The Women's March on Jan 21, 2017, which immediately followed the inauguration of the latest President of the United States, Donald Trump, once again shows how we truly care about gender equality and other critical issues, which are happening in such an uncertain time in our history. While the demonstration aimed to protect legislation and policies regarding human rights and other issues related to the big picture, there are some other actions on the ground that can make a difference in achieving gender equality and empowerment for all women and girls - goal #5 of the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals - to transform our world. In a GIST meeting with Dr. Nisha Onta, Regional Coordinator for Asia & Knowledge Management Coordinator for WOCAN, we discussed our goals for women's empowerment in the 'big picture', but also mentioned that when it comes down to the ground, there is a need to be more specific on certain aspects: time, education, income, health, etc. This raised many thoughts about empowering women in entrepreneurship, small and medium business, and giving practical impact on the ground regarding short-term and long-term progress. Wandering around local markets, shopping centers or small-scale restaurants in Southeast Asia, in a dynamic atmosphere of densely populated cities, it is not so hard to recognize how many of the sellers or owners are women. Not being obligated to government or cooperation structures, women with private businesses have more flexible time and are more financially independent. The financial independence improves domestic women’s life significantly. Nancy Salamone, in her article “Domestic Violence and Financial Dependency” for Forbes indicated, according to the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, the significant proportion of women who are under domestic violence return to their circumstances due to their inability to deal with finances. Vice versa, with more financial independence for the women herself, domestic violence towards women can be reduced, at least for the returned number of domestic violence’s victims back into their damaged circumstances. The flexible time management improves a woman's position in domestic household roles, since the stereotypical roles of women in Southeast Asia for years is still embedded with the time for the homemaker or caregiver for children and elders. However, the advantage that women are responsible her children’s education with her time, and the mindsets of the youngsters in nuclear families about women’s roles is heavily depend upon on what have been taught and projected not only socially, but also domestically. Since a woman has an independent career and income with flexible time to call for their own, they can be a role model for their children. This advantage give women the opportunity to have more time, more power to break the gender stereotype, and to educate younger generation about gender equality and women equity for both sexes for the future. The benefits of independent income do not stop for the women only. Melinda Gates, a well-known philanthropist, in her notes, “The Small Animal That’s Making a Big Difference for Women in the Developing World”, mentioned the statistics in her line of work, when women control money, they are more likely than men to spend it on priorities that help fight poverty, like education, health, and nutrition. Also, “when a woman controls the family’s income, her children are 20 percent more likely to live past the age of 5”, is another example how independent income contributes significant benefits in the family's sustainability and the society as a whole. There are also many aspects to discuss of what limits women in the field from social structurer, policy makers, or religious viewers. However, with focus to empower women in small and private business with leadership capacity in their own fields, a sustainable improvement with viable and practical impacts. Thus, it is an applicable approach that can make difference for women lives in short-term, and contribute toward gender equality in a long-term progress.
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AuthorI am Thao Le, one of the GISTers of APLP G16. I am interested in female leadership in entrepreneurship and small business. Thank you for your time to stop by the online corner of my GIST journey. ArchivesCategories |