Today marks the start of Women’s Month, a celebration in observance of International Women’s Day (Mar. 8). Women’s Month aims to acknowledge women’s role in history which includes their social, economic, cultural and political achievements.
Aside from this, empowerment is also one of its goals. The theme “We Make Change Work For Women” (which started last 2017 and will run until 2022), aims to “inspire and empower women and girls to be agents of change—to contribute in promoting gender equality and the empowerment of all women.”
With that, I believe that the government isn’t supposed to carry all the responsibility of empowering women. There always has to be a conscious effort among citizens to champion equality and foster change in our society. Here are some women-led initiatives you can start supporting:
Philippine Business Coalition for Women Empowerment (PBCWE)
Under the Investing in Women initiative of the Australian government which aims to promote women’s economic empowerment in South East Asian countries, PBCWE promotes workplace gender equality through working with influential businesses on shifting workplace cultures, practices and policy barriers.
For The Women (FTW) Foundation
FTW Foundation is a Filipino non-profit initiative that provides free data science and artificial intelligence training for women to make the Philippines the first data capital of the world. They aim to “to train and find employment for 5,000 women in data science and AI each year, contributing an additional ₱1,700,000,000 for the Philippine economy annually.”
ECHOsi Foundation
ECHOsi Foundation, which stands for Empowering Communities with Hope and Opportunities through Sustainable Initiatives, is a non-profit organization that aims to address sustainability issues that affect the empowerment of women and other marginalized groups. ECHOsi offers “culturally-sensitive and specialized enterprise development services linked to social enterprises, global market access and sustainable advocacies.”
RENEW Foundation
Located in Angeles, Pampanga, RENEW Foundation is a Christian non-profit organization that empowers women who have survived human trafficking and prostitution in the Philippines. They plan to “eradicate the human trafficking of women and children through advocacy, networking and eduction for the purpose of supporting protecting and empowering victims.”
Basilia Women’s Foundation
Working to empower survivors of domestic abuse, Basilia Women’s Foundation plans to let these women “learn how to make the worst personal experiences work to their advantage.”
Photo courtesy of Unsplash
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