{"id":2059,"date":"2022-12-08T00:21:05","date_gmt":"2022-12-08T00:21:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.futuraltourism.com\/?p=2059"},"modified":"2022-12-08T09:43:26","modified_gmt":"2022-12-08T09:43:26","slug":"the-pressing-need-to-attain-gender-equality","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.futuraltourism.com\/en\/the-pressing-need-to-attain-gender-equality\/","title":{"rendered":"The pressing need to attain gender equality and promote female entrepreneurship"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Blog post written by\u00a0Elsa Rodr\u00edguez<\/a> (founder & CEO)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this article, I deep dive into the Sustainable Development Goal #5 (SDG5). SDG5 aims at achieving gender equality and empowering all women and girls. Gender equality refers to all people having the same rights, resources and opportunities irrespective of their gender identity. However, today gender inequality persists everywhere and stagnates social progress. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Women continue to be underrepresented at all levels of political leadership. In 2019, women accounted for 39% of total employment, but 45% of global employment losses in 2020 according to the United Nations. In addition, only 57% of women (15-49 years old) are making their own informed decisions on sex and reproductive health care. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This SDG has 9 specific targets (sub-goals) that are related to: (i) ending all forms of discrimination, eliminating violence and harmful practices (\u200b\u200bchild, early and forced marriage and female genital mutilation), (ii) valuing unpaid care and domestic work, and (iii) ensuring equal opportunities for leadership and universal access to sexual and reproductive health, among others. It has been agreed on 14 specific indicators<\/a> to measure these targets. I strongly believe that only by empowering our women and fostering female entrepreneurship, we will be able to start closing the gender gap.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Networking activity for women entrepreneurs during The Break 2022 program that took place in Talleres Palermo, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. Photo credit: Lex Thoonen<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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\u201cNo country can ever truly flourish if it stifles the potential of its women and deprives itself of the contribution of half its citizens\u201d <\/p>\nMichelle obama<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

5 reasons to foster female entrepreneurship:<\/h2><\/div>\n\n\n\n
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  1. Women are powerful drivers of development.<\/strong> When there is gender equality, local economies will grow faster and overall well-being will increase, reducing poverty ratios. Some studies have highlighted that growing female employment to male levels can increase countries\u00b4 productivity up to 25% if discriminatory barriers against women are removed. It can also have a direct impact on raising GDP growth rates, by 34% in some countries. <\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n
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    1. Women are more likely to invest a large proportion of their household income in the well-being and education of their children. <\/strong>When women have control over their finances, they reinvest 90 percent of it into their families, compared to around 35% percent contributed by men. In addition, they improve industrial capacity and spur economic growth by creating new jobs, as well as expanding the talented labor force in a country. <\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n
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      1. Women tend to have a smaller ecological footprint<\/strong>. Their production and consumption patterns are often more resource-efficient, they are more likely to engage in behaviors that reduce harm to the environment and they make more sustainable decisions for their households and businesses.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n
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        1. Women entrepreneurs are the new engines for inclusive and sustainable industrial growth<\/strong>. They are the rising stars of economies in developing countries and their increased role in economic decision-making has positive effects on sustainable economic development. <\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n
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          1. Women support other women.<\/strong> In fact, they tend to create businesses that target women\u2019s needs. In recent years, women have been making great progress in the business field, reaching higher than ever before and the support of other female entrepreneurs is a great way to boost that growth even further. <\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n
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            African women entrepreneurs supporting each other Fotograf\u00eda de Christina para Wocinthetechchat<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

            How can we empower women entrepreneurs?<\/h2><\/div>\n\n\n\n

            There are several ways to foster female entrepreneurship. One of the most important ones is through education. In fact, mentorship programs, accelerators and specific training for women are growing rapidly throughout many countries. Another one is communities where women look out for other women and guide each other through the process of launching and running a business. Here are some examples of projects\/communities that are focused on empowering women: <\/p>\n\n\n\n