WOMEN'S ENTREPRENEURSHIP ACCELERATOR JOINED GENERATION EQUALITY FORUM FOR GENDER-RESPONSIVE PROCUREMENT PANEL & COMMITS TO ACTION COALITIONS

 

The Women’s Entrepreneurship Accelerator hosted a panel titled “Building a Transformative Strategy for Gender-Responsive Procurement,” aiming at creating awareness of the disproportionately complex and interconnected barriers on women’s entrepreneurship and promoting gender-responsive procurement strategies. (Graphic: WEA)

DALLAS, July 13 (Bernama-BUSINESS WIRE) -- The Women’s Entrepreneurship Accelerator (WEA), a leading driver for increased women’s economic participation, joined the Generation Equality Forum in Paris (June 30-July 2) through the “Drivers of Change” Program. 26 years after the Beijing Declaration, the Generation Equality Forum, convened by UN Women and co-hosted by the governments of Mexico and France, is the “most critical moment in a generation to invest in gender equality and accelerate momentum for women’s safety, leadership and economic opportunity¹. 50,000 people virtually engaged in the Forum which gathered 1,000 commitment-makers, recorded $40 billion of investments for gender equality in support of a 5-year plan to act for equal across 7 areas of action.
 

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On July 2, the Accelerator hosted a panel titled “Building a Transformative Strategy for Gender-Responsive Procurement,” aiming at creating awareness of the disproportionately complex and interconnected barriers on women’s entrepreneurship and promoting gender-responsive procurement strategies. Globally, 1 in 3 businesses are owned by women², yet women win only 1% of the procurement spend of governments and large corporations³. Speakers shared insights and concrete advice substantiated by their own journey on how to implement inclusive procurement strategies.

Launched in 2019, the Women’s Entrepreneurship Accelerator is a multi-partner initiative designed to inspire, educate, and empower women entrepreneurs around the world. The mission of the Accelerator is to eliminate barriers for women entrepreneurs through four Pathways of Empowerment: Education, Funding, Advocacy, and Participation. With no qualifying barriers to participate, the global initiative, incepted by Mary Kay Inc., is a strategic collaboration developed in consultation with five United Nations agencies.

“We believe that gender-responsive procurement can make an enormous impact which accelerates the inclusion of women-owned businesses throughout the supply chain,” said Julia Simon, Chief Legal & Diversity Officer at Mary Kay Inc. “The Accelerator encourages the public and private sectors to make inclusive procurement a priority and drive the systemic change that women need. Supporting women entrepreneurs is critical for sustainable growth.”

Simon was one of the panelists featured during Gender Equality Forum’s Gender-Responsive Procurement discussion. She was joined by Elizabeth Vazquez, CEO and Co-Founder of WEConnect International and Jamila Belabidi, Purchases Director, Global Women Economic Empowerment & Global Innovation, Procter & Gamble. Sonia Dridi, journalist & Washington DC correspondent for France 24 and Europe 1, moderated the session.

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