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Sowing Economic Seeds   
December 12, 2009 — Fourteen young women joined CEDPA in December to sow the seeds of economic empowerment for women in a region that receives more news headlines for conflict than for cooperation. These Egyptian, Israeli, Jordanian and Palestinian women came together this week at CEDPA’s Washington, D.C. headquarters to complete the final phase of the Women’s Leadership for Greater Economic Participation program. The program was a partnership between CEDPA and Seeds of Peace, with the generous support of the ExxonMobil Foundation’s Women’s Economic Opportunity Initiative. This pilot program was designed to improve economic opportunities for women in the Middle East, and was implemented in three phases. In the first phase, young women who were graduates of the Seeds of Peace conflict-resolution camps participated in an April 20-24 workshop in Amman, Jordan. The CEDPA curriculum increased their knowledge and skills, and helped them receive a greater understanding of the value of women’s economic empowerment and participation in the Middle East. (Studies in the Middle East and North Africa predict that increasing women’s participation in the labor force could grow household income by as much as 25 percent in the region.) In the program’s second phase, participants put their newly attained skills to use by developing and implementing a project to economically empower women in their countries. They worked as individuals or in groups, but came together once a month as a country team to discuss success and challenges.
The participants carefully considered what type of project would have the most effective impact on the women in their region. In Egypt, for example, where factors including social norms prevent women from remaining in the formal labor force, program participants created a new network for young Egyptian professional women. The goal is to develop mentorship opportunities, share information on barriers and successes in the workforce, and network. A new virtual Women’s Advancement Community will provide ongoing knowledge and information to enhance their entrepreneurial skills and capabilities. In Israel, where one of the biggest gaps in employment is for immigrant women, participants led a series of workshops for unemployed immigrant women heading family households and provided job skills and empowerment training. Jordanian and Palestinian teams worked with refugees to provide greater economic opportunity for marginalized communities. In Amman, 20 Palestinian women living in a refugee camp received information on employment law in Jordan and were given training on job skills. The Palestinian team worked with women in At-Twani, a village in the Hebron Hills known for embroidery. Through training on entrepreneurship, leadership and advocacy, the women of At-Twani and surrounding villages have begun to style and produce items marketable outside of their small communities. Negotiations with a major international company are underway to provide a larger market for their products. All four country teams came back together at CEDPA’s headquarters in December to share the successes and challenges they faced in implementing their economic empowerment plans. They also received intensive training in advocacy and communications so that they can elevate the economic needs of women within their communities to broader audiences. Participants met with officials from the U.S. Congress, Department of State and the White House in the final days of their program to promote the need to invest in young women for economic growth and stability in the Middle East region. Learn more about CEDPA’s training programs. |
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