Why is women’s empowerment important for development?

24 Jul Why is women’s empowerment important for development?

Women must have a voice and vote in all areas so that they can participate on equal terms in dialogue and decision-making, to influence the decisions that will determine the future of their families and their country.

When we speak of empowerment we are referring to greater autonomy for women, their recognition, and the visibility of their contributions. The empowerment of women implies that they participate fully in all sectors and at all levels of economic activity to build strong economies, establish more stable and fair societies, achieve development, sustainability, and human rights goals and improve the quality of life of women. the families.

Women’s access to and control over economic and financial resources is decisive for achieving gender equality, empowering women, and for economic growth in our country.

The United Nations organization has pointed out that empirical data from various countries show that increasing the proportion of women’s controlled household income, from what they earn themselves or from money transfers, modifies spending patterns in ways that they benefit daughters and sons, and entire communities. Also, UN Women and the United Nations Global Compact published the Principles for the Empowerment of Women that offer the private sector some practices and policies on how to empower women in the workplace.

These principles consist of the following:

• Promote gender equality at the highest level of leadership;
• Treat men and women equally at work;
• Respect and defend human rights and non-discrimination;
• To watch over the health, safety, and well-being of workers;
• Promote education, training and professional development of women;
• Undertake business development, supply chain, and marketing practices for women’s empowerment; and
• Evaluate and disseminate the progress made in favor of gender equality.