Twenty-five years ago, the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action was adopted unanimously by 189 countries. However, gender inequality is still a structural problem in our society.
Much has been achieved and much remains to be done in order to shatter the glass ceiling, expression coined in 1978 Marilyn Loden. During a conference, she argued that culture obstructs our ambitions and do not fuel equal opportunities. Therefore, women do not achieve success, as well as men. soffitto di cristallo, espressione coniata nel 1978 da Marilyn Loden la quale, durante una conferenza, argomentò che le donne non raggiungono il successo a causa di una cultura che ostruisce le nostre aspirazioni e non fomenta l’uguaglianza nelle opportunità.
However, we must be optimistic…
A recent study analyzed the world’s data and pointed out the improvement of gender gap, especially in low-income countries that have made small steps in the last few years. So, this upward trend has been recorded in entrepreneurship and, in particular, in social entrepreneurship. gender gap in miglioramento soprattutto nei Paesi a basso reddito in cui, negli ultimi anni, piccoli passi sono stati registrati nel campo dell’imprenditoria e, in particolare, dell’imprenditoria sociale e nelle cosiddette low-income economies.
What about Italy?
Considering the period 2014-2020, female employment has doubled; according to data, the rate increased from 6.1% to 13.1%. Since one million and half of Italian women have started a business, Italy is the second country in Europe for female entrepreneurship: 368 female enterprises a day have been established in 2018.
And what about the world?
According to data analyzed by the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) and recapped in the 2018/19 Women’s Entrepreneurship Report, significant differences have come to light between low- and high-income countries. The rate of total entrepreneurial activity (TEA) for women is higher in sub-Saharan Africa (21.8%) and in Latin America (17.3%) than in the old continent and in MENA regions, 6% and 9% respectively.
An example for all
Kamila Sidiqi è un’imprenditrice e attivista per i diritti delle donne, CEO e founder di Kaweyan Group of Companies (KBDS), un’impresa che dal 2004 favorisce l’ascesa di imprenditrici afgane nel settore del commercio e consulenza. Nel corso degli anni, con oltre cinquanta progetti, KBDS ha supportato circa 10.000 persone di cui il 70% è rappresentato da donne afgane.
Kamila Sidiqi è un’imprenditrice che ha avuto il coraggio di affrontare una società come quella afgana che non permette alle donne di uscire di casa da sole, ma soprattutto non consente loro di lavorare né di studiare dopo gli 8 anni.
She had to go over a lot of hurdles: Kamila Sidiqi started receiving death threats as consequence of her support to Afghani women who learned to sew with the aim of starting a business. In that period, going out to get raw material or to sell finished goods was forbidden. Hence, she needed to be accompanied by a man to keep from drawing the attention of Afghani authorities.
Women’s rights are human rights
Women empowerment is making slow but remarkable progress. Reducing inequality has a positive impact on society and economy. Hence, in September 2015 world leader from over 150 countries approved the Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development. The Goal 5 aims to achieve gender equality ensuring women’s full and effective participation and equal opportunities for leadership at all levels of decision-making in political, economic and public life.
