UfM to shed light on women’s economic participation in the Euro-Mediterranean region
International Women’s Day 2022
UfM to shed light on women’s economic participation in the Euro-Mediterranean region
- The first publication of the UfM Intergovernmental Monitoring Mechanism on Gender Equality will be published on the 4th of March, sharing the latest information on women’s economic participation, entrepreneurship and leadership in the Euro-Mediterranean region.
- This regular reporting exercise allows to measure and report the evolution of women’s rights and provide policy recommendations to close the gender gap in the region. The first exercise was conducted during the pandemic and the figures show the impact this crisis had on women.
- To face some of the issues, UNIDO and UfM have supported the creation of the first MENA Women Business Club. This initiative will help more than 100 women to create and expand their businesses.
24 February 2021. The Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) will be joining the international celebrations for Women’s Day to continue raising awareness on women’s rights and provide policy recommendations to close the gender gap in the region. The first-ever Intergovernmental Monitoring Mechanism on Gender Equality for the UfM region will release its first report HERE on the 4th of March and will focus primarily on women’s economic participation.
The key data highlights that, compared to the global average, Europe and the MENA region are below the 6,2% global percentage of women entrepreneurs who own a business (5.3% and 4.5% respectively). This low rate is explained by the difficulties in accessing business support services and networks. SEE PRELIMINARY INFOGRAPHIC
To face these issues, the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) and the UfM have joined forces with Business Club Africa, to launch the first MENA Women Business Club. This initiative involves more than 130 women entrepreneurs and intends to create better networking opportunities and support their businesses to scale-up in the region.
Looking for women stories across the region? To interview women entrepreneurs participating in this initiative, please contact: media@ufmsecretariat.org
