This International Women’s day, march towards supporting women in all walks of life. As a team that is comprised of over 60% women, supporting International Women’s Day is especially important to abillion. We talked with our team about different ways we can support all the women in our lives and have put together a list of the top 5.
1. Support Girls Education
Education is the first step to progress. Today more than 130 million girls are out of school. Girls in countries affected by conflict are more than twice as likely to be out of school than girls living in non-affected countries. Barriers to girls’ education – like poverty, child marriage and gender-based violence – vary among countries and communities.
Pic from Room to Read when Michelle Obama visited Room to Read Education Program
‘Room to Read,’ seeks to transform the lives of millions of children in low-income communities by focusing on literacy and gender equality in education. Working in collaboration with local communities, they develop literacy skills and a habit of reading among primary school children, and support girls to complete secondary school with the relevant life skills to succeed in school and beyond. Support Room to Read through abillion. Every time you eat vegan, you can send a girl to school for a day. Join our March campaign to support them.
2. Choose to Challenge
At any given time, women have multiple roles, they can be mothers, leaders, students, athletes, farmers, workers, and much more. For each of these roles, the ability to receive education, to have a voice, be given opportunities and choices are critical. Women in a lot of workplaces today are still not seen as equals to men; besides the gender pay gap, women aren't getting equal opportunities as men, especially when it comes to powerful roles in leadership.
According to the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Report 2020, political empowerment has seen very little progress globally. Women hold only 25% of parliament positions and 21% of ministerial posts and less than half (47%) of countries have had a least one female head of state in the past 50 years. Kamala Harris makes history as America’s first women Vice President, after 100 years of voting rights to women in the USA. This signifies the apathy of women in leadership roles.
According to Mercer’s 2020 global report, Let’s Get Real About Equality, the average global organization consists of 40% women and 60% men. Women make up 47% of support staff, but as career levels rise, women’s representation declines (23% at the executive level). It’s essential for women to be treated as equals and give them the opportunity and voice to express themselves.
The global pandemic is significantly increasing the burden of unpaid care, which is disproportionately carried by women. Women’s jobs are 1.8 times more vulnerable to this crisis than men’s jobs. Women make up 39 percent of global employment but account for 54 percent of overall job losses.
Gender equality starts with you! Women need to be included and treated as equals, not only in the workplace but in politics, sports, public affairs and even in times of war.
3. Support women-owned business
There are approximately 252 million women entrepreneurs around the world. Globally, only 1 in 3 businesses are owned by women. Women face greater challenges in accessing financial accounts and services than men.
Through World Vision microloans, you can connect with hardworking female entrepreneurs who are waiting to realize their dream of building or expanding a successful business. A small loan is all they need. Even better, when the loan is paid off, your donated funds are recycled again and again to help more people and make a bigger impact.
4. Beat gender stereotypes
OHCHR breaks down gender stereotypes into 4 behaviors like personality traits, domestic behaviors, occupations, and physical appearances. Women are expected to be emotional, take care of children, cook and clean.
Pic Credit: Ariel's ad campaign #sharetheload.
How to stop stereotyping? Magazines, TV, film, and the Internet are full of negative gender stereotypes. Have a healthy conversation about this with friends, children and family members. Understand how sexism and gender stereotypes are hurtful, speak up against someone making sexist remarks and respect people regardless of their gender identity.
5. Support women in your life
In your life, listen to the women, share the load, encourage self-love time, support her choices and enable them to be financially independent.
Science confirms developing female friendships help in the overall well-being of women. Your girl squad can help release more oxytocin. So ladies, support other women. “Woman alone has power; collectively, we have impact,” Shelley Zalis, an internationally renowned thought leader, movement maker, and champion of equality.
Join our March campaign now!
