Women and economic development 0 Reply

On the 13th of February we had a very successful and insightful dialogue cafe on the topic of women and economic development. The dialogue took place between women  Executives  from Ramallah and Cleveland including  Doa Wadi – Executive director of  Business Women Forum – Palestine, Fatin Farahat – Director of the Cultural Unit, Ramallah Municipality, and Raya Sbitany- Head of the Quality Assurance and Investor Relations Departments, Bank of Palestine.  The women from Cleveland were Shilpa Kedar,  Cleveland Foundation, Mary Helen Petrus,  the Reserve Bank, and Anya Briggs from Case Western Reserve University.

Topics centered on the importance of women empowerment, regardless of her background or the field she is working in.  In addition, the importance of the Business Development services for women starting their business, the awareness and skills to build their capacity to assist them move into the economic sectors in their communities. It was clear that in both societal and cultural pressures influence women’s decisions in entering into the business world, some more subtle than others.  It was clearly highlighted the importance of the funding and the role banks and MFI’s play in decreasing the obstacles of women finding a suitable access to finance.  Where the 2 banking ladies passed their banks experiences.

In Ramallah, the women emphasized on the obstacles they face whether it was social restraints especially for women in marginalized areas, and above all, an occupation everyone endures on a daily basis that overshadows the importance for women to be empowered. However, it was clear that these women in their respective fields strive to overcome these constraints by encouraging women to become economically self-sufficient, establishing their own businesses, offer mentoring and training, and other means.