A publication of International Finance Corporation: Gender Entrepreneurship Markets
Fourth Quarter Edition, Global Newsletter: October 2006
Introduction
IFC GEM welcomes you to its eighth quarterly newsletter designed to keep businesswomen in touch with key events, relevant research and, most importantly, each other!
Lars Thunell Calls for More Support to Women Entrepreneurs during Women's Network Lunch IFC Executive Vice President Lars Thunell told participants at the September lunch of the IFC Women's Network, "The business case for integrating gender issues into our work is clear and compelling." Organized by Dorothy Berry, Vice-President, head of Human Resources and Administration, and attended by 70 World Bank Group staff, the event reviewed the progress of the GEM initiative in the 18 months since its inception. The Women's Network has been instrumental in initiating and supporting GEM since, and has been joined by a growing number of male champions, many of whom were also present at the lunch. "It is gratifying to see just how many men are not only supporting this work, but are also actively engaged in championing it with clients," said Dorothy Berry. Read more...
IFC Provides Management Training to Iraqi Women Entrepreneurs IFC GEM PEP MENA rolled out its successful "Women Get the Business Edge" training course to a group of Iraqi women entrepreneurs in August. Entitled "Successful Marketing and Pricing Strategies," the workshop provided participants with best practices in marketing and pricing, as well as with opportunities to develop business relationships and expand their access to markets. Read more...
Launch of the Business Unusual Training Manual in South Africa About 50 participants attended the roundtable discussion on Gender, Media and the Economy, hosted by GEM and three other partners this August in Pretoria, South Africa. Read more...
Uganda Gender Coalition Formally Launches Its Activities The Gender Coalition, formed following the launch of GEM's Gender and Economic Growth Assessment in Uganda, formally launched its activities this August in Kampala, Uganda in the presence of more than 160 women entrepreneurs, men, and other official delegates. Read more...
Evaluating Mothers' Work U.S.-based compensation experts at Salary.com calculated that stay-at-home mothers would earn $134,121 a year for their work, wages similar to that earned by "a top U.S. ad executive, a marketing director or a judge." Read more...
Domestic Violence Widespread in Afghanistan A new report from UNIFEM reports that violence against women in the post-Taliban regime remains high, and much of it continues to be unreporteddue to social stigma.Read more...
What Men Think They Know About Executive Women How do people in business feel about women in executive roles? A recent Harvard study finds that attitudes have improved, but not as much as men seem to think. Read more...
"Our national economy cannot grow if we do not mobilize, support, encourage and empower women. In every sector and in all possible ways women have shown to be strong, innovative, creative, caring for families, efficient and very capable of utilizing scarce resources."
- His Excellency the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Olusegun Obasanjo, at the signing of the IFC GEM/Access Bank Program (Abuja, Nigeria, June 9, 2006)
Dr. Mayada Baydas, Lebanese-American Businesswoman Dr. Mayada Baydas has an impressive track record of working to expand women's access to microfinance and raise the profile of women entrepreneurs in the Middle East. As the founding partner and managing director of the Development Innovations Group, a company that focuses on development finance, she is a successful businesswoman in her own right. Prior to founding this company, Mayada served as the Director and General Manager of AMEEN sal, the largest microfinance organization in Lebanon, where she pioneered partnerships between CHF International and three leading commercial banks. "It is a passion of mine to be involved in development finance," Mayada says. "I found this niche to make a significant contribution to people who don't have access to financial services."
Mayada currently plays an important role in the MBC show The Investor. The show features a competition between teams of aspiring entrepreneurs from across the Arab world, who vie to win up to $500,000 in seed financing to start up business ventures. Dr. Mayada was invited by the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a partner of the show, to serve as one of the show's three Business Edgeadvisors. Dr. Mayada notes that "Arab women's participation in the private sector is important. To this end, the show's executive producer, Ms. Salwa Soueid, and the women-dominated production team have been eager to encourage women participation in The Investor. In fact, the show enjoys a high viewership among women." The two women participants on the show were already able to benefit from the business competition experience and are now being seen as businesswomen role models in their respective countries. Mayada's list of accomplishments also includes a variety of publications, as well as a post as a Professional Researcher and Lecturer at the University of California, Davis.
Each Women in Business newsletter spotlights either a women's business association that has developed an innovative idea or process that promotes women's entrepreneurship, or an enterprising and inspiring woman who has achieved success. If you have a success story to share, please atemail us with the details. We look forward to sharing your stories.
IFC GEM 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.