A publication of International Finance Corporation's Gender Program
First Quarter Edition, Global Newsletter: January 2008
Introduction
IFC's gender program welcomes you to its thirteenth quarterly newsletter designed to keep businesswomen in touch with key events, relevant research and, most importantly, each other! We provide brief descriptions of news, events, and online resources that will involve, inspire and inform you and others like you. Wherever possible and appropriate, we provide a link to further detail.
News from IFC's Gender Program and the World Bank Group
6th Annual Global Banking Alliance (GBA) for Women Summit Held in Uganda Held for the first time in an emerging market country, the summit brought together a coalition of 15 banks from around the world to share experiences and best practices in delivering financial services to women. This year's event focused on three key topics: moving beyond land equity to find innovative forms of collateral for women borrowers, graduating successful women entrepreneurs from microfinance to commercial banks and developing partnerships for secure and affordable remittance services. Read more...
IFC SmartLessons Gender Competition Announces Winner IFC received a number of insightful papers on gender and private sector development as part of its recent SmartLessons Gender competition. IFC's gender team and the Small and Medium Enterprise Department, which sponsored the competition, congratulate the winners — Hela Gharbi of the Center of Arab Women for Training and Research and Carmen Niethammer of the IFC — for their excellent paper on conducting surveys on women's entrepreneurship. To read all the papers, visit the Gender Program SmartLessons page.
Colloquium Focuses on Women in Mining Over 180 delegates attended the two-day "Women in Mining Colloquium" this November in Johannesburg, South Africa. Organized by the South African government, Wits University and major organizations in the minerals sector, the event featured IFC as a co-sponsor and two IFC clients as speakers from its gender programs with Newmont Ghana and Lonmin South Africa. For more information, contact Natalie Africa.
World Bank Launches New Book on Gender and Migration Even though women make up close to a half of the international migration population, there has been little literature on the subject. A new World Bank publication, The International Migration of Women, aims to close that gap by shedding new light on the links between gender, international migration, and economic development. Read more...
IFC Initiates Work on Gender Barriers in the Business Environment in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC)
As part of wider World Bank Group support to investment climate reforms in the DRC, IFC's gender program is helping the DRC government identify and act on legal and regulatory obstacles facing women in business." For more information, contact Mark Blackden.
Gender and Economic Growth in Tanzania: Creating Opportunities for Women Launched in Washington, DC This November IFC's gender program and World Bank's Infoshop organized a joint event on the occasion of a recent publication on gender issues in Tanzania. The book examines legal, regulatory, and administrative barriers that constrain women in business and makes the case for gender-informed business reform. Read more and download the book...
Rwandan President Wins African Gender Prize With Rwanda boasting the world's highest female representation in parliament, Rwandan President Paul Kagame was awarded this year's Africa Gender Award for promoting gender equality. The Award is given at the government level to recognize African leaders who have demonstrated uutstanding achievement in encouraging gender parity in politics. Bestowing the prize to Kagame at a ceremony in Dakar, Senegalese President Abdoulaye Wade described the Rwandan president as "the standard bearer for the cause of African women." Read more...
Fortune's 50 Most Powerful Women in Business This year's list includes 13 newcomers, and is topped again by Indra Nooyi, Chairperson and CEO of PepsiCo, under whose leadership PepsiCo's revenues ($35.1 billion), operating profits ($6.4 billion), and earnings per share ($3) all rose strongly. Read more...
All-Women Political Party Formed in India This fall, a group of women looking for an alternative to the male-dominated politics of India, started their own political party. The new party, United Women Front, is looking to boost women's participation in politics. Its first priority is to get 50 percent of elected parliamentary seats reserved for women. Read more...
2007 Catalyst Census Finds Women Gained Ground as Board Committee Chairs New research by Catalyst reveals flat growth in the number of women in senior leadership positions of Fortune 500 companies, but an increase in the percentages of women holding powerful board committee chair positions in 2007 compared to 2006. Read more...
UNIFEM Launches Internet Campaign to Eradicate Violence against Women
With the glittery support of Hollywood actress and UNIFEM Goodwill Ambassador Nicole Kidman, UNIFEM has embarked on a campaign to end violence against women. To add your name to the list, visit the Say No To Violence website...
""Prohibiting half of the population from economic, social or political activities would be short-sighted. Rwanda doesn't do it for women, but for itself."
– H. E. Paul Kagame, President of the Republic of Rwanda
Gaetane Austin, Founder and Director, Pure Fiji Starting small, in the kitchen of her home situated on the tropical island of Fiji, Gaetane Austin may not have imagined in 1996 how far the beauty concoctions she was experimenting with would take her. Today she is the owner of a widely successful and innovative business, Pure Fiji, which uses the country's natural resources to produce beauty products that are sold around the world and coveted by Hollywood celebrities. "In Fiji we have beautiful sugar and oil. You don't have to be a genius to figure out what ingredients work," says Gaetane about the formula for her success.
Though starting out was not easy and her business has faced obstacles particular to a small island nation such as dealing with customs, Pure Fiji's clients now include exclusive spas of the Four Seasons Hotel and the Mandarin Oriental. After featuring in the Emmy and Golden Globes gift baskets, the products have become a hit with Hollywood celebrities. Tom Cruise requested Pure Fiji gift packs for VIP gifts for the launch of his movie The Last Samurai.
Yet Pure Fiji is not all about glitter and publicity. About 75 percent of its 55 employees are women. And at the core of its operations is a commitment to supporting the communities the company works in and to protecting the environment. Raw materials used in its products, such as cold pressed coconut oil, natural papers, masi (bark cloth), coconut sinnet and woven baskets are all produced in Fijian villages. The income from the sale of these items has enabled communities to purchase water tanks, pay for school fees, and improve diet and health.
In addition to building a new state-of-the-art factory, Gaetane recently opened a spa in Suva, the capital of Fiji. The business has received numerous awards, including the 2003 Fijian Businesswoman of the Year Award, the Exporter of the Year Award, and the Excellence in Tourism Award. To find out more about Pure Fiji, visit its website: www.purefiji.com.
In each newsletter we spotlight either a women's business association that has developed an innovative idea, a process that promotes women's entrepreneurship, or an enterprising woman who has achieved success. If you have a success story to share, please email us with the details. We look forward to sharing your stories.
IFC is looking for women and men experienced in the field of private sector development and gender for future short-term assignments. If you have relevant experience and would like to be included in our database, please email us.