The University Women’s Club of St. Catharines was founded in 1921, two years after the formation of its national affiliate, the Canadian Federation of University Women. Membership was limited to women with university degrees. In early 2000 the constitution was expanded to include professions that now require university or college degrees. Associate members (non-voting) and student members were also accepted in 2007 by our local club. The purposes of the club are to assist in maintaining high standards of education in Canada, to stimulate members’ interest and participation in public affairs, to provide an opportunity for collective action, and to facilitate intellectual and social pursuits among members. The club takes an active interest in the status of women, provides scholarships at the university and high school levels, encourages reading in the formative years, makes charitable donations to support women and children’s services. In 1988 our club changed its name to Canadian Federation of University Women – St. Catharines at the direction of the National Office of CFUW.; Includes administrative records (constitution, minutes, financial statements, membership lists), newsletters, interest groups, projects, briefs, conference proceedings...

Women in post-conflict economies face a number of challenges. Often their businesses stay at embryonic stages only, due to three key limitations relating to: knowledge of business vision and management; access to finance and markets; and access to role models and networks. Added to the complexity is the risk of having to start all over again due to their countriesapos; political instability and the limited infrastructure to make their businesses proper and become more efficient over time. This report presents findings on the situation of women entrepreneurs in Liberia. It discusses the challenges that female entrepreneurs face as well as enabling factors that they encounter when operating their businesses in Liberiaapos;s post-conflict environment. Through the voices and experiences of women - as in the IFC series quot;Voices of Women Entrepreneursquot; that inspires it - this report sheds some light on the specificities of women doing business in fragile and conflict-affected situations (FCS), such as those in Liberia. It identifies operational lessons and proposes recommendations on how to support women entrepreneurs and contribute to their economic empowerment in the transition from post-conflict to reconstruction and development. The women interviewed for this report highlighted how obstacles...

Three of sub-Saharan Africa’s central economic realities motivate this study. First, agriculture is the most important sector in most African economies, on average accounting for nearly one-fourth of GDP. Second, the private sector is increasingly active in transforming African agriculture and economies. By 2030, agriculture and agribusiness are anticipated to become a US$ 1 trillion industry in Africa, delivering more jobs, income, and economic growth. Third, women make up half of sub- Saharan Africa’s agricultural labor force on average (and two-thirds or more in some countries). Yet women’s strong presence in agriculture belies the comparatively weak commercial benefits they derive from it. Throughout Africa, women struggle to enter and operate highly productive and profitable agricultural enterprises. Their plots of land tend to be smaller, their crops less remunerative, and their access to land, inputs, and finance far more restricted and precarious than men’s. Africa boasts the highest share of ‘entrepreneurs...

Context:Heart disease is the leading cause of morbidity and mortality in Australian women. Traditionally, heart disease has been perceived as a man’s disease, where as women’s health issues have historically focused on menopause and breast cancer, leading women to believe that coronary heart disease is not an important health issue for them. Many Australian women fear cancer, although heart disease kills four times more women then breast cancer. The major risk factors for developing heart disease are the same for both men and women. These include hypertension, cigarette smoking, hyperlipidemia, diabetes, obesity, sedentary lifestyle, stress, age, heredity and race. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to: a. Assess rural women’s current level of awareness of heart disease as the leading cause of death in Australian women. b. Describe rural women’s current knowledge and perception of cardiovascular disease as well as actual risk of cardiovascular disease, and c. Evaluate whether heightened awareness and increased knowledge is associated with increased action to lower risk of heart disease. Method: A questionnaire combining questions from three existing questionnaires used in numerous other studies was developed to collect data on perception...

Women make up more than half the world's population, yet perform two thirds of its work, receive one tenth of its income and own less than one hundredth of its property. Increasing global awareness of these and other inequities between the sexes was one of the goals of the United Nations Decade for Women, 1976-1985.

Violence against women is a universal epidemic. It does not discriminate between age, income, ethnicity or religion. One in three women worldwide will experience violence in their lifetime. Despite the monolithic universality of the problem at the global level, the lived experience of being violently abused in the workplace, public spaces or the home is intensely personal. This tension between the particularity of local manifestations of violence against women and the overwhelming prevalence of the issue worldwide confounds traditional aid interventions. Navigating between the local and the global provokes questions about management and governance in aid. Should development be 'top-down' or 'bottom-up'? How can local custom and tradition be reconciled with a 'universal' human rights approach to aid? How do we target an individual's specific encounter with violence, while developing models of aid and assistance that can be replicated on a wider scale? This report seeks to determine how comprehensive the nascent UN Women Safe Cities for Women and Girls Global Programme (2008-2015) will be in addressing key factors contributing to gender-based violence in urban settlements. The 'Port Moresby: A Safer City for Women' pilot initiative (as an intervention representative of the Global Programme) is examined through the conceptual lens of governance...

Over the last decade APEC economies have opened their markets to international trade and achieving significant gains in exports and global growth. In line with this increasing economic integration is the growing recognition by members in the APEC region, and Australia in particular, of the potential for greater patticipation of women in international trade and potentially to a greater contribution to overall economic growth. Women are often disadvantaged as a result of their under-representation in economic roles while simultaneously being burdened by traditional responsibilities. Barriers to women's full participation in trade and economic growth, including education and decision making, are costing the Asia-Pacific region up to 77 billion a year. The benefits of greater economic prosperity for women are not limited to fiscal measures. The returns from women participating in the workforce are considerable as their investment in education and healthcare exceeds that of men. This has a spill-over effect to the economy by reducing pressure on state-funded health services. The ageing population in developed APEC economies will also required more women to gain the skills and experience necessary to combat the expected demographic changes in the near future. It is important to further encourage women to take an active part in the economic growth. In recent years...

The 2012 World Development Report recognized that expanding women's agency - their ability to make decisions and take advantage of opportunities is key to improving their lives as well as the world. This report represents a major advance in global knowledge on this critical front. The vast data and thousands of surveys distilled in this report cast important light on the nature of constraints women and girls continue to face globally. This report identifies promising opportunities and entry points for lasting transformation, such as interventions that reach across sectors and include life-skills training, sexual and reproductive health education, conditional cash transfers, and mentoring. It finds that addressing what the World Health Organization has identified as an epidemic of violence against women means sharply scaling up engagement with men and boys. The report also underlines the vital role information and communication technologies can play in amplifying women's voices, expanding their economic and learning opportunities...

Since economic liberalization in the early 1990s, India has experienced high economic growth and made considerable progress in gender equality in areas such as primary education. However, it fared poorly on gender-parity in labor force participation (LFP). During the period between 1993-94 and 2011-12, female labor force participation rate (LFPR) remained consistently low as compared to male participation. More alarming is the fact that female participation rate declined steadily during the same period, particularly in rural areas. The low level along with declining trend in rural female LFP poses a serious threat of 'missing gender' in the labor force. Although economic growth added jobs for both men and women in India till 2005, Indian women lost jobs in the next seven years, while men continued to gain, thereby widening the gender gap. The actual figures in 2012 suggest that approximately 35 to 40 million women are 'missing' from the labor force, had female LFP grown at the same rate as it had between 1999 and 2005.1 This represents a troubling trend considering the potential of these women to contribute to the country's productivity. To better understand the existing situation...

Regional trade in Africa can play a vital role in diversifying economies and reducing dependence on the export of a few mineral products, in delivering food and energy security, in generating jobs for the increasing numbers of young people, and in alleviating poverty and promoting a shared prosperity. Women play a key role in trade in Africa and will be essential to Africa's success in exploiting its trade potential. In many countries in Africa, the majority of small farmers are women, and they produce crops such as maize, cassava, cotton, and rice that have enormous potential for increased trade between African countries and with the global market. Women are also involved in providing services across borders, such as education, health, and professional services, including accountancy and legal services. Hundreds of thousands of women cross borders in Africa every day to deliver goods from areas where they are relatively cheap to areas in which they are in shorter supply. Yet, policy makers typically overlook women's contribution to trade and the challenges they face. This volume brings together a series of chapters that look at the ways that women participate in trade in Africa...

Do women weather economic shocks differently than men? The evidence shows this to be the case, especially in low-income countries. The first-round impacts of economic crises on women's employment should be particularly salient in the current downturn, since women have increased their participation in the globalized workforce and therefore are more directly affected by the contraction of employment than in the past. Crises also have second-round impacts, as vulnerable households respond to declining income with coping strategies that can vary significantly by gender. In the past, women from low-income households have typically entered the labor force, while women from rich households have often exited the labor market in response to economic crises. In contrast, men's labor force participation rates have remained largely unchanged. Evidence also suggests that women defer fertility during economic crises and that child schooling and child survival are adversely affected, mainly in low-income countries, with adverse effects on health being greater for girls than for boys. In middle-income countries...

Garanti Bankasi (Garanti) is a regional pioneer in offering products and services specifically targeted towards women entrepreneurs as a specific market segment. In 2006, Garanti created a women's entrepreneur support package specifically designed to help Turkey s women entrepreneurs to establish and grow their businesses. This was followed up with the creation of Women Entrepreneur Gatherings, in 2007, which provided additional training and educational tools and new networking opportunities. And in 2013, Garanti began collaborating with Bogazici University, a top university in Turkey, to offer an intensive mini-MBA training program for women entrepreneurs. Garanti also launched Turkey s first Woman Entrepreneur of the Year award, an initiative that showcases women who have successfully grown their business, encouraging more women entrepreneurship in the country. This case study (the study ) explores how Garanti leaders decided to focus on women entrepreneurs. It also documents and analyzes the bank s efforts to build a profitable and sustainable women in business franchise...

In the companion report to this guide, gender-sensitive approaches to the extractive industry in Peru: improving impacts on women in poverty and their families, ward and strongman present solid, evidence-based arguments leading to the conclusion that Extractive Industry (EI) companies could significantly improve their sustainable development impact on women and families by making some practical and simple changes in their working practices. The report also provides extensive evidence of weaknesses in company and government policies and practices that contribute to a previously under recognized issue: men are capturing more of the benefits of EI projects, which are not necessarily reaching the wider family; while women and children experience more of the risks that arise from EI projects.

Women's contributions to poverty reduction, economic growth, and private sector development are increasingly recognized globally. A growing amount of research demonstrates the link between women's empowerment and societal well-being. Yet research also indicates that woman's economic contributions continue to lag behind their achievements in health and education, and a variety of barriers still prevent women in many parts of the world from fully contributing to the economy. Women in Vanuatu: analyzing challenges to economic participation is a step toward filling this gap, spurred by the growing recognition in Vanuatu and the broader pacific region of the need to better address gender inequalities. The publication presents a comprehensive analysis of institutional, legal, and regulatory barriers to women's full economic participation in Vanuatu and proposes measures to address these to ensure a level playing field for both women and men. This work has been a collaborative effort between Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID) and the World Bank's Gender Group...

This report presents indicators based on laws and regulations affecting women's prospects as entrepreneurs and employees. Several of these indicators draw on the Gender Law Library, a collection of over 2,000 legal provisions impacting women's economic status. Both resources can inform research and policy discussions on how to improve women's economic opportunities and outcomes. The six indicators of gender differences in formal laws and institutions established in this report include: 1) accessing institutions, 2 ) using prpoerty, 3) getting a job, 4) dealing with taxes, 5) building credit, and 6) going to court. The first 3 indicators (accessing institutions, using property, and getting a job) capture laws that have direct gender dimensions and are based on a reading of such laws from the perspective of individual women. The 4th indicator (dealing with taxes) examines the direct and indirect gender implications of tax policy from the perspective of 4 standardized families with varying tax liabilities. The last 2 indicators (building credit and going to court) examine the ease of access to credit bureaus and courts to examine the indirect effects that microfinance institutions and dispute resolution have on women...

Women are a powerful force for sustainable economic growth. A growing body of microeconomic empirical evidence and emerging macroeconomic analysis shows that gender inequality limits economic growth in developing economies. Research also shows that considerable potential for economic growth could be realized if countries support women's full economic participation. Increases in women's income tend to correlate with greater expenditure on family welfare and children, because women often spend a greater share of their income on their children's nutrition, health care, and education. From an economic perspective, removing gender biases and maintaining a level playing field reduces possible market distortions or malfunctioning. Moreover, promoting women's participation in business may bolster women's overall participation in the labor market, because women-owned businesses are more likely to employ other women. This report analyzes the main reasons for this disparity in the Arab Republic of Egypt and proposes solutions to level the playing field and enable women's full economic contributions. The Investment Climate Survey (ICS) of 1...

The World Bank's World Development Report (WDR) on gender equality and development identified women's voice, agency, and participation as a key dimension of gender equality and as a major policy priority. Agency, as defined in the WDR2012, is the ability to use endowments to take advantage of opportunities to achieve desired outcomes. In particular, WDR2012 focused on five expressions of agency: women's access to and control over resources; freedom of movement; freedom from the risk of violence; decision-making over family formation; and having voice in society and influencing policy. An important expression of women's agency is women's political participation and their ability to fully engage in public life. This background paper focuses on women s ability to play a public role in politics and to influence policy-making. Using the data available, it examines the current status of women in politics and makes the case for the full and equitable participation of women in public life. It reviews the direct and indirect barriers that exist to prevent women's political participation and analyzes strategies that have been used to increase it. Finally...

Background Violence against women is at epidemic proportions in Australia, with one in three women experiencing physical violence in her lifetime and one in five experiencing sexual violence in her lifetime. More than one woman per week is killed by her current or former partner in Australia. Research indicates that alcohol is involved in up to two thirds of all instances of violence against women, resulting in a large proportion of women who are intoxicated at the time of their assault. Women who are intoxicated when they experience physical or sexual assault are a highly vulnerable group. Not only must they deal with the health consequences of being victimised and being intoxicated, but they must contend with social norms that marginalise, demonise and blame them for their intoxication, victimisation and consequences. Emergency care clinicians are trained with skills to help their patients; however, they are also members of the broader society where negative beliefs and attitudes about intoxicated women who are victims of violence remain widespread. It is crucial therefore that the clinicians tasked with caring for these women are able to help these women competently, and without judgement and blame. This research aims to answer the questions: How do emergency care clinicians perceive and respond to intoxicated women victims of violence...

The evolution of women from working mainly in the household to the work place began out of an economic need on the United States' part. With the westward expansion of the country and the Civil War during the nineteenth century, there was a shortage of male labor and women were hired as unskilled workers, at first, to keep the economic growth pace of the country in line with its physical expansion. Women became the predominant labor force in industries such as tobacco, textiles and bookbinding. As book manufacturing grew to provide books for the mass population, women were the manual labor force of the bindery. The bindery is the most labor intense area of the Graphic Arts Industry- Today, one can enter any large printing plant or any small commercial printer and find the majority of the bindery labor force to still be women. What impact did these women have on the bindery? Did these women have an influence or contribute to bindery inventions that occurred during the nineteenth century and the Industrial Revolution? Do women have an impact on the technical developments that are occurring today? The objective of this study was to establish an hypothesis, or hypotheses, on the impact of women, or a woman, on the technical inventions, developments and advancements that have occurred in the bindery. The methodology of this study was to conduct historical research and to conduct interviews for the current perspective. Historical research was included to give a more complete perspective as to when women first began working in binderies...