Want To Change The World? Then Empower Women Entrepreneurs
Ask Wendy Diamond why the world needs Women’s Entrepreneurship Day and you’ll hear about the powerful ripple effect when women run their own businesses.
“Supporting women entrepreneurs is about changing the mindset of women and girls around the world,’ says Diamond, the founder of Animal Fair media, author, and TV reality star, and the force behind Women’s Entrepreneurship Day, November 19th, at the United Nations.
“It is about more than entrepreneurship, even business, as empowering a woman in business means that she will gain financial stability and help address poverty,” says Diamond. “It will help her gain confidence, as a woman who runs a company might be less likely to allow men to make decisions for her.”
WED is a day to discuss issues affecting women across the globe, as well as to celebrate women entrepreneurs. Among the entrepreneurs, global business leaders and entertainers participating are
Leona Lewis
singer/songwriter Leona Lewis, Craig Newmark, founder of craigslist, Leslie Blodgett, creator of bare Minerals, Andrea Jung, President and CEO of Grameen America, and Sen. Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire.
To continue the momentum, the group’s dubbed December 2, Women on Wednesday, #WomenWOW, and hope to encourage people to invest in and shop at women-owned businesses on that day, much along the lines of Giving Tuesday and Small Business Saturday. “Everyone knows a woman in their community who has a business, whether it’s a bakery or a tech company,” she says. “It’s easy to support them.”
Diamond hit on the idea for WED after volunteering with the Adelante Foundation, a microlender, while in Honduras. “The women using the microcredit loans felt so empowered and happy,” she says. She also learned that about 96% of the women repaid their loans, compared to about 30% of the men.
And as women are more likely to spend their money to support their families–on food, shelter, and education–
women-led companies can help alleviate poverty across the globe. “We know that women around the world are underpaid, underfunded, and underrepresented in so many ways,” says Diamond. “With all that is happening in the world, especially in countries where women are oppressed, we need to support women and increase opportunities for them if we want the world to be a better place.”
Diamond applied some of the strategies she’d used to advocate for animals and run Animal Fair to this new cause, such as giving WED a pop culture buzz, enlisting celebrities, and activating her widespread network. Working with the U.N. was a natural fit, as she’d developed contacts there while working for endangered species, and because empowering women is a global issue.
More than 140 countries are participating, with WED Global Ambassadors in Australia, Ghana, Kenya, Norway,
Sen. Jeanne Shaheen
Peru, Saudi Arabia, and Singapore. “We have women meeting up in Syria,” she says. “In each country they are creating an event to bring women, and men, together to raise awareness and support for women entrepreneurs.” Student ambassadors are participating at more than 100 colleges and universities, and corporate supporters include Intuit, MasterCard, Kirkland & Ellis and PwC.
“I’ve been an entrepreneur my whole life, and I know the importance of women supporting women,” she says. ”What drives me is knowing that I may be able to do something that can make a dent, and make a difference for women.”
Culled from Forbes
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