CDF Canada |
8 March 2021
For International Women Day, CDF Canada, with funding from Global Affairs Canada, would like to support the work of women in the world.
In 2021, women are still the majority of those living in poverty and gender inequality is a key driver of poverty.
- Women make up less than 24% of the world’s parliamentarians and 5% of its mayors.
- On average, women are paid 24% less than men for comparable work, across all regions and sectors.
- Nearly two thirds of the world’s 781 million illiterate adults are women, a proportion that has remained unchanged for two decades.
- 153 countries have laws which discriminate against women economically, including 18 countries where husbands can legally prevent their wives from working.
- Worldwide, 1 in 3 women and girls will experience violence or abuse in their lifetime.
CDF Canada projects like VOICE for Women and Girls will continue empowering women and communities by addressing these challenges and barriers by giving a VOICE to women to support their access to resources and end violence against women and girls. When women establish or join co-operatives, the strong democratic values embedded in cooperatives is giving women the capacities they need to:
- Perform Innovative labor activities, earning higher incomes and increasing their business performance and competitiveness.
- Increase their decision-making in the household and in the community.
- Improve their participation and empowerment within community affairs centered enterprises focus on inclusive employment.
- Enable women to unite in solidarity and provide network of mutual support to overcome barriers.
SEW Ukraine project is another women focused program funded by the Government of Canada, where 2,200 vulnerable and marginalized women, will be supported to access employment through vocational or workplace integration training, increase production, sales and profit of their micro, small and medium enterprises operating in garment industry. Women’s leadership in the garment sector of Ukraine will be promoted through:
- Policy dialogue and evidence-based advocacy for women economic empowerment and leadership in the sector.
- Development of women leadership skills and self-esteem.
- Establishment of women-led and women focused co-operatives.
#choosetochallenge #IWD2021
