Procurement policies and practices set the standards for supplier selection and can ensure that women have an opportunity to participate. This in turn can help create opportunities for women's employment and entrepreneurship. Studies increasingly demonstrate that women's economic growth goes hand-in-hand with broader economic development. When women have the opportunity to develop and launch businesses, for instance, countries can reap tremendous benefits. It is particularly important to pay attention to fair credit practices and lending terms which can help stimulate the economy by allowing entrepreneurs, many of whom are women, build lines of credit and graduate to larger loans and conventional finance mechanisms. Women-owned businesses offer unique insights into areas such as product development and distribution, advertising and marketing strategies, and emerging customer and market opportunities.
Top resources for this Principle
Dilemma: Human Trafficking
This workbook guides companies in ensuring that they are not inadvertently assisting human trafficking and that there is no human trafficking in their supply chains without (More...)
unduly compromising their services or ability to compete (Hide)
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Scaling Up: Why Women-owned businesses can recharge the global economy
Women-owned enterprises grow faster than those owned by men and faster than businesses overall. Still, hampered by economic, legal and cultural obstacles, many women fail to (More...)
increase the scale of their enterprises enough to trigger significant economic renewal. This resource discusses how taking swift action to address these challenges can result in powerful payoffs for businesses and help build a stronger global economy. (Hide)
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Procurement Strategies to Support Women-owned Enterprises
The purpose of this report is to encourage discussion about government procurement strategy by informing WEConnect Canada, community partners and governments about the constraints and opportunities (More...)
of public procurement for small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), and in particular women-owned enterprises. It presents a summary of research about SME engagement in public procurement and recommends strategies to increase women-owned enterprises understanding about, and access to, government contract opportunities. (Hide)
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Sustainable Supply Chains: Resources and Practices
The United Nations Global Compact Sustainable Supply Chains website is a one-stop-shop for business seeking information about supply chain sustainability. On this website, you will find (More...)
information designed to assist business practitioners in embedding sustainability in supply chains. In particular, the website presents information about sustainable supply chain: 1) Initiatives, programs, codes, standards and networks, 2) Resources and tools, and 3) Case examples of company practices. The articles are searchable by issue area, sector, region and practice category. Companies can also share information about their supply chain initiative or resource by registering on this website. (Hide)
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The Business of Empowering Women
This report presents a case for why and how the private sector can intensify its engagement in the economic empowerment of women in developing countries and (More...)
emerging markets. The report draws on insights from interviews with more than 50 leaders and experts in the private and social sectors who focus on women's empowerment, as well as findings from a global survey of nearly 2,300 senior private sector executives, among others. (Hide)
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Report of the APA Task Force on the Sexualization of Girls
The proliferation of sexualized images of girls and young women in advertising, merchandising, and media is harming girls' self-image and healthy development. This report explores the (More...)
cognitive and emotional consequences, consequences for mental and physical health, and impact on development of a healthy sexual self-image. (Hide)
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Global Banking Alliance for Women
Global Banking Alliance is a leading organization of financial institutions driving women's wealth creation worldwide. Their members build innovative, comprehensive programs that provide women's business enterprises (More...)
globally with vital access to capital, markets, education, and training. Their network enables members to significantly enhance their services to women's enterprises and to catalyze women's success and a cascade of prosperity to their families and communities. Included on their website is a resource page that highlights various reports demonstrating 1) women are powerful consumers & a growing force in business, 2) reliable bank customers and good investors, 3) women's potential remains under-utilized, 4) lack of capital is a key barrier and 5) this missing middle is a large opportunity for banks. (Hide)
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The Corporate Gender Gap Report 2010
Leading companies are failing to capitalize on the talents of women in the workforce, according to the World Economic Forum's Corporate Gender Gap Report 2010. It (More...)
is the first study to cover the world's largest employers in 20 countries and benchmark them against the gender equality policies that most companies should have in place but are, in fact, widely missing. The survey dimensions can be utilized as a tool for business to assess performance and implement gender equality policies. (Hide)
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Creating Opportunities for Women Brochure
The International Finance Corporation provides financial products and advisory services to increase access to finance for women entrepreneurs, reduce gender-based barriers in the business environment, and (More...)
improve the sustainability of IFC investment projects. Access to global expertise, research, and best practices means that IFC can take a broad approach to creating value for private sector clients and shareholder governments. This brochure also discusses a case study in Uganda involving one of IFC's women entrepreneruship programs. (Hide)
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The Oxford-Achilles Working Group on Corporate Social Responsibility
The Oxford-Achilles Working Group on Corporate Social Responsibility evaluates key issues in supply chain corporate responsibility programs. This website provides case studies, research, pod-casts, publications, (More...)
and more for business to utilize in order to create non-discriminatory supply chain practices. (Hide)
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Trading Away Our Rights: Women Working in Global Supply Chains
This report reveals the double standards at the heart of the corporate practices that are emerging under globalization. Companies' demands for faster, more flexible, and cheaper (More...)
production in their supply chains are undermining the very labor standards that they claim to be promoting. Women workers - and their families - pay the price. Many face insecure contracts, intense production pressure, and intimidation in the workplace. Governments, competing to attract investment and boost exports, have too often exacerbated the problem. Instead of strengthening protection for labor rights, they have simply traded them away. (Hide)
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Five Corporations that Fight Slavery
This article discusses practices by five of the top corporations that have dedicated time and money to ending the proliferation of human trafficking in the private (More...)
sector. (Hide)
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