Why WISE ?
- Women make up three quarters of the world's poor, yet they perform more than half of all economic activity in developing countries.
- Women also make up the majority of micro-entrepreneurs engaged in the informal sector, where income and wages often fall below poverty levels.
- Women not only lack cash income, they also lack access to healthcare, education and other services. These constraints affect all poor people, but women and girls suffer from them more for a range of social and cultural reasons.
- All major donor agencies include policies to promote gender equity and women's economic empowerment. Most now make it a requirement for financial aid.
- Members of WISE believe that for women's economic empowerment to become a reality, women's interests must be at the heart of proposals, and taken into account from the start to finish.
Related Links:
UNDP Millenium Development Goals
© Anne S. Walker - International Women's Tribune Centre
