Happy International Women’s Day 2017!

Posted 08 March 2017 in EMpower News   |   Share

Today EMpower is celebrating International Women’s Day 2017! This year’s theme is Women in the Changing World of Work: Planet 50-50 by 2030, calling for everyone to Step It Up for gender equality. Let’s make sure the world of work works for all women.

Only 50% of working-age women are represented in the labor force globally, compared to 76% of men. An overwhelming majority of women are in the informal economy, subsidizing care and domestic work, and concentrated in lower-paid, lower-skill occupations with little or no social protection. Achieving gender equality in the world of work is imperative for sustainable development.

UN Women’s Executive Director Phumzile Mlambo-Ngucka says: “We want to construct a different world of work for women. As they grow up, girls must be exposed to a broad range of careers, and encouraged to make choices that lead beyond the traditional service and care options to jobs in industry, art, public service, modern agriculture and science.” Read Phumzile Mlambo-Ngucka’s full statement here.

Some of EMpower’s stellar grantee partners focusing on livelihoods include: Science Heroes Association in Turkey, Feminist Approach to Technology Society in India, Asociación Aurora Vivar (AAV) in Peru and YAPARI in Indonesia, which are all attracting girls to STEM subjects from an early age, encouraging and enabling them to feel comfortable in working with technology. Other grantees providing vocational training to young women and youth are Role Foundation in Indonesia, HADD in Turkey, CEDECUR in Colombia, and NEWIG in Ghana. These organizations are creating pathways for young women and men to skilled and decent employment or self-employment. You can find a full list of all of our grantee partners working to improve livelihoods globally here.

You can get involved in the conversation on Facebook and Twitter using the hashtag #IWD2017, and you can support our new livelihoods campaign Open Opportunities here!