A new initiative launched by the Enhanced Integrated Framework (EIF) will seek to boost the economic empowerment of women in least developed countries (LDCs) by helping them overcome barriers to business.
The “Empower Women, Power Trade” initiative was formally unveiled on 23 March at the Women 20 (W20) meeting in Tokyo.
Women face numerous barriers to business that include access to finance, discriminatory laws and social norms that restrict mobility, the EIF noted.
In LDCs, these limitations can be magnified – and directly addressing them can have an outsized impact on livelihoods and economies.
The US$10million four-year initiative will work in partnership with LDC governments where the EIF has a mandate.
Focusing on both the policy and practice sides of trade development and drawing from the EIF’s decade of experience with both, the initiative will be based on a holistic approach to women’s economic empowerment that is designed to make the most impact.
“Empower Women, Power Trade” aims at shaping policy and bringing women into decision-making bodies as active and equal participants, in line with the W20’s policy proposals on equity and governance.
W20 is an official engagement group that proposes policy recommendations related to women for the Group of 20 (G20) leading economies.