Business Women’s Summit opens in October

Article: Salome Donkor
THE United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM), in its 2008 report on Progress of the World’s Women, says that gender bias has meant that “women have been more concentrated than men in informal, subsistence and ‘vulnerable’ employment”. According to the report, ‘vulnerable’ employment referred to self-employment and jobs without salaries in family-owned businesses.
Global reports indicate that women constitute more than half of the world’s population. However, the fact remains that advances have been limited in the economic realm and for poor women in particular, as a result of disadvantanges that are often entrenched in social institutions, economic policies and development strategies that have not adequately recognised the important role of women in economic development and poverty reduction, and as important agents of change.
According to the International labour Organisation (ILO) fewer than 1 in 5 working women in sub-Saharan Africa received regular wages or salaries, compared to a third of employed African men and almost 93 per cent of women in the developed countries.
Looking ahead to 2015 and beyond, the United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon observes that although it is possible to achieve the overarching goal of ending poverty by 2015, “it requires an unswerving, collective, long-term effort."
In this respect, greater global co-operation is required to resolve the current challenges confronting women, to enable them play their respective roles towards the attainment of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) that relate to providing basic human rights to each person on the planet to, namely health, education, shelter, and security.
Concerned with how women, particularly Ghanaian women, can contribute to redesigning global systems and practises in the quest to create a better world, the Eagle Women Empowerment Club (EWEC), in collaboration with the African Business Women’s Network, is organising an international business women’s summit from October 21 - 22 at the National Theatre, in Accra.
The summit is being facilitated by Vital Voices, Exxon Mobil and Fortune 500 Companies, “Synchronising Global Business – A new orientation for the African woman”. Advocacy will also be around high interest rates in many African countries- a major threat to SMEs.
Participants include leading Fortune 500 women, representation from the World Economic Forum, government representatives, business women and women leaders in organisations from Nigeria, South Africa, Kenya, Uganda, Cameroon, Liberia, and other African countries.
Launched in 2008 as a networking platform for women, EWEC is the local chapter of the Africa Businesswomen’s Network (ABWN), an association of businesswomen’s organisation throughout Africa. ABWN is powered by Vital Voices, Exxon Mobil and supported by Fortune 500.
The goal of the club is to build a network of businesswomen’s organisation in Africa in order to expand the number of women suceeding as entrepreneurs and leaders in the corporate world; to raise the profile and credibility of women in business; to foster global networking opportunities among businesswomen; and to advocate policies that expand economic opportunities for women.
The President of EWEC, Ms Juliet Asante said the number of women performing roles as bread winners continued to increase every year, adding that research shows that women-led companies survived better than alternatives.
She said the back bone of every economy is its SMEs, and especially, in Africa, the majority of SMEs were owned or run by women and as a result, woman obviously had the main responsibility of the home.
She pointed out that it was obvious that any developing country that was serious about closing the poverty gap, cannot continue to ignore the real threat of disempowering such a powerful part of its society and economy, stressing that it is a fact that the world cannot continue to ignore the importance of including women in the decision-making process at all levels.
She said the summit would explore the unique contributions that women could make towards achieving a better world culture. The focus will be the awakening of the woman to see the current world situation as an opportunity to fine-tune and emerge from the world crisis as better business people, through best practices and advocacy aimed at ensuring a better future for all peoples.
She said during the summit, participants will dialogue with Fortune 500 women, through panel discussions and Workshops.
Another important part of the summit will also be a discussion on the Global Re-design Project put forward by the World Economic Forum, and how women can add their voices to the ongoing dialogue.
Some key presentations will be on: branding/ visionary leadership/ the questions of succession/ women transcending cultural limitations/ entering new markets/ corporate social responsibility, etc. all of which is aimed at better positioning the Woman leader to fearlessly improve her environment for the betterment of society.