2008 News Business Skills for Women in Emerging MarketsDecember 2008 A new article by the New York Times reports on how corporations are increasingly recognizing their economic power in emerging markets. The article focuses on Forum member Goldman Sachs and their 10,000 Girls initiative to provide girls in emerging markets with a business education.  New UNIFEM Report on the Progress of the World's WomenDecember 2008 This new UNIFEM publication finds that much stronger accountabiity mechanisms are needed to track progress on gender equality and meet international commitments. The website includes interesting field stories, downloadable by country.  New Corporate Initiative on Supplier DiversityDecember 2008 WEConnect International is a new initiative that develops and monitors global standards for certifying women's business enterprises. The World Bank will host its first official international meeting on March 27, 2009 in Washington D.C. Among the corporations behind WEConnect are our Forum members Accenture and Cisco. AT&T, IBM, Intel, Manpower, Motorola, Pfizer and Wal-Mart are also key supporters. WEConnect International is currently conducting a Global Awareness Campaign on the importance of sourcing from women-owned and other historically underutilized businesses. The campaign targets countries where certification is not available, and is coordinated in partnership with several multilateral development organizations. WEConnect already has affiliate certification organizations in the US, UK and Canada. India and China offices will open in 2009.  African Businesswomen Furthering Entrepreneurship GloballyNovember 2008 Three of the women profiled in World Bank's Doing Business: Women in Africa report have become members of the World Entrepreneurship Forum, a think thank dedicated to entrepreneurs and their role in society.  Leveling the Playing Field for Women in Latin America and the CaribbeanOctober 2008 A Vital Voices summit brought together 200 leaders this October in Buenos Aires to strategize about supporting women's social and economic progress in the region. The World Bank Group Gender Action Plan sponsored the "Leveling the Playing Field " session on reducing obstacles to women's economic and social progress. Learn more > Watch Video Interviews with the ParticipantsAll files are Windows Media format. Click here to download the player >
 $20 Million Program for Girls in Poor Nations LaunchedOctober 2008 The World Bank, Nike Foundation and several European governments have launched the Adolescent Girls Initiative to teach job skills to young women in post-conflict countries. The goal is to improve their access to credit and employment in six countries in Africa and the Middle East.  New World Bank and OECD Research Finds Mixed Results on Gender EqualitySeptember 2008 A new report [PDF] finds that women's health and education have improved substantially in most countries, but progress is lagging on improving their economic opportunities, and investments of some US$13 billion a year are needed to achieve the overall goal of gender equality and women's empowerment. Learn more >  Global Entrepreneurship Week to Focus on Women's EntrepreneurshipAugust 2008 The Week, which will take place November 17-23, 2008, is designed to encourage young people across the world to explore their entrepreneurial potential and to unleash their ideas. To date 64 countries have officially signed to the Week and will be organizing activities. While Global Entrepreneurship Week generally focuses on anyone under 30, November 19th will be Women's Entrepreneurship Day and will highlight the events taking place that focus on women's entrepreneurship around the world. For more information and latest updates, visit the Week's website www.unleashingideas.org.  Commission on Growth and Development Takes Stock of Policies Underlying Economic GrowthAugust 2008 A new report by the World Bank's Commission on Growth and Development finds that fast sustained growth is attainable for developing countries with the "right mix of ingredients." The commission was set up in 2006 to examine policies that underlie sustained economic growth and is chaired by Michael Spence, a Nobel Laureate. It has also examined issues of Equity and Growth. |
