Women’s economic empowerment is essential for gender equality and global economic growth. The World Bank highlights that gender disparities in lifetime earnings cost the global economy a staggering $160 trillion. Women entrepreneurs, however, still confront numerous barriers, including legal job restrictions, prevalent informal and precarious employment, wage disparities, excessive unpaid domestic responsibilities, limited care facilities, and gender stereotypes.
The impact of women’s business associations and chambers of commerce in breaking these barriers is significant. They play a pivotal role in elevating women’s voices and fostering solutions that increase women’s participation in income-generating activities. Networking within these associations is crucial for sharing experiences, learning from others, and forming supportive communities.
Since October 2022, the Center for International Private Enterprise (CIPE) has been spearheading the “WE-Champs: Strengthening the Entrepreneurial Ecosystem by Networking Regional Women’s Chambers of Commerce and Business Associations” project. Initially focused on 18 European and Caucasus countries, it expanded in October 2023 to include five Central Asian and two Sub-Saharan African nations. This initiative, funded by the U.S. Department of State Secretary’s Office of Global Women’s Issues (S/GWI), aims to strengthen women’s economic security by empowering women-led chambers and business groups through local initiatives, creating gender-responsive institutions, and catering to the diverse needs of businesswomen.
CIPE selected 21 women’s business entities from countries including Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Georgia, Hungary, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Kyrgyz Republic, Moldova, Montenegro, Serbia, Slovakia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan. These organizations receive support to enhance their capacities, expand networking opportunities, and champion women’s economic empowerment.
A core goal is to help these entities form regional networks that tackle systemic obstacles to women’s economic participation. In collaboration with the Women Business Council in Georgia , CIPE is organizing an in-person event titled “Connecting Women for Economic Empowerment” on December 14-15, 2023, in Tbilisi, Georgia. This event will focus on strengthening connections, knowledge exchange, and strategic planning for addressing the needs of women entrepreneurs.
An integral part of this initiative is the Regional Gender Analysis, conducted by CIPE and Estonia-based consulting company CIVITTA International, to identify common challenges and reform areas for the participating organizations. This analysis offers insights into women’s economic roles, legislative frameworks, gender stereotypes, gender-based violence, and other intersecting challenges affecting women’s economic participation.
The December event will feature discussions on the Regional Gender Analysis findings, focusing on various gender barriers and discussing pressing topics such as women in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM), care economy issues, financial access, and workplace harassment. It will also include networking opportunities for participants to share experiences, discuss support initiatives, and learn about effective media and storytelling strategies to amplify women’s voices.
After the event, CIPE will invite proposals for research grants to further study the identified barriers. The project will continue with online networking sessions throughout 2024 and 2025, covering diverse topics relevant to women’s business associations.
Published Date: November 21, 2023