Women's History Month 2022

A Special Bookazine Edition

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A Special Bookazine Edition

WHEN WOMEN SUCCEED, THE WORLD SUCCEEDS. WOMEN’S HISTORY MONTH 2022 CEO & PUBLISHER ANA C. ROLD MANAGING EDITOR SHANE SZARKOWSKI EDITORS ADAM RATZLAFF WINONA ROYLANCE AUTHORS NAZA ALAKIJA JORDAN ANDERSON DANIELLA FOSTER LISA GABLE CHRISTINE HORANSKY AILEEN IONESCU-SOMERS MARGERY KRAUS BARBARA LANGLEY JOHN MORRELL VONGAI NYAHUNZVI WINGEE SAMPAIO PUBLISHING HOUSE DIPLOMATIC COURIER | MEDAURAS GLOBAL WASHINGTON, DC

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TABLE OF CONTENTS WOMEN AND GIRLS COULD LEAD THE RACE TO THE STARS | CHRISTINE HORANSKY.................................................................................................................................06 HOW TO CHANGE MINDSETS AND EMPOWER YOUNG WOMEN AND GIRLS | VONGAI NYAHUNZVI......................................................................................................................................10

WHEN DEMOCRACY IS NOT AN OPTION, WOMEN SUFFER THE MOST | LISA GABLE..........................................................................................................................................................14 EMPOWERED WOMEN OFFER A UNIVERSAL LIFELINE | NAZA ALAKIJA..................................................................................................................................................18 MORE RESILIENT MARKETS AND DEMOCRACIES THROUGH BETTER GENDER INCLUSIVITY | BARBARA LANGLEY & JOHN MORRELL...........................................................................................22 THE WOMEN’S ENTREPRENEURSHIP LANDSCAPE IS CHANGING. IS THE ECOSYSTEM READY TO ADAPT? | AILEEN IONESCU-SOMERS & WINGEE SAMPAIO........................................................................26 U.S. PRIVATE SECTOR MUST PICK UP GOVERNMENT’S SLACK ON GENDER EQUITY | MARGERY KRAUS...........................................................................................................................................30 HOW RUSSIA WENT FROM PIONEER TO LAGGARD IN GENDER EQUALITY | JORDAN ANDERSON.....................................................................................................................................34 CREATING A SEAT AT THE TABLE | DANIELLA FOSTER.........................................................................................................................................38

WOMEN AND GIRLS COULD LEAD THE RACE TO THE STARS

BY CHRISTINE HORANSKY

Photo by Sean Pierce via Unsplash.

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rom dreams of terraforming Mars to improving deteriorating conditions here on Earth, the space age is rapidly evolving, with its potential applications stretching to touch every facet of human life.

Tackling the challenges of the 21 century and beyond will require unlocking all sources of human ingenuity, creativity, and problem solving—including the female half of the population.

As we look toward that horizon, it is time to consider what role women and girls will play in engineering the future of space.

The first all-female spacewalk made recent history at the International Space Station, giving the world a chance to celebrate and reflect on women’s role in space. Women currently make up 20% of the global space workforce and only 11% of astronauts, a gender gap that mirrors the lower participation of women in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) fields. Not only do STEM careers provide women highpaying jobs, but the value of the ballooning space sector is expected to top $1 trillion in coming years.

Space needs the full contributions and perspectives of women and girls. From monitoring climate change to connecting a constellation of satellites, there are countless ways in which female leadership, intelligence and empathy can help shape the trajectory of space-based solutions that benefit humanity and chart new paths in the stars. The space sector is integral to progress on the Global Goals for Sustainable Development and offers opportunities for international partnership.

The United Nations launched its Space4Women initiative in 2020 on the International Day of Women and Girls in Science. The UN’s Office for Outer Space Affairs, led by Italian astrophysicist Simonetta Di Pippo, works to bring the vital benefits of space to all. Its mission is committed to “ensuring that those benefits reach women and girls, and that women and girls play an active and equal role in space science, technology, innovation and exploration.”

Global efforts to achieve gender parity include continuing to broaden access to STEM education for girls; and targeted programs to attract, mentor and promote women in space-related fields like robotics, physics, astronomy, earth sciences, medicine, telecommunications, engineering, and more. The European Space Agency, for example, holds career fairs to connect female recruits, and commissioned an art exhibit showing space through the eyes of women and girls. A focus on equality of opportunity helps build the pipeline.

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“There is space for everyone in space,” emphasizes Yumna Majeed, a space educator who has been providing learning experiences in astronomy to students in Pakistan since she was 18 years old. “As a schoolgirl, I was told space was not an option for me,” she says.” So, I decided to create it.” Emboldened by her love of the Northern Lights, Majeed brushed off stigmas about who space is for and got her first telescope. Now she runs virtual space camps to inspire the next generation of Pakistani youth to envision themselves in the skies. Her work was featured for improving gender equality during Space Week at Expo 2020, the modern-day iteration of the legendary World Fair.

Women are leading the charge to Mars in the United Arab Emirates, where the UAE Space Agency’s 35-year-old chairwoman Sarah Al Amiri successfully completed the Arab world’s first space mission to the red planet. Her team of 80% female scientists is proof that women can and will lead the way in the next age of space exploration and innovation. They have launched the Hope spacecraft into orbit around our neighboring planet to collect and send back data mapping the Martian atmosphere. Future missions will send probes past Venus to explore nearby asteroids.

Storytelling and other forms of real-life representation help to catapult the possibilities for women in space into the popular imagination. This year, the U.S. Mint launches its American Women Quarters series with coins featuring trailblazing astronaut Sally Ride, the first American woman in space. The Smithsonian is celebrating Women’s Futures Month, showcasing female scientists working on the technologies of the future. Hollywood is fueling the dream of women in space with blockbuster sci-fi films led by fearless female characters, like Jodie Foster as a SETI scientist in Contact, Jessica Chastain a spacefaring pioneer in Interstellar, Amy Adams an alien linguist in Arrival, and the real-life story of NASA’s black female mathematicians as told in Hidden Figures.

The force is especially strong on Twitter, where a vibrant #WomenInSTEM community has given rise to an inspiring tribe of young female space influencers. Aerospace engineer Emily Calandrelli defied stereotypes of what a scientist “should look like” to become a television host and executive producer of FOX’s Xploration Outer Space and Netflix’s Emily’s Wonder Lab. In Brazil, a student club for aerospace medicine and life science (CEMCA) is hosting virtual events on Facebook with female researchers, exploring topics such as how the human body reacts to extraterrestrial environments. Communities to 8 | WOMEN’S HISTORY MONTH

connect women and girls to the power of STEM opportunities are thriving across social media and around the world.

The pandemic has reminded us that we are a truly planetary civilization with our fates bound together. Just as our challenges can be borderless in nature, so can our solutions. It is vital to ensure the benefits of space are universal and equal opportunities exist for all to contribute to its development.

As winds of change shape the 21st century, a new generation of women and girls will be helping to lead humanity’s journey into space. From the aerial view, far up above Earth’s atmosphere, there’s no ceiling in the stars.

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HOW TO CHANGE MINDSETS AND EMPOWER YOUNG WOMEN AND GIRLS

BY VONGAI NYAHUNZVI

Photo courtesy of the author.

10 | WOMEN’S HISTORY MONTH

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t’s well understood that education is key to creating opportunities and economic empowerment for women and girls.

We also know that ensuring there are classrooms for girls to sit in and teachers to teach them is not enough. Even where decent educational funding and structures are in place, women face complex barriers—from external societal and cultural forces to more subtle internal expectations and beliefs.

As the first in my family, my village, and my clan to graduate from university, I am intimately familiar with the impact education has on quality of life. To unlock girls’ dreams requires more than policies, funding, and practical training. For girls to fulfill their potential, they also need local teachers and other advocates who actively fight for them. They need leaders who create environments that facilitate mindset shifts and who become allies and champions.

At the age of 8 I woke up to the importance of education. Up to that point, I was not just an underachiever, I was a nonachiever. Uninterested in school and placing near the bottom every year in a class of 50, I was following the same path as my two older siblings, one pregnant at 13 and both dropping out of school in their teens. My family was poor, and I had one oversized yellow dress that I would wear everywhere. Family gatherings were a nightmare, and at one particular family wedding, my richer cousins made fun of this shabby dress. I was suddenly conscious of being poor and what that meant. Education, it seemed to me, was perhaps the only escape available. For the first time, I felt some ambition! But how would I get an education when my parents had almost no education or money themselves, my school was mediocre, and there was no clear path to follow?

A single teacher made the difference. I had a teacher, I fondly call her “Aunty Mary”, who became my champion and my advocate. Somehow, she created a space where I could open up to her about my shame and sadness over the yellow dress and how things were at home. Perhaps she saw my hopelessness.

She looked at me and insisted that I could be anything I wanted to be. She reminded me that I drew beautifully and was a wonderful actress, that I was capable and energetic. Her belief in me stirred hope, and I was thrilled to have someone I looked up to paying attention to me. I became eager to impress her and prove that she was right. I started to work so hard that by the time I left primary school I was one of the top five students in the grade. Thanks to Aunty Mary’s advocacy and championship, I not only came to believe in myself, but ended up receivDIPLOMATIC COURIER | 11

ing a scholarship to boarding school. This completely changed the trajectory of my life. Without her, my nascent ambition would have hit a wall.

Aunty Mary gave me the gift of a changed mindset. She allowed me not just to believe in myself, but to embrace ambition. For women in Africa as well as around the globe, our mindset still directs us to be subservient to others and to the societal expectations put upon us. In most developing countries, cultures raise us to be caregivers, to look after the home, cook, clean, collect firewood for the home. In fact, we are meant to stay home bound. You can’t say no. You must not put your needs first.

For young people, it matters who is teaching you about such mindset changes. Therefore, it is crucial to have allies and champions in one’s community to encourage and empower girls and younger women. Change is a community effort, particularly for women who tend to work and communicate in groups. Change and actual support require engagement with actual people, not just books or lectures or YouTube videos.

If better mindsets can be transmitted from respected sources to influence the hearts and minds of young women, then leadership is the bridge that translates these changing mindsets into action. Fostering leadership means developing a sense of agency and critical thinking, which in turn empowers others to take initiative and act for change. We need to support students to exert leadership, and it must be fostered at every level—from the home to schools to government offices.

Aunty Mary was a leader who took it upon herself to teach one young girl she had more potential than she’d ever before believed. Girls need trusted advocates like Aunty Mary who are invested in their success who are willing to engage in expanding their mindsets. This advocacy is what allows all other investments in girls’ education to pay off. This is what it takes to truly transform women’s lives so that they can overcome barriers, fulfill their potential, and gain and keep economic and political power. ***** About the author: Vongai Nyahunzvi is the Chief Network Officer at Teach For All, a global network of independent organizations working in 61 countries to develop collective leadership to ensure all children can fulfill their potential.

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WHEN DEMOCRACY IS NOT AN OPTION, WOMEN SUFFER THE MOST

BY LISA GABLE

Photo by Hasan Almasi via Unsplash.

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hat if you lost the right to be called by your name? It is incomprehensible that under another system of government and societal framework, women could be nameless, known only as “daughter of [fill in the blank]” or “wife of [fill in the blank].” However, that was the reality in the Taliban ruled Afghanistan prior to democratization after 9/11, as the society was and is today dominated by male figures who manipulate a legal framework to deny a woman’s identity.

In a recent conversation with Naheed A. Farid, a member of the Afghan parliament-in-exile, Naheed told me about her 2002 campaign for public office, which centered around the theme: “Where Is My Name?” In Taliban ruled Afghanistan, women could be denied the right to be called by their name or have their name listed on their child’s birth certificate. In many cases, a woman’s name would not be listed on their own wedding invitations or even at their graves as it is considered disrespectful to men.

Naheed stepped forward to run for office with a goal of opening commercial and educational opportunities for women. She realized though that she needed to first address a basic human right of simply allowing women and girls to claim their identity. Thanks to her tenacious work and that of her colleagues, the inclusion of a mother’s name in national identity decree passed in 2019. However, the legal frameworks, census law, and family law continued to be used by men to support name denial even after the Taliban was overthrown in 2001. Today, the situation is worse.

History shows the treatment of women in authoritarian countries is the worst form of bullying. From verbal abuse and demeaning societal rules to sexual advances and abuse, it is ultimately a power play enacted to diminish women, strip them of their power, and reduce the value of their work. Whether in a situation of domestic violence or within the realm of a dictatorial regime, violence against women is aimed at lessening their value, their right to be acknowledged, and their right to be heard. Yet, brave women like Naheed continue to speak out, and we must support them in doing so.

The fall of Kabul last August was heart wrenching as U.S. leaders received pleading texts from women asking for help as they and their families tried to flee. Mothers knew that men would once again treat women and girls as commodities, not human beings. For example, a great fear was that young daughters DIPLOMATIC COURIER | 15

would be forced into marriage at a young age. In November, UNICEF drew attention to the rising trend: “We have received credible reports of families offering daughters as young as 20 days old up for future marriage in return for a dowry.”

As democracy is on the decline, the use of sexual assault to dominate is on the rise. In Belarus, human rights organizations estimate that there are between 70 and possibly 100 women dissidents who have been jailed for daring to speak out against the Russian backed regime. Eurozine writes of a “sisterhood behind bars” which includes businesswomen, elected officials, and bloggers. The BBC has noted these dissidents are subjected to extreme forms of torture, including rape.

With Xi Jinping’s rise in China, we are also hearing more reports of aggression against women. The use of degradation to control minority populations horrify the West as systematic rape of Uyghur women in re-education camps has been covered extensively by the BBC. Sports figures watched in stunned amazement when Chinese tennis star, Peng Shuai, “disappeared” after accusing the former vicepremier Zhang Gaoli of sexual assault. She emerged later with controlled interviews prior to and during the Olympics. I question whether Eileen Gu understands she has made a Faustian bargain as she renounced her American citizenship for financial gain and fame.

Today, women fight bravely in Ukraine to protect their children and their freedom. They sacrifice everything for their values.

Organizations like the International Republican Institute’s Women’s Democracy Network, the National Democratic Institute, and others have maintained a global network of women who make things happen on behalf of other women. When our freedom is at risk, we lay aside our political differences to give our daughters and their children the opportunity to live in free societies, and we pray for the women of Ukraine who show incredible resolve as they fight for their freedom. As Nobel Prize Winner Pearl Buck said: “For no country is a true democracy whose women have not an equal share in life with men, and until we realize this, we shall never achieve a real democracy on earth.” ***** About the author: Lisa Gable is a Diplomatic Courier Advisory Board member and WSJ and USA Today best-selling author of “Turnaround: How to Change Course When Things Are Going South.”

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EMPOWERED WOMEN OFFER A UNIVERSAL LIFELINE

BY NAZA ALAKIJA

Photo by Meiying Ng via Unsplash.

18 | WOMEN’S HISTORY MONTH

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very International Women’s Day we are inundated with statistics that tell of the divide and disparity that exists between men and women. These inequities help motivate us to continue fighting the good fight for a more equitable world. The gargantuan effort of reaching equality is not something that ‘some’ of us can partake in; it’s an effort that will take every single one of us.

However, with this focus on remaining disparities and how to overcome them, we often overlook the crucial opportunity we have to highlight society-shifting opportunities that arise when we raise women up and allow them to fulfill their potential.

Empowering women benefits everybody. When women are empowered, they are free to contribute to their economies and societies. As uncomfortable as it may be for patriarchal social orderings, they will ultimately benefit from the empowerment of women. As former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan once said, “Study after study has taught us, there is no tool for development more effective than the empowerment of women.

No other policy is as likely to raise economic productivity or to reduce child and maternal mortality. No other policy is as sure to improve nutrition and promote health...No other policy is as powerful in increasing the chances of education for the next generation.”

Data suggests that when there are more women in leadership positions, their policymaking emphasizes quality of life—for both women and men. Inclusivity and more equal gendered political representation often means stronger governments and thus societies. Inclusivity and equitable representation is especially essential when considering the varying and nuanced needs of our populations, including marginalized groups and racial minorities. Allowing women a seat at the table does not push men out. It simply invites more people (along with their valuable contributions) in, and collectively raises societies.

In parts of the world with the most extreme poverty and gender inequality, there are more than 12 million girls sold into child marriage each year. Four out of ten girls and young women in West and Central Africa—nearly 60 million girls—were married before they reached the age of 18. The topic for many of us will feel incomprehensible, often paralyzing to consider, and the media—rightfully so—reports on the horrors that face these young girls in the face of their exploitation. Beyond the immediate horrors of exploitation, we must also remember that their future is being stolen—and with it their opportunity DIPLOMATIC COURIER | 19

to be a positive force in the future of their societies. Every child forced into marriage has her path set out for her, decided before she can discover it for herself. Instead of a long and winding path with the potential for prosperity and happiness, it is short and stunted, leading only to the door of her new husband.

It is a sad truth that child marriage has increased since the outbreak of COVID-19, as people revert to extreme desperation to keep their families afloat. But child marriage does more than just steal the safety and freedoms of so many young girls.

Child marriage also adds another barrier to the long-term development of their societies by destroying the opportunity for these girls to be an empowered source of change. How many potential leaders and vivacious minds are being condemned to a narrowed life with few prospects and no education? These girls become women who are essential to both sustainable and stable social and economic development. Empowering them as an integral part of their societies could spark new innovations and fresh creative ideas that would otherwise never see the light of day.

Where could the girls of today take our world if they were to be given the opportunities to reach their truest potential?

The interconnected nature of today’s greatest challenges has served as a reminder of the collective, and the growing truth that our economic, social development & environmental future is defined by our efforts to pursue equal access to a plethora of basic human rights. It is our role to educate the world on just how important and beneficial women’s contributions can be, and just what our society is capable of with their inclusion at every corner. ***** About the author: Naza Alakija is a humanitarian, a Senior Advisor for UNICEF and the Founder of Sage Foundation, an NGO deeply committed to three areas of impact: education, empowerment of women & girls and the environment.

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MORE RESILIENT MARKETS AND DEMOCRACIES THROUGH BETTER GENDER INCLUSIVITY

BY BARBARA LANGLEY & JOHN MORRELL

Photo via Pixabay.

22 | WOMEN’S HISTORY MONTH

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omen make up at least 50% of all segments of society, including marginalized populations such as youth, religious or ethnic minorities, and the LGBTQI+ community. Empowering women economically makes markets more inclusive and resilient. It’s welldocumented that women’s economic realities and experiences are often very different from men’s. This is, in part, due to gaps in women’s legal rights. In its 2021 Women, Business and Law report, the World Bank identified eight key areas where women are impacted by law: mobility, workplace, pay, marriage, parenthood, entrepreneurship, assets, and pension.

We must advocate for women’s rights and commercial interests to ensure their economic empowerment. Advocacy—whether aimed at public policy or public opinion—helps marginalized segments of the population make their voices heard, making possible more just laws, institutions, and social norms.

The World Bank report touted the potential of Women’s Economic Empowerment (WEE) programs. These programs work to ensure equality of access for women and men when it comes to petitioning governments and thereby shaping institutions and policies. The World Bank explained such programs are “…likely to lead over time to more representative, and more inclusive, institutions and policy choices.” This suggests that any programs that help ensure equal access to opportunities and resources for excluded or marginalized population segments will help to make for more inclusive democracies.

The United States Congress has prioritized women in foreign assistance through legislation such as the 2019 Women’s Entrepreneurship and Economic Empowerment Act (WEEE Act). The WEEE Act requires 50% of USAID resources supporting micro, small, and medium enterprises to target businesses owned, managed, or otherwise controlled by women. It also requires program and performance monitoring efforts to include goals with a gender disaggregated basis. Both the Trump and Biden Administrations have since championed women’s empowerment in their presidential budgets through their Women’s Global Development and Prosperity (W-GDP) and Gender Equity and Equality Action (GEEA) funds at USAID. Yet these measures and many others around the world remain insufficient to cultivate a supportive ecosystem for women’s economic empowerment and specifically to promote women in the private sector. Women’s economic empowerment is best achieved through a holistic approach based on three levels of entrepreneurial communities. At the individual level this holistic approach involves fostering an entrepreneurial mindset, leadership development, and empowDIPLOMATIC COURIER | 23

erment. At a community level it involves building relationships by linking community actors and creating collaborative spaces. In the broader business ecosystem, it involves improving the environment for women in business by promoting entrepreneur-friendly policies, lowering barriers, and garnering community and official support.

Women’s economic empowerment pays dividends because, as Boileau Loko and Mame Astou Diouf wrote in a Working Paper for the IMF, “in development economics, it is now fully acknowledged that educated women allocate a higher share of households’ resources to education and healthcare—two factors that are expected to boost productivity and growth in the long-run.” This means a growing investment in future generations. A 2016 report by UN Women highlighted this fact by explaining that “increasing the share of household income controlled by women tends to increase spending on children’s education and health.”

For example, in Ghana, the share of assets and the share of land owned by women are positively associated with higher food expenditures. In Brazil, women’s own nonlabor income has a positive impact on the height of their daughters. In China, increasing adult female income by 10 percent of the average household income increased the fraction of surviving girls by one percentage point and increased years of schooling for both boys and girls. In contrast, the World Bank finds that a comparable increase in male income had no statistically significant impact on survival rates and educational attainment for children.

Women sacrifice present consumption in order to enhance the future earning potential of children. This is yet another way that economically empowering women builds economic resilience in emerging markets.

One tool for empowering women is a Women’s Business Agenda (WBA)—adapted from U.S. Chamber of Commerce experiences and employed by the Center for International Private Enterprise (CIPE). The WBA has successfully been employed in such countries as Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Nigeria, and Pakistan. Other models showing big progress include networking programs and resource centers for women that provide business services, training, and mentorship opportunities.

These activities and outlets are likely to drive change. A 2018 study by the Group of Seven (G7) Ministers and Central Bank Governors documented that improvements in gender equality can lead to greater diversification of output, exports, and means of production.

Women in leadership positions can increase female labor force participation “by providing role models for other women, and by 24 | WOMEN’S HISTORY MONTH

combating stereotypes. Once women are in charge, they can significantly change public attitudes toward women and, importantly, raise the aspirations parents have for their daughters and the aspirations teenage girls have for themselves,” as a 2009 article in the Quarterly Journal of Economics reported.

Women now represent more than 40 percent of the global labor force, more than 45 percent of the agricultural workforce, and more than 50 percent of the world’s university students. For an economy to function at its potential, women should be engaged in activities that best utilize their skills and talents. When this is the case (women’s abilities are more optimally utilized), these workers are more productive. Conversely, when women’s labor is underused or misallocated – due to discrimination that prevents them from completing school, entering certain occupations, dealing with the burden of care issues exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, or otherwise earning the same incomes as men—productivity falls.

Clearly, expanding women’s access to inputs and means of business support drives down income inequality and reduces drag on economic growth. In addition to its impact on economic performance, greater inclusion of women directly contributes to greater economic diversification, which bolsters economic resilience. This is especially the case in emerging markets, which tend to have more concentrated economic structures.

The fate of any democracy is tied to the role of women in that society.

Reducing gender inequality in economic opportunity, entrepreneurial activity and access to resources boosts economic growth, makes economic growth more widely shared, and enhances economic productivity. It’s the right way to build a better future for all people. ***** About the authors: Barbara Langley is the Director for CIPE’s Center for Women’s Economic Empowerment (CWEE), which focuses on democratizing opportunity for women by fostering ecosystems for entrepreneurship.

John Morrell is the Regional Director for Asia and the Pacific at CIPE, which has a large portfolio of programs for women’s economic empowerment, governance reform, and anti-corruption.

Editor’s Note: The authors wish to thank CIPE’s Nora Wheelehan and Connie Gonzalez for their contributions to the article.

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THE WOMEN’S ENTREPRENEURSHIP LANDSCAPE IS CHANGING. IS THE ECOSYSTEM READY TO ADAPT?

BY AILEEN IONESCU-SOMERS & WINGEE SAMPAIO

Image via Adobe Stock.

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e have less than a decade left to achieve the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Gender equality is one of the ambitious goals. It would be shortsighted to think of women as mere beneficiaries of the SDGs. All over the world, women entrepreneurs are running positive impact businesses that are also financially viable and effecting change far beyond their immediate context.

Members of the Cartier Women’s Initiative community are a prime example. In Nigeria, Funkola Odeleye’s legal and business support service for entrepreneurs—DIYLaw—has created more than 125,000 26 | WOMEN’S HISTORY MONTH

jobs over five years. In the Philippines, Carmina Bayombong’s student loan service InvestEd offers economic mobility to students.

Some 81% of its beneficiaries have climbed up the socioeconomic ladder after their first paycheck. These are just two examples drawn from a global community of successful businesses that not only have a measurable social and environmental impact locally, but also make a sizeable contribution globally.

Women-led initiatives now make up a large proportion of the entrepreneurial ventures driving job creation, innovation, and economic growth. According to the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) 2020/2021 Women’s Entrepreneurship Report, every one in three growth-oriented entrepreneurs is a woman.

However, women entrepreneurs continue to contend with persistent challenges. All over the world, women still find it more difficult to convert their intentions into profitable businesses, largely because they lack access to networks, finance, and role models. For instance, according to GEM data, less than 50% of women entrepreneurs report knowing another entrepreneur. Women also report 20% lower confidence than men in their capabilities to start a business.

Ecosystem enablers: Adopt a sector-specific approach and shift focus to high-growth, high-impact ventures.

In the past, entrepreneurship support was typically focused on getting more women to start businesses. There are two limitations to this approach. First, this approach does not address the fact that women are overrepresented in the smallest businesses and in industries characterized by small firms and low profit margins. It would be more effective to target specific sectors and help women thrive in currently male-dominated fields such as Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), where investment is high. There is considerable scope for tech incubators and accelerators to focus more on inclusion to ensure that women, too, can create and sustain companies with lasting impact in the field.

The second limitation relates to “necessity entrepreneurship”, meaning the tendency to create a small business to survive, simply because there are no social safety nets or other options. Indeed, the potential for entrepreneurship to lift families out of poverty is undeniable.

Over half of women in the developing world see it as a pathway to a better future. But women cite “job scarcity” more often than men as a reason for choosing entrepreneurship. Women entrepreneurs in general also tend to be poorer, less educated and from lower income households, and their ventures can too often end up being a means of mere subsistence, particularly in the developing world. That is why DIPLOMATIC COURIER | 27

encouraging women to start businesses in high numbers needs to be coupled with both a sector-specific approach, and at the same time greater support as they scale sustainable ventures.

Policymakers: Bridge the gap that disproportionately affected women during the pandemic.

Women entrepreneurs around the world were severely disrupted by the pandemic, which brought to light just how heavily the triple burden of smaller business size, vulnerable sectors and higher family demands can weigh on women. In our survey, women were 20% more likely to report business closure due to the pandemic than men.

The pandemic also affected the internationalization gap, which has increased by 30% since 2019. Pre-pandemic, women were already more likely to target their business offerings to a local rather than national or international market. Given their propensity to work in the food and retail services sector, and their additional responsibilities in the household, it is perhaps unsurprising that this gap increased during the global pandemic in 2020.

Nevertheless, women showed great ingenuity and resilience in the face of the pandemic. They seized new opportunities and tailored their offering to the new business context. For instance, Ana-Lucia Cepeda runs Bolsa Rosa, an online job board based out of Mexico that connects women with flextime jobs. As remote work became the norm during global lockdowns, she used the opportunity to expand her company’s digital flextime offering. In Ghana, Salma Abdulai’s agri-business AMAATI almost came to a standstill during the crisis. In response, she developed supply chain software and an e-commerce platform to sell produce and saw business gradually pick up again.

Despite numerous success stories, the experience of women entrepreneurs during the pandemic shows that there is still a policy gap in creating an enabling environment for women’s entrepreneurship and providing support with family care, school, and small business impacts. Even beyond the pandemic, policy can greatly influence whether women choose entrepreneurship, and what kind of entrepreneurship they choose. For instance, in Europe, while rates of women entrepreneurship stand at 5.7%, far lower than the global average of 11%, the rate of women entrepreneurs in ICTs is exceptionally high. This could be because Europe has a well-developed welfare state system, and “necessity entrepreneurship” is less the norm.

Investors and ecosystem enablers: Promote informal networks, gender-lens investment and impact investment to help women access funding.

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Access to funding has been a perennial challenge for women entrepreneurs, and the data shows that it needs to remain a priority going forward. While studies have shown that women are more likely to fund other women, they remain woefully underrepresented as institutional investors. However, women now account for 40% of active informal investors in the world, essentially supporting the ventures of friends and family. Helping create and sustain women’s business angel networks going forward - of individuals willing to invest time and money in small, newly founded companies with innovative projects - will help women invest in the products and businesses that they value.

There are a couple of other trends to monitor in the investment space.

Gender-lens investment (GLI), or the practice of intentionally investing in women, is gaining traction. Although it still accounts for a small part of total investment, and is a very heterogeneous sector, the number of GLI funds has been growing in recent years, and investors are recognizing that there is a business case for investing in women.

Impact investing is another promising trend that is particularly relevant to women social entrepreneurs, as investment decisions are based on social and environmental impact alongside financial returns. Women are also taking the lead within impact investing, with a growing number of women leading impact units at top financial firms. This is good news - it means that investment in women-led impact businesses is also likely to increase as a result.

All in all, these are exciting times for women’s entrepreneurship, and ecosystem enablers have an opportunity to lift women entrepreneurs to new heights. But we need to tread intentionally: progress towards the global goals suffered serious setbacks during the pandemic, and the type of support we extend to women impact entrepreneurs could have significant impact on our collective ability to create a sustainable and equitable world for all.

The potential of women entrepreneurs to trigger a ripple effect of positive change is immense. Are we ready to support this tide of positive change effectively? It will entail supporting already-sustainable ventures, designing inclusive programs in male-dominated sectors, and promoting policy and investment practices that directly benefit women business owners. Let’s make it happen!

About the authors:

*****

Aileen Ionescu-Somers is Executive Director of Global Entrepreneurship Monitor. Wingee Sampaio is the Global Program Director of Cartier Women’s Initiative.

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U.S. PRIVATE SECTOR MUST PICK UP GOVERNMENT’S SLACK ON GENDER EQUITY

BY MARGERY KRAUS

Photo via Pixabay.

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ccording to the 2021 Global Gender Gap Report, the United States ranks 30th out of 156 countries for progress toward closing the gender gap. As we celebrate Women’s History Month, we often take this time to celebrate not only the accomplishments of women but the progress that’s been made in the last century toward achieving gender equality.

As the founder of the world’s largest-woman-owned independent advisory and advocacy communications consultancy, making space for and empowering women in the business sector has always been at the forefront of my mission.

And while certainly strides have been made—2020 marked the 100-year anniversary of the 19th amendment—we need to reflect and ask ourselves: how we are really doing? Where can we be doing better?

Since the start of the pandemic, we have seen seismic shifts in the country’s social consciousness around race, inequality, and systemic impediments to equity. So, as we look through that lens this month, we should try to be honest about how women of all identities are treated throughout American society. We need to work toward the advancement of all women in society and ensure our conversations about gender equality overlap with the systemic conversations we are having about race, disability access, LGBTQIA+ inclusivity, and socioeconomic privilege.

The barriers women face in society are innate to life. The maternal mortality rate in the U.S. is the highest among developed nations and most of the deaths are preventable. COVID-19 exacerbated this, especially in lower-income communities. When hospitals are overwhelmed and resources must be reallocated, it becomes even more difficult for women to get the care they need.

There has also been increased reliance on women on the front lines of health care. The same health care workers that carried us through pandemic are burned out, yet they continue to work in overwhelming conditions. In the United States, threefourths of health care jobs are filled by women. This is especially true in caregiving roles, such as nursing, where women make up 89% of registered nurses. Overall, women—especially women of color—are far more likely to hold these more handson caregiving roles rather than leadership or diagnosing roles.

Federal policy isn’t leading change either. Unlike many G20 countries, the United States lacks a federal paid family leave policy.

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Families grapple constantly trying to balance work and family life—a challenge made worse by school and childcare closures brought about by the pandemic. This doesn’t even consider the weight of unpaid labor in the home that women often bear.

With the lack of legislative action, it falls to leaders of business to install policies that allow women to thrive. Businesses need to ensure that women are not only able to balance work and family, but that there are clear paths to leadership in every industry for women and mothers. But again, U.S. policy is behind other nations in encouraging businesses to make change. For example, since as early as 2012, the European Union has been championing legislation that mandates registered companies meet a quota of 40% women for non-executive positions on company boards. Eighteen countries have adopted some form of this legislation.

In the United States, women face a constant uphill legislative battle for not only representation, but protection as well.

We are living in a time of great politicization, particularly the politicization of health care, and the question of what really constitutes bodily freedom is hotly debated. And while people contest newer issues like mask mandates and vaccine recommendations, we are also relitigating matters that were once considered settled law. If Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health overturns Roe v. Wade, women will lose access to critical health care services that have been federally protected for nearly 50 years. After all, how can a facemask cause a greater amount of vitriol than a massive loss of reproductive freedom?

In moments like these, where hypocrisy is loud and empathy feels distant, the fight toward gender equality seems insurmountable. It’s exhausting to work to knock down barriers for them only to be constantly reassembled around you.

As leaders, we must not delude ourselves into thinking that women aren’t still having to fight for every bit of progress or that we are anywhere near achieving gender equality—and these fights are even harder for women of color, women with disabilities, queer women and every other intersectional identity. We must take care to lift up all women and ensure that our successes are inclusive in order to equitably and meaningfully create progress. The fight for true gender equality is nowhere near over and it falls to each one of us to continue to construct environments that catalyze progress. Let’s use this International Women’s Day to rededicate ourselves to keep moving forward.

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HOW RUSSIA WENT FROM PIONEER TO LAGGARD IN GENDER EQUALITY

BY JORDAN ANDERSON

Photo by Giacomo Ferroni via Unsplash.

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very year on March 8th, people everywhere celebrate International Women’s Day (IWD). The occasion is observed by countries across the world, universally celebrating women’s achievements in society. Yet the meaning of “achievement” varies from country to county, and the origins of the holiday are even more fascinating.

The Fascinating Origins of IWD International Women’s Day has radical roots in the socialist movements of the early 20th century. Women’s rights activism proliferated in the early 1900s, and women’s march in 1908 for better working conditions spurred the Socialist Party of America to declare February 28th; the first National Women’s Day in America.

Two years later, the International Conference of Working Women unanimously approved a proposal for an annual International Women’s Day. The inception of the holiday was motivated in part by a desire for better pay and shorter hours in the factories and under the smoke stacks, firmly rooting the history of the celebration in America’s early socialist organizations.

Soon enough, International Women’s Day took on a revolutionary tone at the forefront of the Russian Revolution. Russia adopted the holiday in 1913 and on the very day four years later, women gathered in the streets to protest the resulting mass deaths and food shortages of the first World War. The protests sparked a wave of workers’ strikes across the country in the subsequent weeks. By the end of the year, women had gained the right to vote across the nation — making Russia the first country where women had this right.

Currently, 27 countries across the world have recognized IWD as a national holiday. Most of these are former republics of the Soviet Union, reflecting the socialist origins of the holiday. The holiday is widely celebrated in these countries, which until recently was not the case in the West. Although the idea for IWD originated in the United States, the day was not as well known as it was, and continues to be, in the former Soviet Union. This is likely because of IWD’s association with the USSR during the Cold War, inhibiting any real recognition of the holiday for the years to come. It was only in 1975, when the United Nations declared an International Women’s Day on March 8th, that the holiday gained more popular traction in the West and elsewhere.

Differing Takes on IWD Today Today, the holiday is a celebration of women’s rights and the obstacles they’ve overcome, as well as a reminder of what they still face. The U.S. Department of State issued a statement last DIPLOMATIC COURIER | 35

year recognized IWD, reaffirming America’s “commitment to women’s empowerment and gender equality at home and around the globe.” In the late 1980s, Congress declared the entire month of March as “Women’s History Month.” Each year since, the president has recognized women who have made significant achievements throughout American history in social, political, and academic fields.

Each year the United Nations announces a theme for the holiday. Their chosen theme for 2022 is “Gender equality today for a sustainable tomorrow.” With the statement, the message is clear: women have a critical role to play in combating climate change. Additionally, a social media campaign to push for gender equality is trending with the hashtag #BreakTheBias in the days leading up to IWD. By Western standards, International Women’s Day is a time to promote a world free of bias and gender discrimination. However, the meaning of the day still varies regionally.

In Russia today, International Women’s Day is similar to Mother’s Day or Valentine’s Day. Citizens celebrate women’s role in society, usually from more of a traditional point of view. As the years have passed, the holiday has lost much of its original political messaging in former Soviet states, becoming much more of a “card and flowers” day than one for protest and demands for equality. In 2019, President Vladimir Putin appeared on the state TV to wish his, “best greetings on International Women’s Day,” and stated that, “this spring day is always full of flowers and gifts, lit up with the joy of our women and your shining smiles.” In the address, Putin also celebrated women’s roles as mothers, with their ability to work and take care of their families. While IWD is clearly still recognized as an important day even by the Russian state, its meaning has clearly changed, being now more focused on celebrating traditional views on the roles of women in Russian society.

Many view Russia’s turn toward traditional values as a rejection of progressive Western values. Feminism is seen as a taboo subject among Russian citizens, where as it’s common place in Western vocabulary. Furthermore, Russia faces real issues around gender inequality — something which remains ignored by their National Women’s Day celebrations. In 2017, President Vladmir Putin abated the penalties for domestic violence disputes by decriminalizing cases where the victim was not seriously harmed. A move which angered many women’s rights activists and human rights organizations. As of 2021, only 15.8% of seats in the Russian parliament were held by women. Though, 36 | WOMEN’S HISTORY MONTH

despite the gender bias in the Kremlin, Russia is not completely free of an ongoing women’s rights movement.

In 2021, the SotsFem Alternative socialist feminist group and the Scoiatlist Alternative held a mass protest for equal rights in the days leading up the International Women’s Day. The strike was primarily university students, rallying to abolish Russia’s “repressive, sexist, and homoephobic laws.” Earlier that year, Russian women had rallied in the streets of Moscow and St. Petersburg to support other women who had fallen victims to police violence and prosecution. It’s clear that Russia’s modern day women’s movement is, above all, a chance to form a sense of solidarity and comradery between women.

In the end, though, there is a startling contrast between how the West celebrates International Women’s Day and how it is celebrated in the banner-holder for the former Soviet Republics.

Russia’s desire to push against Western values and promote an image of “masclune strength” has radically changed the holiday’s messaging. As the West continues to embrace the themes of gender equality and women’s rights, the more Russia will continue down the path of traditional gender roles.

As 2021 saw great strides in Women’s protests and political participation, 2022 might see a reversal. Putin’s invasion of Ukraine and much of the world’s quick response to cut ties with the country, have left many Russians in the hands of a repressive regime. One in which is seeking to slowly diminish any dissenting opinions. As International Women’s Day comes around, it is clear that many Russians will continue to celebrate the holiday as they have done so for years. Doing so, at the cost of women everywhere. And those that wish for it to be something more, beyond flowers and chocolates, maybe risking their lives for the simple belief in equal rights for men and women.

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CREATING A SEAT AT THE TABLE

BY DANIELLA FOSTER

Photo by Christina Wocintechchat via Unsplash.

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hirley Chisholm, the first African American woman elected to U.S. Congress, famously once said, “If they don’t give you a seat at the table, bring a folding chair.”

She uttered this phrase fifty years ago and it still rings true across the world today. Of course, advancements have been made since the 1970s, yet still only 8% of Fortune 500 companies are led by women and the global average of women holding board seats is just under 20%.

In recognition of International Women’s Day, I’ve evolved Shirley Chisholm’s wise advice as we advance to a post-pandemic world: Start counting the women “at the table.” I saw a surprising statistic—about 80% of companies are perceived to be just going through the motions of diversity, equity and inclusion (DE&I), but are not holding themselves accountable. One of the best ways to accelerate action is for companies to assess where they are starting from and then set meaningful goals— basically to think of DE&I like a business strategy. What gets measured, gets managed. Companies in the top quartile for gender diversity on executive teams have seen this strategy pay off: 21% were more likely to outperform on profitability and 27% more likely to have superior value creation.

Get a tablecloth ready since it will be messy. While setting measurable goals is important, the road to achieving them isn’t going to perfect. Gender diversity isn’t just about numbers, it’s about evolving a company’s culture to recognize and help mitigate unconscious bias, nurturing diversity of thought and embracing different learning and working styles. Progress is only going to happen if gaps are acknowledged and tackled head on. It’s ok to test and learn. Waiting for the perfect solution or roadmap will impede progress and when you are on this journey, employees want to see impact, even the small steps along the journey.

Virtual tables work well, too. COVID has brought a new sense of flexibility into the workplace model. Many organizations have moved towards hybrid ways of working (mix of in-office and remote work), less travel and more trust that their employees will get their work done no matter their location. This type of flexibility is particularly desirable for women in managing work and life. There is growing concern, though, that this model will be short-lived and won’t work as intended. Recent research shows that more than 70% of C-suite leaders thought remote/flexible employees may be overlooked for leadership DIPLOMATIC COURIER | 39

roles because they have less physical visibility than those working on site. If this happens, gender equality will also take a huge step backwards. Companies need to be intentional in building a post-pandemic culture in which physical presence is not rewarded. It will be important to set policies and practices to foster a flexible workplace, whether it is a visible shift of top management regularly working remotely, guidance for handling hybrid meetings (how should a zoom call work when some people are in the office and some aren’t) or updating performance review processes.

The people at the table can and will change. And organizations need to plan for that. A successful talent management plan must have a strong focus on DE&I. Organizations shouldn’t wait until a role needs to be backfilled to start figuring this out. Thought needs to be given to performance development and other retention strategies, pipeline planning, and succession preparations. Without conscious preparation, gender equality targets may be achieved, but certainly won’t be sustained, particularly at senior levels.

Look outside the window next to the table. While companies have the most control internally, consistency inside and outside your organization is crucial. Companies have the power to use their scale to make a difference outside just their employee base. This could come to life in a number of ways. It could mean seeking to work with likeminded organizations, such as suppliers and other partners. Or how you align your sustainability commitments.

The good news is that we are making progress. A silver lining of the pandemic is that more and more companies are taking gender equality seriously. As we move into the “next normal,” we need to move from recording metrics to taking action and holding each other accountable to create sustained change. ***** About the author: Daniella Foster is Global Vice President and Head of Public Affairs, Science and Sustainability for Bayer’s Consumer Health Division.

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