The ICR Facility is supporting its partners to increase women’s participation in public-private dialogues. Our new ICReport How to make the Business Environment work for Women’s Economic Empowerment builds on an earlier publication Promoting Women’s Organisations into Public-Private Dialogues in order to Foster Women’s Economic Empowerment in ACP Countries and demonstrates how the recommendations made can be implemented in practice with the ICR Facility. Where to start and how to make a change through short term technical assistance?
Women are missing out on key discussions that affect their businesses. Less participation in public-private dialogues means their voices aren’t heard. This lack of female representation leads to incomplete solutions which don’t address the specific challenges women face. Only by having more women at the table we can ensure truly inclusive and effective economic growth.
Why Women Are Missing
Several factors contribute to the underrepresentation of women in PPDs:
- Social Norms: Cultural restrictions can discourage women from speaking up in male-dominated environments.
- Unpaid Care Work: Women often shoulder a heavier burden of childcare and housework, limiting their availability – also see the ICReport Business Environment Reforms and the Care Economy: The Case of Childcare and Parental Leave Policies.
- Lower Representation: Fewer women in business associations and lower education levels restrict their access to networks and participation opportunities.
- Legal Barriers: Restrictive laws can further impede women’s economic participation.
A dual approach: supporting women’s organisations and mainstreaming gender in all PPDs
Women’s organisations can be strengthened by enhancing their advocacy skills, developing sustainable business models, and increasing awareness about the laws and regulations that affect women differently, for being women, or small business owners, or entrepreneurs in specific sectors.
The ICR Facility has partnered with the Uganda Association of Women Lawyers (FIDA-U) to address unequal property rights of women in cohabiting relationships through a dialogue with key stakeholders. The dialogue brought together policy-makers and women affected by the current situation, such as women entrepreneurs, members of Parliament, women or representatives from other countries that have implemented similar reforms, etc. FIDA used the stakeholders analysis and new alliances and partnerships, to continue its campaign to reform laws governing property rights and economic interests of women in cohabiting relationships. FIDA is organising talks, meetings, online and in-person events, with the civil society but also politicians and business membership organisations, to explain how the law affects women and why reforms are necessary to ensure gender equality and women’s access to economic security and opportunities. Read about Suzan’s story, who’s rights are affected directly by this legal framework.
We have also supported the Federation of Uganda Employers (FUE) to review their Female Future Programme, which is addressing the underrepresentation of women in leadership roles. The intervention produced an evaluation report of the FFP and used evidence from the report to draft three position papers and lobby agenda paper on women leadership in Uganda for use by FUE for its advocacy activities. An accompanying action plan and training were also delivered to FUE, who confirmed their improved knowledge and capacity to advocate for better policies and approaches to increase and support women in leadership in Uganda.
We also mainstream women’s participation in PPDs processes by analysing PPD processes with a gender lens, i.e. understanding women’s participation in institutions, advocacy and decision-making processes. This includes looking at the number of women in working groups and as spokespersons, and very significantly, whether the reforms proposed and adopted as a result of PPDs benefit women. The ICR Facility has supported the Clean Cooking Association of Kenya (CCAK) to mainstream women’s participation in ongoing PPDs. In this intervention, the main goal was to increase the representation of women within the clean cooking sector, to drive better informed policy initiatives and to improve the business environment of the clean cooking industry for women.
In Benin the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Benin (CCIB) approached us with a request to build the capacity of a strong organisational centre for the apiculture sector. We provided business support and carried out a gender analysis and developed a comprehensive Gender Equality and Social Inclusion approach for their operations. While the gender strategy was not the main objective when this intervention started, it has added considerable value. As Mr. Raymond Adjakpa Abile, General Secretary of the CCIB, commented:
“Thanks to the ICR Facility intervention now we have integrated a gender dimension into our processes to serve our members as well as other institutional partners. A gender focal point has been designated and she supervises our processes, documents, and forms so that they are in line with gender best-practices. Our goal is now to formally develop with our partners a gender policy for the chamber. Our staff is now well positioned to keep the cluster development work using the methods and tools acquired. A new cluster manager position has been created.”
Tools for Transformation
The ICR Toolbox offers a Gender-Sensitive PPD Checklist, that spurs out of the box thinking on designing more inclusive PPD formats both in terms of participation in the process and in terms of the outcomes, as well as evaluating previous PPD processes on their inclusivity.
A Call to Action: A Collaborative Effort
By working together, we can create truly inclusive PPDs where all voices are heard. This will not only empower women but also unlock the full potential of PPDs as a tool for driving sustainable economic growth that benefits everyone. Let’s break down the barriers and create a future where women are active participants in shaping the economic landscape.
This publication is part of an intervention supported by the Investment Climate Reform (ICR) Facility. The ICR Facility is co-funded by the European Union (EU), the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS) under the 11th European Development Fund (EDF), the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and the British Council. The ICR Facility is implemented by GIZ, the British Council, Expertise France, and SNV. The contents of this publication are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the donors or the implementing partners
