At the beginning of December, we held the second in our series of online Virtual Summits – this time, with a focus on gender. Hosted in partnership with CDC, the 2X Challenge, UN Women and CARE International, the Gender Summit included live events, peer networking, and a wealth of online learning resources, from seminars to toolkits, reports, and case studies.
The conversations underlined not only the severe challenges that women and girls face, but also their resilience, creativity and untapped potential. Here are some highlights:
- Nick O’Donohoe, CEO of CDC Group, joined Yvette Torres-Rahman, Co-Founder and CFO of Business Fights Poverty, for a fireside chat on how the investment community is working to advance gender equality. The conversation touched on gender-lens investing, the rise of gender-based violence throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, and the need for industry-wide systems to measure progress.
- Our first webinar on gender-based violence explored how investors, supply chain partners and NGOs can work together to support the many women across businesses and supply chains who are contending with a rise in violence at home, at work and online. In addition to practical support for those experiencing violence, companies can invest in training, revise definitions of gender-based violence, build trust, and engage with men and boys on this sensitive issue.
- We also hosted a webinar on the case for gender investing, and how to do it. Gender-lens investing has the potential to improve women’s representation at senior levels as well as increase their access to finance and quality jobs while driving value creation. The discussion provided practical advice for investors and business. The road ahead poses some important challenges, including how to create cultural change within organisations, and measure the impact of gender-lens investments.
- In our Women’s Entrepreneurship Showcase, we heard first-hand from women entrepreneurs who have remodelled their businesses in response to COVID-19, and who emphasised that supporting women’s economic empowerment brings additional positive benefits for their families, communities and societies.
Amongst many free resources linked to the Gender Summit, we have published twenty-minute seminar videos full of practical advice:
- In ‘Why should companies have programmes to develop women leaders?’, Vasanthi Srinivasan, Professor of Organizational Behavior & Human Resources Management, and Chair of Digital Learning at the Indian Institute of Management Bangalore, provides insights from her work and research on leadership development.
- In ‘Why is the pandemic disproportionately affecting women entrepreneurs’, Ute Stephan, Professor of Entrepreneurship, King’s College London, draws from her research on Entrepreneurship and COVID-19 to provide advice on how business can build resilience to future shocks.
We are extremely grateful to everyone who participated in making the event such a thought-provoking and inspiring day.
You can access recorded highlights, as well as many free resources, via our event page, where you can also purchase a Digital Pass to access full recordings and written summaries.
To accompany the Gender Summit, we published several articles that show some of the ways that business can support women’s economic empowerment:
- In ‘Covid: no ‘great leveller’ when it comes to women workers’ rights’, Alice Lucas, Policy and Advocacy Manager at The Fairtrade Foundation calls for business, civil society and governments to put action on gender equality at the centre of efforts to rebuild from COVID-19.
- What do women really need? In ‘How the development of women leadership generates positive impact’, Caroline Busatto, Country Manager, FUNDES Brazil, highlights the systemic shifts that are needed to give women and girls both time and space for their creativity to flourish.
- New research has concluded that even small investments in girls and young women could provide significant boosts to GDP in emerging economies. Lily Rosengard, Partnerships Development Officer, Plan International and Ying Qin, Thematic Analyst, Citi Global Insights, provide insights into what business can do to help ‘remove roadblocks on girls’ path to power, freedom and equality.’
- Meanwhile LEAP, a new education program, is helping women reach senior positions in companies. In ‘Gender equality matters to business’, Gabriela Uriarte, Leading Women & LEAP program, WBCSD, explains why women’s leadership and sustainability are two inseparable elements of long-term business success.
- In ‘How Women Farmers and Entrepreneurs Can Build Resilience during COVID-19’, Cristina Manfre, Global Gender Director, TechnoServe shares ideas to strengthen the resilience and recovery of women farmers and entrepreneurs in the wake of COVID-19.
Of course, full inclusion of all women in the economy and society cannot be achieved unless we pay attention to the way that gender inequality intersects with other types of discrimination. In ‘Seeing Purple!’ David Grayson CBE, Emeritus Professor of Corporate Responsibility at Cranfield School of Management calls for a joined up and proactive approach to involving people with disabilities in the achievement of the SDGs. His article highlights the work of organisations like Purple and Leonard Cheshire, who are championing ways to better include people with disabilities in education and work.
Last but not least, our Spotlight Podcast has also been buzzing with three new interviews:
- Catalysing Equality and Equity: Fred Brown is President and CEO of The Forbes Funds, which builds the capacity and impact of non-profits in the Pittsburgh area, USA. Fred shares his predictions for the critical shifts of the next 30 years, as well as candid reflections on his experience as a black male leader and the power of embracing your own personal mission.
- Designing Digital Solutions for Social Change: Jocelyn Williams is Director of Business Development, Every1Mobile, which provides digital solutions to improve quality of life in African and Asian countries – for example in the area of health, financial security and family life. Listen to hear sound advice on how to design digital social impact programmes that deliver real change, particularly on sensitive and personal topics.
- Gender-Lens Investing: Jessica Espinoza Trujano is part of the German international development team at DEG, Chair of the 2x Challenge and is undertaking a PhD in gender-lens investing. Jessica explains why and how to invest with an eye on gender, and gives advice on how to embed gender equality throughout organisations.
Some may argue that, given the economic and health challenges the world is facing, there is neither the time nor resources to tackle issues of equality. But as those at the forefront recognise, ignoring inequality is a false economy that squanders valuable ideas, creativity and potential. Fred Brown put it perfectly in his episode of Spotlight:
‘When the world is in the balance, the most opportune time to bring diversity of thought to the table is now’.
