ITC head: Investing in women makes economic, not only moral sense
(Astana, Kazakhstan) – Increased gender equality has a positive impact on economic growth and poverty reduction, said International Trade Centre Executive Director Arancha González at the International Forum of Women: “G-Global – the role of women in new economies”, held as part of the Astana Economic Forum in Astana, Kazakhstan earlier today.
`We need to improve the capacity of women entrepreneurs so that they can better compete,´ she said. Increasing women’s access to finance must be a priority, Ms. González added. `Women enterprises often do not get credit simply because they are led by women,´ she said.
The event was organized by the Association of Businesswomen of Kazakhstan and the Union of Women Entrepreneurs of Kazakhstan. Ms. González addressed the session on Leadership of women in political and economic life.
The session explored means to enable women to achieve success in politics and business, as well as the competitive advantages of women leaders. Participants also discussed issues of effective leadership and employee motivation.
Speakers included Dariga Nursultanova Nazarbayeva, Deputy Prime Minister of Kazakhstan, who emphasized the need to support women, who often have to handle household duties single handedly. Banu Ghazanfar Husn, Minister of Women’s Affairs of Afghanistan, highlighted that the country now has 700 SMEs headed by women, an important step towards the economic empowerment of women. `This is a major achievement and we need to continue along this path,´ she said.
ITC organized a panel discussion at the Astana Economic Foum, exploring policy developments and best practices in trade facilitation.