Tag: Empowering Women

How Can Women´s Expertise Be Of Value in Tackling Climate Change?

by Anne-Maria Yritys, posted in Change Leadership, climate action, climate leadership, Global Climate Change

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“UN Women. Through their experiences and traditional knowledge of many natural resources, women can offer valuable insights into better managing the climate and its risks.”

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As equally valuable human beings with equal human rights, girls and women make up around half of world population (the human sex ratio for women in 2013 was 49.6% of total world population according to Worldometers Population by Gender, Age, Fertility Rate, Immigration). If it was not for gendercide, including illegal and selected abortions, the number of females in certain countries would be higher. This has to end. Girls and women are equally important human beings as boys and men, and should be treated as such – without having to live in fear of being discriminated, harassed, or, assaulted because of gender inequality and discrimination.

According to UN Women, women are especially important when it comes to climate change and (natural) disasters thanks to their multitude of experience and skills in terms of risk management, including disaster preparedness and response. (UN Women APAC: Climate Action: Women hold the key).

Watch DW English Women in Bangladesh fight climate change / Global Ideas:

What are your thoughts regarding the empowerment of women and ending gender inequality? How can we tackle a) gender inequality b) empower women c) climate change with the help of women especially?

Connect with me on Twitter @annemariayritys. For climate/environment-related posts only @GCCThinkActTank. Subscribe to Leading With Passion to receive my latest posts.

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Empowering Women

by Anne-Maria Yritys, posted in Change Leadership, Empowering Leadership, Female Leadership

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Read more here:

Empowering Women

365 Days a Year Dedicated for Women Globally

International Women´s Day

by Anne-Maria Yritys, posted in Change Leadership, Empowering Women, Gender Equality, International Women´s Day, Universal Human Rights, Women´s Rights

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Read more/download presentation here:

INTERNATIONAL WOMEN´S DAY MARCH 8TH

365 Days a Year Dedicated for Women Globally

Release YOUR Inner Power

by Anne-Maria Yritys, posted in Empowering Women, Female Leadership, Personal Development

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Incredible change happens in your life when you decide to take control of what you do have power over instead of craving control over what you don’t. (Steve Maraboli)

Who is in charge of your life? Is it you, or is it someone else?

Take a piece of paper, a pencil, and spend some time drawing a sketch of your life in silence, without any external distractions. Or, go for a walk, do anything that allows you to reflect upon the way you lead your personal, and business life.

What are your circumstances? What is happening in your life? Who is part of your life? How do you spend your days? How do you spend your time? Who do you spend you time with? How do you treat yourself? How do you allow others to treat you, not only as a woman, or a businesswoman, but as an individual.

Are you living up to your true potential? Or do you let yourself become influenced by other people, their opinions, and e.g. news and media?

My mission in life is not merely to survive, but to thrive; and to do so with some passion, some compassion, some humor, and some style. (Maya Angelou)

Just think about it. We are constantly being influenced by people, news, and media. In these days of the digital era, many of us are constantly online, networking on social media. Do you control your online presence, or are you being swept away by external disruptions?

Are you on the right track in life, or controlled by external circumstances?

So many questions! And who has the answers?

Only YOU have the correct answers for your life. No one else. Not your family, your friends, your coworkers, your boss, the government, the news and media. No, no, no, do not let everyone else dictate what is right for you, what choices you should be making regarding your present life, or your future.

You are the one who is in charge of your life destiny.

You are not here just to please others.

You are here to fulfill your life´s purpose, and to bring peace into the world. To travel the best possible road of your life, to develop yourself and your surrounding by being a wonderful example to other people.

Keep this in mind, every single day of your life. Do not let people and news/media surrounding you let you down. Instead, focus on positive energies, in yourself and in others.

Walk with the dreamers, the believers, the courageous, the cheerful, the planners, the doers, the successful people with their heads in the clouds and their feet on the ground. Let their spirit ignite a fire within you to leave this world better than when you found it. (W. Peterson)

Be a Leader: How To Be A Powerful Woman on YouTube:

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Thank you for being in charge of, and taking charge of, your life. Allow yourself to release the power within you.

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Thank you also for reading and commenting this article. Thank you also for liking and sharing, especially if this post provided you with valuable content and information.

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How Can Women Be Empowered and Gender Gaps in Economies and Societies Be Narrowed Down?

by Anne-Maria Yritys, posted in Change Management, Female Leadership, Global Economics

Majority of poor people worldwide are women. The reasons for this are manifold, with large regional differences, starting with a global illiteracy rate of 17 %. Two thirds of all illiterates are women, which makes gender equality even more difficult to achieve. 37 % of all 775 million illiterates worldwide are Indian, followed by China, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Egypt, Brazil, Indonesia, and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Three regions predominate in illiteracy rates: South Asia, West Asia, and Sub-Saharan Africa. 

In addition to the illiteracy problem, women continue to face many barriers in entering labor markets, holding not only women back, but also being an obstacle for economic growth and development in countries with large gender gaps.

Worldwide, between 2002 and 2007, women’s employment-to-population ratio remained constant at about 49 %, compared to about 73 % for men. On a global level, differences are large, with regional narrowings in the Developed Economies and European Union, Latin America, Caribbean, and in the Middle East. Only Central and Eastern Europe, and East Asia increased their gender gaps in employment.  

Furthermore, a lack of knowledge, together with deeply rooted cultural traditions and expectations as well as a complexity of the labor market, are general reasons for gender inequality – affecting and hindering women from having equal access to the labor market. 

Whereas conventional economic analysis is a comprehension of economic actors in mainstream economics, it excludes much of unpaid work, and sees people simply as labor inputs to production processes. Even in developed countries, most unwaged (home)work is still done by women – more than 60 BILLION hours per year including childcare, and women providing 59 % of unpaid services. In general, women ́s home work is ignored, classically “feminine” jobs are poorly paid, and of low status. 

A number of local and global organizations, either independently or/and in co-operation with the private and public sectors, are driving changes in order to improve women’s lives worldwide, and to narrow down gender gaps, including UN Women as perhaps the most widely known.

Gender equality is more than a matter of social justice – it is a fundamental human right, making good economic sense. Women having equal access to education, and women participating fully in business and economic decision-making, are a key driving force against poverty. Women with equal rights are better educated, healthier, and have greater access to land, work, and financial resources. The enhancement of women ́s control over decision-making in households, gender equality also leads to better prospects and greater well-being of children, reducing poverty of future generations. (UNDP. Gender and Poverty Reduction. 23.10.2014).

Women need to drive these changes, but equally, strong support from men is relevant, including an understanding of why gender equality is so important for humanity in the first place. 

Sources (quoted 23.10.2014): 

Coe, N., Kelly, P., Yeung, H.W.C. Economic Geography: A Contemporary Introduction. 2007.

Elborgh-Woytek, K. & al. IMF Staff Discussion Note. Women, Work, and the Economy: Macroeconomic Gains from Gender Equity. September 2013.

ILO. Global Employment Trends for Women. 2012.

Mapsofworld.com. World Illiteracy Map.

UNDP. Gender and Poverty Reduction.

Unesco. Statistics on Literacy. 

UNFPA. State of World Population 2002. Poverty and Gender. 

UNWOMEN.ORG. Economic Empowerment. 

world.time.com. 29.1.2014. 37 % of All the Illiterate Adults in the World Are Indian. 

 

 

 

 

UN Millennium Development Goals: III. Promoting Gender Equality and Empowering Women

by Anne-Maria Yritys, posted in Business Ethics, Change Management, Female Leadership, Thought Leadership, UN Millenium Development Goals

The third UN MDG (Millennium Development Goal) is concerned with promoting gender equality and empowering women. As sad as it sounds, on both global and national levels, we are far from having reached this goal. On the current agenda, however, the empowerment of women around the world is in a key position.

The goal, in general, means:

-Improving girl ́s participation in education around the world

-Increasing the amount of women in work life

-Increasing the amount of women in parliaments

Currently, two-thirds of all illiterates globally are girls or women. Child mortality numbers are highest in countries where girl ́s educational levels are at their lowest.

  • The human rights declaration guarantees equal rights for both women and men.
  • Gender differences in primary schooling have narrowed down, however, gender equality at all educational levels worldwide has still not been reached.
  • Women account, on a global level, for about 40 % of all workforce involved in other than agricultural work.
  • The major part of unpaid household work, worldwide (even in developed countries), is taken care of by women.
  • 70 % of all poor worldwide are women.
  • Only 1 % of all wealth worldwide is currently in the hands of women.
  • Under 20 % of all leading positions worldwide are held by women.
  • The number of women in parliament is about 20 % worldwide => large regional differences.
  • At whole, the situation is at its worst in Southern and Western Asia and in Africa.

(Source: UNA of Finland. Printed material. 2014).

In order to accelerate the promotion of gender equality worldwide and the empowerment of women everywhere, the UN General Assembly created UN Women in 2010. UN Women comprises:

– Division for the Advancement of Women (DAW)

– International Research and Training Institute for the Advancement of Women (INSTRAW)

– Office of the Special Adviser on Gender Issues and Advancement of Women (OSAGI)

– United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM)

and its main roles are:

– Supporting inter-governmental bodies

– Helping member states in the implementation of these standards

– Holding the UN system accountable for its own commitments

Despite of the hard work and the progress in improving the lives of women worldwide, there is still a huge amount of work ahead in helping women all over the world e.g. in getting access to decent work and in abolishing violence and discrimination.

(UN Women. Quoted 7.5.2014).

According to Helsingin Sanomat (25.10.2013) and the World Economic Forum (Quoted 7.5.2014), the world’s most equal countries (top 10) are currently:

  1. Iceland
  2. Finland
  3. Norway
  4. Sweden
  5. Philippines
  6. Ireland
  7. New Zealand
  8. Denmark
  9. Switzerland
  10. Nicaragua

(World Economic Forum. The Global Gender Gap Report 2013. Quoted 7.5.2014).

According to the WEF Global Gender Gap Report 2013, progress in gender equality has been made in 80 % of the 136 countries researched. The top most equal countries are, however, still 20 % behind from full gender equality. Indicators include: participation in politics, economic equality, rights to participate in education and access to healthcare. Progress in equality was not made in the Middle-East and North Africa: especially in Yemen the situation for women, according to the WEF, is bad. (Helsingin Sanomat 25.10.2013. Quoted 7.5.2014).

Global Finland, the platform for development communication of the Foreign Ministry of Finland, indicates that development does not take place without gender equality. Women are needed throughout societies in order to operate with full efficiency. Educating and employing women enhances the welfare of families and accelerate the growth of prosperous societies. Scary enough, more women between the ages 15-44 get killed and become disabled by violence than by cancer, malaria, traffic accidents and wars together. 80 % of all human trafficking victims are women, and they usually end up becoming sex slaves or prostitutes. (Global Finland. Quoted 7.5.2014).

There are enormous problems, sometimes deeply rooted in cultural behavior, that still need to be solved before the world is fully equal for both sexes. Luckily, the UN, many other organizations and people work hard to enhance gender equality.

  • Can you think of ways to improve conditions on a regional and national level?
  • What actions can you take to make sure that this basic human right of gender equality is fulfilled?

WHEN EACH ONE OF US (BOTH MEN AND WOMEN) COMMITS TO TAKING THE NECESSARY ACTIONS TOWARDS REACHING GENDER EQUALITY, WE WILL REACH THE GOAL.