At Business Fights Poverty, we believe that equity builds resilience - for vulnerable people and communities, as well as for businesses and their value chains. The pandemic and climate change have exposed how deep inequities, including by gender, shape the impacts and the opportunities.
At this year’s virtual Gender Summit, we explored through engaging and interactive sessions, the role that business can play in driving gender equity.
Timed with International Women’s Day on 8 March, and tying in with its theme of “Gender equality today for a sustainable tomorrow”, the Gender Summit explored issues of climate justice and economic opportunity from a gender perspective.
Access our digital pass for recordings and summaries on the latest thinking from the world’s leading practitioners and experts, and to take back practical insights and new relationships into your organisation so that you can scale up your impact.
WELCOME AND FIRESIDE CHAT
1.00 - 1.30 PM GMT
8.00 - 8.30 AM ET
How does gender equity drive resilience for women and for business?
Gender equity is a driver of resilience, both for women and also for the businesses that work with them across their value chains.
In this fireside chat we:
WEBINAR
1.30 - 2.30 GMT
8.30 - 9.30 AM EDT
What can we learn from women leaders in the fight for climate justice?
This session explored the central theme of International Women's Day - the important role that women leaders are playing in driving a more sustainable future.
We:
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WEBINAR
2.45 - 3.45 PM GMT
9.45 - 10.45 AM ET
How can we drive gender equity through responsible sourcing?
Hosted with UN Foundation
Responsible Sourcing holds the promise to improve the lives of millions of women workers globally. Corporate leaders have offered researchers some surprising answers for what is needed. A focus on gender equity and women’s health in supply chains can be a curb cut for Responsible Sourcing.
We:
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PEER CIRCLES | ONLINE
4.00 - 5.00 PM GMT
11.00 AM - 12.00 PM ET
A. How can we promote gender equity today for a sustainable tomorrow?
Our popular and high-energy Peer Circles enable all of our participants to interact with our lead discussants and each other. We shared, with the help of leading practitioners and experts, latest thinking of the challenges and opportunities for supporting women leaders on the front lines of climate action.
We:
WELCOME AND FIRESIDE CHAT
1.00 - 1.30 PM GMT
8.00 - 8.30 AM ET
How can business prevent and tackle GBV in their workplaces and supply chains?
Businesses are stepping up to tackle GBV. This session will bring together business and expert voices to explore recent examples, lessons and challenges.
In this fireside chat we:
WEBINAR
1.30 - 2.30 GMT
8.30 - 9.30 AM EDT
How can businesses help prevent and tackle GBV in the workplace?
Hosted with Avon
When incidents of Gender-Based Violence (GBV) spiked during the pandemic, many businesses stepped up. Yet organisations still have a role to play in the ongoing effort to end violence and abuse. This session explored the latest thinking on how business can take action to prevent and tackle GBV.
We:
*** INTERVAL ***
WEBINAR
2.45 - 3.45 PM GMT
9.45 - 10.45 AM ET
Gender Equity: The Foundation for a Resilient Future
By Zahid Torres-Rahman, Business Fights Poverty
Join us for free at our virtual Gender Summit 2022, on 8 and 9 March, to explore the issues of gender equity and resilience, and the importance of women’s leadership in driving change. The event coincides with International Women's Day and its theme of "gender equality today for a sustainable tomorrow". Access practical insights, the latest thinking and inspiring examples from experts and practitioners, and connect with like-minded people to explore opportunities for collaboration. | READ ARTICLE
It’s time to collect more and better gender-disaggregated supply chain data
By Halima Ahmed, Senior Gender and Diversity Advisor, Ethical Trade Initiative
Data is essential in today’s world. In the context of global supply chains, data is the cornerstone of effective human rights due diligence and risk assessment. Without the necessary data, businesses will fall short in addressing and preventing risks to workers and mitigating harm that may be caused as a result of their business operations. | READ ARTICLE
Women as drivers of climate resilience
By Lisa Manley, Vice-President, Sustainability, Mars
Mars has long-standing commitments to act on climate change and empower women. Now, the company is connecting these two areas of focus. In this article, Lisa Manley explains why women are at the core of climate resilience and how companies can support them. | READ ARTICLE
Scaling Up Impact With Carbon Finance
By Rebecca Fay, Chief Marketing Officer for ClimateCare and Natural Capital Partners
Gyapa is one of the largest and longest running cookstove projects in the world. Ann Koontz, CEO at Relief International, shares her reflections and advice on how this carbon reduction project has progressed over 10+ years and how her partnership with ClimateCare has given vital access to carbon finance enabling her to scale the project’s impact. | READ ARTICLE
Engaging community voices: reflections from Archana Soreng
Interview with Archana Soreng, Indian youth climate activist and UN adviser, by Caroline Ashley, Forum for the Future’s Global Programmes Director
Climate and gender activist Archana Soreng reflects on the contrast between the indigenous world view she grew up with, which sees people as part of nature, dependent on it and with an obligation to protect it, and a developed world view of nature as a commodity, to be harvested at a profit. | READ ARTICLE
The chocolate entrepreneurs of Peru
By Susannah Henty, Fairtrade Foundation
Sustainability is justifiably the theme of this year’s International Women’s Day and the latest report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), published on 28/2/22, confirms what Fairtrade farmers have long been aware of: the climate crisis is here, it is real, and it is threatening. But by developing ‘value-add’ products, rather than solely raw commodities could offer a solution to people’s livelihoods. | READ ARTICLE
Inclusive future of work for women with disabilities
By Nancy Marangu, Communication & Public Policy Analyst
The inequalities experienced in the world of work for women with disabilities (WWDs) are significant and need to be addressed. Employability data for WWDs are hard to obtain locally, and where data is available the labour market participation rate of WWDs is lower than that of the general population. | READ ARTICLE
With their own businesses and as workers, Egypt’s women can be winners
By Charles Arthur and Navjot Kaur, United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO)
The Rabeha programme, run jointly by the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) and UN Women, aims to significantly boost women’s economic empowerment in Egypt by mid-2024. | READ ARTICLE
Why Working with men is key to fighting inequality
By Jane Sabuni, Country Director at Hand in Hand Eastern Africa Tanzania
Jane Sabuni, Country Director at Hand in Hand Eastern Africa Tanzania, explains how working with men helps to challenge gender bias in rural Tanzania – with support from Cartier Philanthropy. | READ ARTICLE
The Kenyan woman changing young farmers’ futures
By Elizabeth Oywaya, Communications Officer, Heifer Kenya
Victorine Owino transformed the savings and credit cooperative she manages into a thriving business hub in southwest Kenya, connecting local poultry farmers to training, financing and high quality supplies. Her journey from volunteer to manager is a testament to the transformative potential of women in leadership roles. And she’s now opening doors for others’ success.| READ ARTICLE
Bridging the gender digital divide for Guatemalan Indigenous women
By Kendra Poole, Communications Specialist, DAI, and Stephanie Creed, Associate Director of Communications and Engagement, DAI
New Sun Road and USAID-Microsoft, a joint initiative striving to close the gender digital divide and increase digital opportunities for Indigenous women in the Alta Verapaz region of rural Guatemala. | READ ARTICLE
Systems Theory Through a Gender Lens
By Jason Eaves, Lead Strategist and Founder, Discovered Markets
The potential to incorporate a systems approach into a fund structure represents new thinking on how to evaluate opportunities, support businesses, increase impact, measure impact, and shape entire markets to reduce the gender gap. | READ ARTICLE
Empowering underserved women around the globe
By Susann Tischendorf and Katharina Münster, Inclusive Business Action Network
Inclusive Businesses are uniquely equipped to improve gender equality. As commercially profitable, yet impact-driven companies, they follow the market and their social vision. Both paths lead towards women empowerment. | READ ARTICLE
A transformative journey: Kasha’s mission to provide equal health access to all women
By Patrick Russell, Director of Partnerships, Kasha
Leading East African FemTech company, Kasha, share nine key lessons learnt from scaling their business with support from TRANSFORM. TRANSFORM is a joint initiative between Unilever, the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) and EY that provides grant funding and business consultancy to impact enterprises in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia.| READ ARTICLE
Bridging the gender digital divide and improving girls’ self-esteem - An opportunity to partner with UNICEF
By Sagri Singh, Senior Advisor, Gender Equality, UNICEF and Stacie June Shelton, MPH Global Head of Education & Advocacy, Dove Self-Esteem Project
Over the past 3 years UNICEF and Dove have partnered to adapt and integrate Dove’s evidence-based self-esteem and body confidence curriculum (DSEP) within UNICEF’s ongoing collaboration with ministries of education and the private sector across 3 countries. Read on to learn more. | READ ARTICLE
Regenerative agriculture and women farmers
By Anna Olivia Spenner Hernández, Business Fights Poverty
Engage with our featured content to discover the value of regenerative agriculture, and how companies, NGOs and farmers are utilising this approach to create profit, gender-inclusivity and climate resilience. | READ ARTICLE
Jiselle and Cesar, On Gender Transformative Approaches
Cesar and Jiselle share some of their 30 plus years of experience working on women’s empowerment. Together they have recently been working on ‘gender transformative approaches.’ Cesar and Jiselle deep dive into what this means and the practicalities of implementing gender transformative approaches – for businesses everywhere, across value chains. | LISTEN TO PODCAST
Ayan Said, Voicing Voices
Ayan provides practical tools and tips to help us all, and particularly business decision makers to create the spaces for better communication. | LISTEN TO PODCAST
Snigdha Ali and Maria May, The Gates Foundation
Snigdha Ali and Maria May explain why being unbanked is a serious inequality issue and how digital financing can create economic empowerment, particularly for women in emerging markets.| LISTEN TO PODCAST
ACTION TOOLKIT: Women and the Net Zero Economy
Climate change and inequality are the twin challenges of our time. This toolkit shows how companies can transition to a net zero economy at the same time as economically empowering the many vulnerable women working upstream in global value chains. It builds on recent work by the UK Government’s Work and Opportunities for Women (WOW) programme implemented by PwC and its alliance partners, as well as the Climate Justice Framework jointly developed by Business Fights Poverty and the Harvard Kennedy School Corporate Responsibility Initiative. Read on to understand the business case for integrated action on women’s economic empowerment and climate change; identify opportunities for action in the supply chain; and take the first steps towards a gender-just net zero strategy.
Enhancing the Livelihoods of 'Hidden Women' in Global Smallholder Value Chains
Women smallholder farmers often face complex social and economic barriers that prevent them from exercising agency and securing decent livelihoods. This Discussion Summary Paper draws from an online discussion co-hosted by Business Fights Poverty, Unilever and Oxfam, on how companies and their partners can recognise, value, and enhance the contributions of the hidden women on whom our global food supply systems depend. Read it to learn about the key levers of change, case studies and lessons learned, and how to collaborate for transformational change.
Gender-Based Violence and COVID-19
In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and ‘stay at home’ regulations, domestic violence and online bullying and harassment are expected to rise. What can companies do to support employees internally? What can they do to harness their core business strategies including marketing and innovation as well as philanthropy to respond to the increase in violence?