US Secretary of State Antony Blinken praised the work of the US-India Alliance for Women’s Economic Empowerment, which brings together the private sector and civil society to support women in building their businesses, and stated that Google India has committed to mentoring 1 million Indian women entrepreneurs.
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The Biden administration will support women’s entrepreneurship by addressing some of the issues that all too frequently prevent women from starting their own businesses, such as a lack of mentorship and training opportunities, according to Blinken, who on Wednesday launched the US Strategy on Global Women’s Economic Security.
“We’re working to both create and also, as appropriate, replicate efforts like the US-India Alliance for Women’s Economic Empowerment that connects the private sector and civil society to provide Indian women with technical skills and networking opportunities to help them grow their businesses,” Blinken said, as per PTI.
“We’re working with other partners to increase that number. That would have a remarkable impact,” Blinken said on the mentorship goal for 1 million Indian women entrepreneurs.
Since America recognises that promoting gender equality and equity is crucial to tackling some of the most important issues facing the world, it is a positive component of its strategy.
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“We need women’s full economic participation to actually lead an inclusive recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic. As you’ve heard, we need their leadership in resolving conflict. We need their ideas and their innovation to tackle the climate crisis,” he said.
“The strategy that we’re putting forward has at its heart a simple vision: creating a world in which all women and girls everywhere can contribute to and benefit from economic growth and global prosperity. That’s a world in which we will all be better off,” Blinken said.
The global economy would gain up to USD 28 trillion if the gender wage gap was eliminated by 2025. That contribution is more important than ever, he said, particularly as we seek to recover from Covid, address the effects of climate change, and resolve the numerous conflicts that are also impeding the world economy.
The US will enhance women’s economic competitiveness as part of the strategy in order to enable more women to fully engage and lead across all industries, including as CEOs and board members.
“One way we’re helping to do that is through programs like WE-Champs, which will provide technical assistance and training to women’s chambers of commerce and business associations in 18 countries across Europe to support women-owned small businesses. That’s one practical example of how we will bring that first pillar of the strategy to life,” he said.
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He said that the US would strengthen the fundamental assistance for elder and child care that enables women to engage fairly in the economy.
“As you’ve heard again this morning, Covid-19 forced millions of women around the world to withdraw from the workforce to take on caregiving responsibilities for their families. So we will expand access to options so that caregivers, most of whom are women, can actually return to work,” Blinken said.
