They represent vitally important and positive ethical, social, and economic changes in attitude that must be maintained to ensure lasting effects. While gender equality isnвЂ™t yet an everyday reality, initiatives like AWOME mark important steps forward. вЂњInvesting in womenвЂ™s economic empowerment sets a direct path toward gender quality, poverty eradication, and inclusive economic growth.вЂќ вЂ“ Anne Shongwe, UN Women Representative.ДЄWOME marks the next step for De Beers Group's investment in the future of southern African businesswomen, adding to the companyвЂ™s other enterprise development programs, including Zimele (launched in 2009 to help micro and medium businessesвЂ•half of which are run by womenвЂ•to grow across South Africa), Tokafala (launched in 2014 in partnership with the Government of the Republic of Botswana, Debswana, De Beers Group, and Anglo American, and supporting more than 250 enterprises), and more recently, a program for young and aspiring entrepreneurs in Botswana in partnership with Stanford Graduate School of Business. Localized, supportive work like this goes a long way in complementing national efforts to create jobs forвЂ•and empowerвЂ•women across the region. We understand their needs,вЂќ says Alex Shinana, an AWOME trainer in Namibia. And our hearts and their hearts are close to each other.

вЂњWe from the community know these people, we know how difficult it is to make businesses.

ItвЂ™s an incredibly beneficial approach because the trainers often grew up in or around the communities they support, and forge strong relationships with entrepreneurs as a result. Individuals local to the area are trained to teach business acumen to women micro-entrepreneurs through workshops, courses, and ongoing mentorship. So far, part of the AWOME programвЂ™s success could be because itвЂ™s tailored to each of the regions in which it operates. It has taught us that you can do whatever you want.вЂі вЂ“ Doris Mphalo, Tissue Paper Manufacturer and AWOME participant, South Africa. вЂњWe have discovered that it is very important to be a woman and do as much as you can for the community, for your family вЂ¦ We used to take men as the people вЂ¦ responsible for everything, but as for this training, it has taught us a lot. Their AWOME (Accelerating Women-Owned Micro-Enterprises) program is a capacity-building initiative that provides training for women micro-entrepreneurs like Sunny-Girl-equipping them with business management skills and building their abilities to grow their businesses. De Beers Group, for example, launched a program last year in partnership with UN Women to improve the livelihoods of women micro-entrepreneurs in the diamond-producing countries of Botswana, Namibia, and South Africa. ItвЂ™s an attitude that opens up the door to private-sector organizations that want to leave a lasting, positive legacy on the world. It seems that when women arenвЂ™t able to contribute economically, not only is it socially and morally unjust, it frankly doesnвЂ™t make fiscal sense either.ДЇortunately, enshrined within the African Union Gender Policy is a renewed commitment from African governments to provide opportunities to empower women and ensure their participation in public and economic life.

WhatвЂ™s more, in sub-Sahara Africa, the lack of integration of women into their economies has a severe financial impact across the region, with a combined 95 billion US dollars in lost productivity every year. Despite already low percentages for both women and men, the gap is still widening, even with an increase in financial support available. Women simply have less capital, with only 37 percent having a bank account, compared to 48 percent of men. In sub-Saharan Africa in particular, money is still one of the biggest obstructions to improving womenвЂ™s recognized value in society.

In 1995, following the conclusion of the Fourth World Conference on Women, a new plan emerged-the Beijing Platform of Action-to address the key areas that needed improving, namely providing access to education and reducing poverty along with political and economic inequality.ДЇor a time, these commitments mostly benefitted women in the wealthier, Western regions of the world, due in part to gender inequality exacerbated by poverty. Over the last 40 years, a number of commitments to improving gender equality have been made across the globe, with moves by the United Nations to implement supportive protocols such as the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW).

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