Empowering women is the key to economic growth, social mobility, societal transformation, and political stability.
President Obama argued that nations are safe, secure, and prosperous when women succeed.
And the best measure of success in national development is no longer just economics. The empowerment of women is one of the best measures of a nation’s success.
However, world governments cannot protect women with promises of empowerment alone. Action is what is needed.
And central to this is a deep political commitment and the will to change and the will to make a change.
Such political will must be beyond a statement of principled support. It must be a solid commitment that is evident in behavior, practice, and performance whether in the public or private sector.
Essentially world governments must mainstream women’s empowerment and participation in the design, development, formulation, and evaluation of its policies irrespective of whether it is led by governments or the private sector.
It is time that Governments across the globe, recognised the value of harnessing the full contribution and participation of women in their national development agendas.
Bait Al-Amanah is proud to be the research partner for “RISE: Future Female Leaders”, a virtual conference targeted to ignite, inspire and invigorate young women to rise to their fullest potential, step into leadership roles, and be the change they wish to see.
RISE virtual conference happening on the 13th March, organised by Girls For Girls and My Prodigy Global in a strategic collaboration, will provide a platform for Malaysian and International speakers to deliberate issues confronting women empowerment globally.
Perhaps the most important outcome expected from this conference is a new construct of what we mean by empowerment.
A construct that could provide that shift from seeing women and girls as beneficiaries of development or government intervention programs to viewing them as agents of change for their own individual and collective empowerment.
Overcoming gender inequality is never easy. However, if we succeed, we will all benefit exponentially. Across the globe, the key challenge to every government is managing and overcoming those gender inequalities.
Thus having a clear and holistic understanding of empowerment is necessary for removing the barriers that hinder women and girls from thriving and to unlocking the potential of half the world.
As a start, let’s collectively push for equal representation of women in leadership positions in every sphere of government, business corporations, universities or even regional and international organisations. This is not just a targeted measure but instead, this is a new paradigm based on human rights imperatives of social and economic importance.
Register for RISE: Future Female Leaders Forum here
Comments