Welcome to the first edition of World Women Report, the new quarterly publication from Women Investing in Women dedicated to bringing you in-depth stories about women around the world as they break down barriers, invest, and transform the world in ways big and small.
We aim to educate, inspire, support, and learn from one another as we foster an ongoing conversation about women’s economic empowerment. We care about funding women around the world, and helping women use their power, talent, and funds to help one another.
We have a long way to go, but while reporting the stories in our inaugural issue I was heartened by how far women have come.
New steps are taken daily in the movement to support and empower women. Our feature story looks at the NAMA Women Advancement Establishment as they team with UN Women to explore how to promote women’s economic participation in Sharjah, the United Arab Emirates, and around the world.
One thing I noticed again and again in the words, actions, press releases, mission statements and more from the businesses, partners, organizations, and amazing women I got to know was that they don’t try to “hoard” benef
its or equality. The more that women have, the more they invest in others. Sheikha Sheikha Al-Thani, a princess and and young activist fighting for poor children, declares that she will fight to protect any child “regardless of nationality, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, or beliefs,” and realizes that while we share a common humanity, many people will face challenges she never will. Mimi Women, a company dedicated to helping young women in South Africa stay in school during their periods, nevertheless invited women everywhere, of every kind, “period or no period,” to celebrate womanhood. Equality means all people, and that’s what these women fight for. Whatever the topic, we’re realizing that when everyone wins, everyone wins. Representation is not a zero-sum game.
This doesn’t mean everyone already enjoys equal opportunities. We must fight for equality. And in order to fight, we must learn more about how women fare throughout the world and across industries.
In our feature about the Mara Foundation, the organization shares its Global Entrepreneurship Index, a tool that highlights success as well as areas for growth in the entrepreneurial ecosystem of Africa. FEM Inc., a media technology company, shares the latest research on sexism in digital advertising. And Equileap’s Gender Equality Global Report and Ranking looks at thousands of companies across more than a dozen industries to present data integral to the discussion of diversity and inclusion.
If we’re going to fight for equality, we also need to amplify women’s voices and celebrate their achievements. A survey recently put out by Springboard Enterprises shows that women entrepreneurs have what it takes to lead—and come out on top. And our article on She Loves Tech looks at the initiative’s inaugural competition and the women technology founders who took home the top prizes.
We need examples. Women have always been strong and inspiring, but more women than ever are in leadership positions, sharing their insights and expertise. INSEAD professor Claudia Zeisberger shares some of her wisdom on private equity, and Audrey Jacobs, a founding partner at OurCrowd, opens up about authenticity and honesty in business and in life.
We should look up to women and look out for women. We’re always looking for inspirational stories, but just as often we should reach out a hand—to lift up, to help, to applaud, to connect. Women 2.0, a global brand for women in technology, shares just a few of the growing list of women they’ve highlighted in tech careers. And we talked to the director and producer of the movie “SOLD” about how they chose to cover the issue of sex trafficking through the story of one trafficked girl—and about the ongoing work to help commercially sexually exploited youth.
Equality is an ongoing fight. We’ve made progress, but we can’t rest easy. We must invest—invest our time, our funds, and our attention—in women and girls. We hope you’ll come with us as we learn more about the challenges and opportunities facing women worldwide.
Come join the conversation.
Sincerely,
Kimberly Hosey
Editor in Chief
