With catchphrases like “smart economics” and “the business case for gender equality,” global corporations are increasingly involved in gender and development politics in the Global South. This book focuses on an emblematic example of this tendency to interrogate the proposed win-win relationship between corporate profit opportunities and the economic advancement of women in marginalized economic positions. The Coca-Cola Company’s 5by20 program has won broad recognition for its global reach and ambitious goal: to economically empower five million female micro-entrepreneurs across its supply chain before the end of 2020. Based on situated engagements with program implementers and participants in Mexico and South Africa, the study moves beyond the unequivocally positive effects conveyed by the program’s rhetoric. It examines the appropriation of social values to strengthen the brand; the use of self-help psychology to enhance entrepreneurial conduct and exempt weak economic results; and the recasting of women’s precarious labor in terms of entrepreneurship – which conceals structural causes of poverty and impediments of sustainable business development. Providing unique insights into the premises and effects of corporate solutions to gender inequality in the Global South, the book contributes to debates on the relations between neoliberal capitalist expansion and feminist emancipatory endeavors.

Winner of the 2020 Porchlight Business Book of the Year Award One of The Guardian's Best Books of 2020. Finalist for the 2020 Royal Science Society Book Prize and the 2020 Porchlight Business Book Awards. Longlisted for the 2020 Financial Times & McKinsey Business Book of the Year “Linda Scott shines a light on women’s essential and often invisible contributions to our global economy—while combining insight, analysis, and interdisciplinary data to make a compelling and actionable case for unleashing women’s economic power.” —Melinda Gates, author of The Moment of Lift: How Empowering Women Changes the World A leading thinker's groundbreaking examination of women's economic empowerment Linda Scott coined the phrase “Double X Economy” to address the systemic exclusion of women from the world financial order. In The Double X Economy, Scott argues on the strength of hard data and on-the-ground experience that removing those barriers to women’s success is a win for everyone, regardless of gender. Scott opens our eyes to the myriad economic injustices that constrain women throughout the world: fathers buying and selling daughters against their will; husbands burning brides whose dowries have been spent; men appropriating women’s earnings and widows’ land; banks discriminating against women applying for loans; corporations paying women less than men; men treating women as their intellectual inferiors due to primitive notions of female brain development; governments depriving women of affordable childcare; and so much more. As Scott takes us from the streets of Accra, where sex trafficking is widespread, to American business schools, where women are routinely patronized, the pervasiveness of the Double X Economy becomes glaringly obvious. But Scott believes that this rampant problem can be solved. She proposes concrete actions and urges her readers to rise up and join the global movement for women’s economic empowerment that is gaining momentum by the day.

The near-ubiquitous spread of ICT offers unprecedented opportunities for social and economic agents, reshapes social and economic structures and drives the emergence of socioeconomic networks. This book contributes to the growing body of literature and present state of knowledge, offering the reader broad evidence on how new information and communication technologies impact women's economic and social empowerment and hence have an impact on overall welfare creation. More specifically, it concentrates on demonstrating how ICT may become "empowering technologies" through their implementation. The book is designed to provide deep insight into the theoretical and empirical evidence on ICT as a significant driver of women`s social and economic development. Special focus is given to examining the following broad topics: channels of ICT impact on women's development; the role of ICT in enhancing women's active participation in formal labor markets; examples of how ICT encourages education, skills development, institutions development et alia, and thus contributes to women's social and economic empowerment, as well as case-based evidence on ICT's role in fostering women's equality. The primary audience for the book will be scholars and academic professionals from a wide variety of disciplines but mainly those who are concerned with addressing the issues of economic development and growth, social development, the role of technology progress in the context of broadly defined socioeconomic progress. Chapters 1 and 3 of this book are available for free in PDF format as Open Access from the individual product page at www.routledge.com. They have been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 4.0 license.

"Women Empowerment in business is an enlightening book authored by Ahmed Khan, which delves into the realms of women's empowerment in the business world. With a focus on promoting gender equality, leadership, and entrepreneurship, the book highlights the significant contributions of women entrepreneurs and their journey toward success. Ahmed Khan addresses the crucial issue of workplace equality, urging for diversity and inclusion to overcome the glass ceiling that impedes women's career advancement. The book explores the persistent challenges women face, including the gender pay gap and limited representation in management positions. It emphasizes the need for equal pay and encourages organizations to promote female leaders and foster a supportive environment for women in STEM fields, finance, technology, and beyond. Mentorship and professional development are key components discussed in the book, recognizing the significance of guidance and support for women in their pursuit of success. It emphasizes the importance of work-life balance and explores strategies for achieving it. Ahmed Khan sheds light on women-owned businesses and their impact on the economy, advocating for boardroom diversity and equal opportunities for women in executive positions. Through thought-provoking analysis, the book challenges gender biases prevalent in the workplace, shedding light on the experiences of women in various professional domains. It explores the obstacles faced by women in entrepreneurship and the corporate world, while also showcasing the remarkable achievements of women in small businesses and startups. Gender parity and the implementation of gender-responsive policies are key themes discussed in the book. Ahmed Khan advocates for women's rights and underscores the significance of women's economic empowerment. The book further explores the role of women in marketing, sales, and consulting, showcasing their expertise and achievements in these domains. Overall, "Women Empowerment: Breaking Barriers and Shattering Stereotypes" is a compelling literary work that emphasizes the need for a more inclusive and equitable society. It serves as a guide for individuals and organizations striving to create an environment where women can thrive, contribute, and excel in the business world, ultimately leading to a more prosperous and empowered future for all.

"What is women's empowerment, and how and why does it matter for women's health? Despite the rise of a human rights-based approach to women's health and increasing awareness of the synergies between women's health and empowerment, a lack of consensus remains as to how to measure empowerment and successfully intervene in ways that improve health. Women's Empowerment and Global Health provides thirteen detailed, multidisciplinary case studies from across the globe and through the course of a woman's life to show how science and advocacy can be creatively merged to enhance the agency and status of women. Accompanying short videos provide background about programs on the ground in India, the United States, Mexico, Nicaragua, Zimbabwe, and South Africa. Women's Empowerment and Global Health explores the promises and limits of programmatic, scientific, and rights-based work in real-world settings and provides the next generation of researchers and practitioners, as well as students in global and public health, sociology, anthropology, women's studies, law, business, and medicine, with cutting edge and inspirational examples of programs that point the way toward achieving women's equality and fulfilling the right to health."--Provided by publisher.

This book investigates the barriers to women’s economic empowerment in the Global South. Drawing on evidence from a wide range of countries, the book outlines important lessons and practical solutions for promoting gender equality. Despite global progress in closing gender gaps in education and health, women’s economic empowerment has lagged behind, with little evidence that economic growth promotes gender equality. International Development Research Centre’s (IDRC) Growth and Economic Opportunities for Women (GrOW) programme was set up to provide policy lessons, insights, and concrete solutions that could lead to advances in gender equality, particularly on the role of institutions and macroeconomic growth, barriers to labour market access for women, and the impact of women’s care responsibilities. This book showcases rigorous and multi-disciplinary research emerging from this ground-breaking programme, covering topics such as the school-to-work transition, child marriage, unpaid domestic work and childcare, labour market segregation, and the power of social and cultural norms that prevent women from fully participating in better paid sectors of the economy. With a range of rich case studies from Burkina Faso, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Ghana, India, Kenya, Nepal, Rwanda, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, and Uganda, this book is perfect for students, researchers, practitioners, and policymakers working on women’s economic empowerment and gender equality in the Global South.

In September 2014, the Global Forum on Innovation in Health Professional Education and the Forum on Public-Private Partnerships for Global Health and Safety of the Institute of Medicine convened a workshop on empowering women and strengthening health systems and services through investing in nursing and midwifery enterprise. Experts in women's empowerment, development, health systems' capacity building, social enterprise and finance, and nursing and midwifery explored the intersections between and among these domains. Innovative and promising models for more sustainable health care delivery that embed women's empowerment in their missions were examined. Participants also discussed uptake and scale; adaptation, translation, and replication; financing; and collaboration and partnership. Empowering Women and Strengthening Health Systems and Services Through Investing in Nursing and Midwifery Enterprise summarizes the presentations and discussion of the workshop. This report highlights examples and explores broad frameworks for existing and potential intersections of different sectors that could lead to better health and well-being of women around the world, and how lessons learned from these examples might be applied in the United States.