel, baby soap, and supplements for the mother such as milk and cocoa drink. The supplies come at a vital time since some of these women are due to give birth in late August or September.

The north-eastern Nigerian Borno State has been the worst affected in the conflict against the Boko Haram insurgency which began in 2009. Sani-Sidi, NEMA’s director general, says insurgent attacks have displaced many people, leading to the creation of 23 IDP camps in Borno State.

“In all the camps in the state, 60 percent of the IDPs are women and children classified as vulnerable and needing more support,” he said. “As a result, 410 pregnant women were selected [to receive delivery kits] out of 1,980 identified pregnant women in 13 female IDP camps in Maiduguri.”

Aid from NEMA comes a month after a July donation by Deluxe Childbirth Services coordinated in partnership with U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), the United Nations Population Fund, and two USAID projects – THE Expanded Social Marketing Project in Nigeria and the Targeted States High Impact Project.

During this donation, UNFPA’s Ratidzai Ndhlovu underlined an expected high in births among Nigerian IDPs, stating that there would be an expected 60,000 births by the end of 2015.

According to UNICEF, a Nigerian woman’s chances of death during pregnancy and childbirth are 1 in 13. Additionally, newborn Nigerian mortalities, which occur among the first week of life, make up about one-fourth of total deaths of children under five years of age.

A majority of these deaths arise from complications during birthing or pregnancy, which serves to highlight the importance of maternal and newborn health care access, especially within vulnerable and displaced populations.

– Jaime Longoria

Sources: Premium Times 1, Premium Times 2, UNICEF

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Odisha Rural Livelihoods Project Improves Lives

Women Dream
For those who have lost everything, self-help groups may provide a shoulder to cry on. Unfortunately, these groups ultimately offer little relief in providing jobs on a daily basis for many who remain unemployed. Sometimes it is only through financial assistance from outside projects that hope for the future can begin.

The Odisha Rural Livelihoods Project, or Tripti, was launched with the goal of improving the socio-economic status of the poor, especially disadvantaged groups such as women. The project began in 2009 throughout 32 blocks in 10 coastal districts of Odisha.

A $70 million loan from the World Bank started the implementation of the Odisha Poverty Reduction Mission. Its aim, however, had more than just one objective.

“The Project was designed to improve livelihoods of deprived women by building and mobilizing community institutions, creating community investment funds, and providing specific livelihood funds,” states an article by the World Bank.

With this in mind, the process for eligibility within this program was ultimately carried out by examining income levels and assigning individuals to different categories such as good, average, poor and the destitute.

By providing financial assistance through loan relief, many women would have the opportunity to provide in new ways for their families.

Currently, the project has seen five successful years and over time has supported over 929,000 households covering around 78,460 self-help groups. More than 60 percent of these benefitting the most vulnerable, rural poor communities.

Recognizing that the livelihood of the people is based on agriculture, Tripti aims to implement their program through an executed partnership with the local NGO and agricultural department.

Through this program, “community members are directly involved in seed production, processing and marketing. The seeds produced are then marketed locally among the SHG members to ensure easy and affordable access to quality seeds for the farmers.

The Project has initiated a program under which 1,800 farmers have been mobilized into Producer Groups to develop five different varieties of paddy seeds, which have a high demand in the local area. The seeds are then certified by the Odisha State Seed 3 Certification Agency. In 2014, 1,900 metric tons of quality seeds were produced,” reports the World Bank.

Tripti supports the promotion of agriculture through a program, which encourages households to create kitchen gardens by utilizing patches of grass and growing vegetables and other herbs. This will help communities meet the nutritional needs of their families.

Ultimately, this project has lifted women and their families out of poverty and sparked an economic recovery within regions devastated by natural disaster. This project is helping to give regions a chance for success.

– Nikki Schaffer

Sources: World Bank, Odisha
Photo: Irri Org

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She Leads Africa: Supporting African Women in Business

She Leads Africa: Supporting African Women in Business
South Africa has the highest rate of female entrepreneurship in the world; however, the majority of the female-led startups are small-sized, individual-owned business. In order to foster female-led high-growth startups, She Leads Africa (SLA) provides African female entrepreneurs with the knowledge, financing and networks.

In Africa, female entrepreneurs face four major barriers to their success in entrepreneurship: unequal access to education, limited access to financing, constricted traditional stereotypes, and limited access to networks. SLA supports female entrepreneurs through hosting annual business pitch competition and building a community for female entrepreneurs.

Women in Africa don’t have equal chances to get an education since the primary level, which makes them lack business knowledge and work experience to create high-profit companies. Since 2014, SLA has hosted an annual pitch competition to identify the most promising African female entrepreneurs.

The finalists can get six-week training and business plan development with experienced mentors, who are from premier consulting, finance and venture capital companies. Moreover, SLA also creates an online platform for potential female entrepreneurs to share their business knowledge.

The unequal treatment does not only show in education but also in financial access. According to the report by SLA, women face fewer options, higher interest rates, and shorter terms when they look for loans. Thus, SLA’s pitch competition offers winners more than $55,000 in cash and kind prizes, including legal services and office supplies.

Besides the support in financing, SLA creates valuable networking chances for female entrepreneurs. By now, more than 380 entrepreneurs from more than 27 countries apply for a coveted finalist spot. The pitch competition has been a platform for African female entrepreneurs to network with other entrepreneurs and look for investors and mentors.

In a male-dominated society, women are always valued by their domestic contributions. However, with the popularity of SLA pitch competition, people raise the awareness of female entrepreneurship. In the 2015 Entrepreneur Showcase, six finalists were selected. On the final pitch competition, they will compete for a $10,000 prize and access directly to investors and international media attention.

“We are excited about our second cohort of young African female entrepreneurs for mentoring, training and investment and if I must say so myself, they are quite dope,” said Afua Osel, co-founder of SLA.

SLA emphasizes the role of the female in economic development. According to its Press kit, SLA is “a social enterprise dedicated to ensuring that women are not left out of Africa’s Growth Story.” Starting from a feminist concept, by offering them training and business development, providing financial support, enlarging their social network and rise social approval, SLA is the forefront of supporting African women in business.

– Shengyu Wang

Sources: Black Enterprise, SLA 1, SLA 2, SLA 3
Photo: Flickr

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Improving Education Levels for Women in the Middle East

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Women in the Middle East are subjected to extreme patriarchal systems that often deprive them of their human rights and their dignity. In 1995, Dr. Golnar Mehrah a UNICEF education consultant published a report titled “Girls drop out of primary school in the Middle East and North Africa.”

In his report, Dr. Mehrah set out to discover why despite the fact that girls’ enrollment rates had increased significantly since 1985, girls were dropping out before the 5th grade. In this report, he found that there existed a gender disparity in the enrollment of girls in primary school in the Middle East and North Africa. The primary reason for both male and female dropouts in the Middle East and North Africa region was poverty.

Their parents pulled them from school in order to help with domestic and agricultural tasks. In many cases, there were a lack of basic programs for students such as an available teacher for a given grade. In some villages in the Middle East and North Africa regions lack educators past a certain grade level making it difficult for students to be promoted to the next grade.

A report by the Population Reference Bureau on the Middle East and North Africa region sheds light on the challenges that women face in the region. Two key factors highlighted in the report was the MENA culture and the oil based economy. The report shows a clear gender biased toward men in the region.

In the report, women were asked if they could only afford to send one child to a university and they had a son and a daughter who would it be. An overwhelming majority of the women said they would pay for their son over their daughter to go to school. The statistics were shocking with 39 percent in favor of the son going on to higher education and only 8 percent in favor of the daughters.

There is a clear son preference in Middle Eastern culture that has privileged them with certain advantages in their society. In certain places in the MENA region this gender biased is enforced by a set of codified laws. This trend is slowly changing with the rise of women activists in Islamic society who demand better treatment for women.

Recently a news report from U.S. News and World Report shows a rise in enrollment rates for women in several countries in the Middle East and North Africa region as of 2014. The current global score for the Middle East and North Africa region is 31 which is actually higher than the global average of 30.

As foreign aid and development enter the region, many MENA countries are seeing the economic benefits of breaking away from rigid tradition and encouraging women’s participation in education. Egypt, in particular, is making great strides toward women’s education.

– Robert Cross

Sources: Public Reference Bureau, UNICEF Report, US News and World Report
Photo: Open Equal Free