In this video, the Executive Director of the Palestinian Business Women Forum (BWF), Doa Wadi, highlights the journey BWF has taken, as well as challenges and lessons learned along the way as BWF positions itself as the voice of women entrepreneurs throughout the West Bank. Using the results of a survey of Palestinian businesswomen administered last Fall, with CIPE’s support the (BWF) is conducting regular public-private dialogues and advocating for issues that matter most for women entrepreneurs in the West Bank.

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We at Media Women Forum are excited that three radio programs about women’s issues are going to be broadcast in Yemen. For the first time in the history of Yemeni media, an independent NGO is able to address people through all Yemeni radios.

Media Women Forum (MWF) signed a memorandum of cooperation with the Yemen General Corporation for TV and Radio on 12th April 2010. In accordance with the memo, Modern Yemen (MY), MWF Radio Production Unit will broadcast its programs through all radio stations. The memo was signed by Mrs. Rahma Hugaira, president of MWF, and Mr. Abdullah alZalab, the head of TRC, and Mr Ali Ala’atab, general manager of coordinating and exchange programs at Sana’a Radio Station.

Continue reading ‘New Radio Programs from Media Women Forum, Yemen’ »

Maghrebi women have come a long way in terms of pushing for political, social and economic reform, integrating their participation in decision-making, creating enterprises, and making investments. However, they still have a long way to go in terms of maximizing their contributions to the private sector and using entrepreneurship as a means to overcome cultural and social barriers among women.

Entrepreneurial women in the Maghreb still represent a small proportion of the total population, and are divided over cultural, socioeconomic, and even linguistic lines. Whether it is an illiterate woman running a small home-based sewing business or a female fashion designer who graduated from France’s L’École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts (National Advanced School of Fine Arts), Maghrebi women are united despite such divisions by the goal to contribute to their own households and their country, and to use business opportunities to improve their own situation and build a better future for the region…

Read the full article about women in the Maghreb and their role in the private sector.

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The Center for International Private Enterprise (CIPE) invites young people to share their ideas on how to create opportunities for youth to strengthen democracy and the private sector in their countries. Students and young professionals aged 18-30 are welcome to participate by writing an essay on one of the three topics: Democracy that delivers, Entrepreneurship and society, or Women and participation. Winning articles will be published by CIPE and receive a $1,000 honorarium.

Please visit the 2010 International Youth Essay Contest website at www.cipe.org/essay for further information and details about the contest.

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Business Women Forum’s (BWF) long-term vision is that the role of businesswomen as leaders will be well recognized in Palestinian society and reflected in legislation, regulations, and financial markets. BWF seeks to empower businesswomen to play an equal role and contribute to their full potential within a democratic Palestinian community and a vibrant, growing economy through leadership training, policy advocacy, and networking.

In order to gain a better understanding of the current status of businesswomen in the West Bank and how businesswomen perceive and experience the business environment, Riyada Consulting and Training has undertaken a comprehensive, quantitative and qualitative survey with a large sample of women business owners. The survey included women owning registered and unregistered businesses, as well as executive women in senior management and/or decision-making positions. The survey explored the women’s perception of the current business environment, their priorities and needs, and their interest in respect to business association membership.

Continue reading ‘Survey on Current Status of Businesswomen in the West Bank and Their Business Environment’ »

As we celebrate International Women’s Day, I am thinking of one of our earlier advocates for women’s rights here in the U.S. Susan B. Anthony was a suffragette in the days when that word carried a lot of opprobrium, but she stood fast for her principles and improved life for us all. Today is a different world and there is a lot more information and support available for women seeking to make a difference.

Where can women in your country access such information and support? Is there data available? Who is at the vanguard of representing women’s political enfranchisement and economic empowerment?

I’m interested in knowing more about the resources out there!

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“Few companies make social investments specifically aimed at empowering women in developing economies, but we believe that supporting this goal is good business and good practice for all companies. In the course of our work, we’ve uncovered a startlingly wide range of ways in which private-sector companies can offer sizable economic benefits not only to women and their societies but also to the companies themselves. The benefits to businesses come from enlarging their markets, improving the quality or size of their current and potential workforce (for instance, by attracting talent globally), and maintaining or improving their reputations…”

Read more about how helping women helps business and share some of your own experiences here.

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The Al Joudeh Group for Studies kindly requests your participation in a Forum on women’s economic entrepreneurship. The Forum will be held from April 26 -28, 2010 at the Hotel Sham in the city of Damascus, Syria.

Objectives of the Forum:
1- to integrate young graduates with the business community.
2 -to encourage the establishment of pilot projects with a development dimension.
3 -to emphasize the importance of decent work in the social and economic development.
4 -to honor the work of pioneers and women with outstanding performance from inside and outside Syria in 2010.
5 -to hear of experiences and network among the members of the Forum.
6 -to activate the role of unions, organizations, and NGOs in the development of skills for women and youth in the labor market.

Discussion Topics:
1- the positive role of the media to stimulate the pioneering work of women.
2 -the first steps for small and micro enterprises in the context of microfinance.
3 -the role of government and private agencies in the work of recent graduates.
4 -the role of industrial cities in the establishment of business incubators.
Continue reading ‘Women’s Forum IV in Business Administration’ »

10,000 Women, Goldman Sachs, The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, and The American University in Cairo are sponsoring this program to achieve the following goals:

• Increase the business and leadership skills of women entrepreneurs;
• Assist women through a theory-based and practical approach to learning;
• Improve the understanding and perception of women’s role in building entrepreneurial ventures and creating societal wealth;
• Teach women entrepreneurs how to use and access resources;
• Provide skills on how to build sustainable networks of support;
• Transform women entrepreneurs into mentors who will pass the learning on to others, and;
• Build a community of women and men who promote and support entrepreneurial activities.

Continue reading ‘Women’s Entrepreneurship and Leadership Program for the Arab Region, in Cairo’ »