Related items
Showing items related by title, author, creator and subject.
-
Striving for Business Success : Voices of Liberian Women EntrepreneursWomen 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, such as limited financial infrastructure, restricted access to markets, and most importantly, insufficient networks to support women entrepreneurs, stifle efforts to create sustainable solutions for women entrepreneurs. The report offers operational lessons and recommendations on how to address these challenges and support womenapos;s economic participation and empowerment.
-
Egyptian Women Workers and Entrepreneurs : Maximizing Opportunities in the Economic SphereWomen 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 1,156 enterprises from the manufacturing sector was carried out in October 2008, using the World Bank standard methodology. The recall questionnaire of 566 enterprises was conducted in October 2008. The gender workers module was conducted in August 2005. It sampled about 15 full-time workers from each firm covered by the ICS recall survey. About 70 percent of the ICS sample is made up of small and medium firms, about 85 percent of which are owned by individuals or families. Large firms employing more than 150 workers account for about 30 percent of the sample. In about 35 percent of the sample, a woman is a main shareholder; in 15 percent of these firms, women own the majority of the firm.
-
Egyptian Women Workers and
 Entrepreneurs : Maximizing Opportunities in the Economic SphereWomen 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 1,156 enterprises from the manufacturing sector was
 carried out in October 2008, using the World Bank standard
 methodology. The recall questionnaire of 566 enterprises was
 conducted in October 2008. The gender workers module was
 conducted in August 2005. It sampled about 15 full-time
 workers from each firm covered by the ICS recall survey.
 About 70 percent of the ICS sample is made up of small and
 medium firms, about 85 percent of which are owned by
 individuals or families. Large firms employing more than 150
 workers account for about 30 percent of the sample. In about
 35 percent of the sample, a woman is a main shareholder; in
 15 percent of these firms, women own the majority of the firm.