March 17, 2016
4 Cool International Women’s Organizations Changing the World in a Big Way
Women’s History Month is still going strong, and as the world celebrates, this is the time to empower and inspire females toward leadership, confidence, and equality. Here are five organizations doing just that:
[Related: United Nations Announces 2016 Theme for International Women’s Day]
In July 2010, the United Nations General Assembly created UN Women, the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women to work toward resolving issues of gender equality and advocate for the empowerment of women. The organization supports inter-governmental bodies, such as the Commission on the Status of Women, in policy formation and the composition of global standards in the treatment of women. It also helps member states implement the standards, offering technical and financial support to the countries that request it.
Under UN Women are initiatives such as He for She, a campaign for gender equality that engages men and boys as agents of change for the achievement of gender equality and women’s rights and the COMMIT Initiative, which includes the leaders of 63 countries and the European Union committed to making new and concrete national commitments to end violence against women and girls. UN Women also hosts forums, events, and panels, both online and around the world to talk women’s rights and solutions to protect those rights.
An expansion of the concepts in Facebook CEO Sheryl Sandberg’s best-selling book of the same name, this nonprofit promotes community in an effort to bolster career and professional fulfillment for women. With international groups, called circles, available to join via the Web, the organization also hosts events and panels to encourage networking, mentorship and camaraderie among power women from Asia to Africa to Europe and the States. There are more than 26,000 circles in more than 140 countries women keep in touch via e-mails, host structured lectures and brainstorm masterminds for career advancement.
It’s no secret that the tech industry is not as equal or diverse as it should be. This organization, launched in Toronto, Canada, seeks to change that. Using what they call a 4:1 ratio, they offer training, mentorship, and skills lessons for women and girls to learn coding and other tech-related skills to make them marketable and help their innovation dreams come to life.
This organization rallies women together in marginalized regions of the world to learn life, business, and vocational skills. The women enrolled in their programs get monthly stipends to support their professional endeavors while receiving mentorship and support to achieve their goals. It has helped almost 429,000 women in eight countries affected by war and conflict to gain life-changing skills to help them and their families out of poverty and into self-sufficiency.