International Women's Day: Closing the Gender Gap

International Women’s Day is a day designed to celebrate the social, economic, cultural and political achievement of women. There’s certainly a lot to be proud of, but there’s still a lot of work to be done.

The World Economic Forum predicted in 2014 that it would take until 2095 to achieve global gender parity. Then one year later in 2015, they estimated that a slowdown in the already glacial pace of progress meant the gender gap wouldn't close entirely until 2133.

117 years is much to long to wait. That’s why Heifer is doing something about it.

Gender equity is absolutely key to Heifer projects. We seek to increase women’s decision-making power in their own homes and in their communities, as well as their access to income, assets and leadership roles by:

• Forming Women's Self-Help Groups

Women come together in these groups to support each other in all kinds of ways, from learning practical skills, to creating group savings and loans, to emotional support and beyond.  

• Designing Projects with Women in Mind

Many Heifer projects focus on specifically addressing the needs of women. When starting a project, we carefully consider issues like access to land, labor, capital, natural resources, education, on-farm and off-farm employment and informal networks.

• Promoting Gender Equity

We educate both male and female community members on gender equity and justice. Our approach allows room for discussions about gender that lead to a more inclusive community.

Stay tuned to the World Ark blog this week for more stories of the incredible women that Heifer works with and to learn more about how our projects are designed to empower them. If you want to support Heifer in our efforts to accelerate gender parity, donate here.