38220 Gender Entrepreneurship Markets Fourth Quarter Edition Global Newsletter: October 2006 IFC GEM welcomes you to its eighth quarterly newsletter designed to keep businesswomen in touch with key events, relevant research and, most importantly, each other! We provide brief descriptions of news, events, and online resources that will involve, inspire and inform you and others like you. Wherever possible and appropriate, we provide a link to further detail. This issue's highlights include news of IFC and other World Bank Group activities (including Lars Thunell's call for more support to women entrepreneurs during the Women's Network lunch in September), news reports from other sources (including the UNIFEM report on the spread of domestic violence in Afghanistan), upcoming events around the globe (including the Global Banking Alliance for Women Annual Summit in November), and links to useful Web sites (including the World Bank's Energy and Gender Web site). Our regular spotlight this issue falls on Dr. Mayada Baydas, a successful Lebanese-American businesswoman who has been working to expand women's access to microfinance and raise the profile of women entrepreneurs in the Middle East. This newsletter shares helpful news and information with women entrepreneurs around the world. If you or your business association have an event you would like to make known, have a success story to share, or would like to tell us what you would like to read more about, please email us. This newsletter is for you and we want to keep you involved. The GEM Newsletter is also available in French, Arabic and Farsi. NEWS News from IFC GEM and the World Bank Group Lars Thunell Calls for More Support to Women Entrepreneurs during Women's Network Lunch IFC Executive Vice President Lars Thunell told participants at the September lunch of the IFC Women's Network, "The business case for integrating gender issues into our work is clear and compelling." Organized by Dorothy Berry, Vice-President, head of Human Resources and Administration, and attended by 70 World Bank Group staff, the event reviewed the progress of the GEM initiative in the 18 months since its 1 inception. The Women's Network has been instrumental in initiating and supporting GEM since, and has been joined by a growing number of male champions, many of whom were also present at the lunch. "It is gratifying to see just how many men are not only supporting this work, but are also actively engaged in championing it with clients," said Dorothy Berry. Read more IFC Provides Management Training to Iraqi Women Entrepreneurs IFC GEM PEP MENA rolled out its successful "Women Get the Business Edge" training course to a group of Iraqi women entrepreneurs in August. Entitled "Successful Marketing and Pricing Strategies," the workshop provided participants with best practices in marketing and pricing, as well as with opportunities to develop business relationships and expand their access to markets. GEM has organized similar courses for women entrepreneurs in Afghanistan, Egypt, Jordan and Yemen. Read more Launch of the Business Unusual Training Manual in South Africa About 50 participants attended the roundtable discussion on Gender, Media and the Economy, hosted by GEM and three other partners this August in Pretoria, South Africa. Keynote speaker Colleen Lowe Morna of Gender Links presented the recently developed Business Unusual training manual that aims to improve media coverage of women in business and highlights gender gaps in the business and economic environment. Read more Uganda Gender Coalition Formally Launches Its Activities The Gender Coalition, formed following the launch of GEM's Gender and Economic Growth Assessment in Uganda, formally launched its activities this August in Kampala, Uganda in the presence of more than 160 women entrepreneurs, men, and other official delegates. Undertaken at the request of the Minister of Finance, Planning and Economic Development, the assessment found that legal and administrative barriers have been a stumbling block for women entrepreneurs, and have impeded the country's economic development. The Gender Coalition advocates and lobbies on issues surrounding women's access to finance, land, commercial justice, labour laws and tax administration. Read more MORE NEWS Evaluating Mothers' Work U.S.-based compensation experts at Salary.com calculated that stay-at- home mothers would earn $134,121 a year for their work, wages similar to that earned by "a top U.S. ad executive, a marketing director or a judge." The amount was calculated based on the earning power of the jobs that comprise mothers' work. Read more 2 Domestic Violence Widespread in Afghanistan A new report from UNIFEM reports that violence against women in the post-Taliban regime remains high, and much of it continues to be unreported due to social stigma. Even though the Afghanistan constitution guarantees equal opportunities for men and women, there is still a wide gap between the laws and their implementation. Read more What Men Think They Know About Executive Women How do people in business feel about women in executive roles? A recent Harvard study finds that attitudes have improved, but not as much as men seem to think. According to the report, "executive men may be saying the right words, but if the gender composition of the typical boardroom is any indication, they're probably not behaving accordingly." Read more Inspirational Quote "Our national economy cannot grow if we do not mobilize, support, encourage and empower women. In every sector and in all possible ways women have shown to be strong, innovative, creative, caring for families, efficient and very capable of utilizing scarce resources." - His Excellency the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Olusegun Obasanjo, at the signing of the IFC GEM/Access Bank Program (Abuja, Nigeria, June 9, 2006) SPOTLIGHT ON: Dr. Mayada Baydas, Lebanese-American Businesswoman Dr. Mayada Baydas has an impressive track record of working to expand women's access to microfinance and raise the profile of women entrepreneurs in the Middle East. As the founding partner and managing director of the Development Innovations Group, a company that focuses on development finance, she is a successful businesswoman in her own right. Prior to founding this company, Mayada served as the Director and General Manager of AMEEN sal, the largest microfinance organization in Lebanon, where she pioneered partnerships between CHF International and three leading commercial banks. "It is a passion of mine to be involved in development finance," Mayada says. "I found this niche to make a significant contribution to people who don't have access to financial services." Mayada currently plays an important role in the MBC show The Investor. The show features a competition between teams of aspiring entrepreneurs from across the Arab world, who vie to win up to $500,000 in seed financing to start up business 3 ventures. Dr. Mayada was invited by the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a partner of the show, to serve as one of the show's three Business Edge advisors. Dr. Mayada notes that "Arab women's participation in the private sector is important. To this end, the show's executive producer, Ms. Salwa Soueid, and the women-dominated production team have been eager to encourage women participation in The Investor. In fact, the show enjoys a high viewership among women." The two women participants on the show were already able to benefit from the business competition experience and are now being seen as businesswomen role models in their respective countries. Mayada's list of accomplishments also includes a variety of publications, as well as a post as a Professional Researcher and Lecturer at the University of California, Davis. Each Women in Business newsletter spotlights either a women's business association that has developed an innovative idea or process that promotes women's entrepreneurship, or an enterprising and inspiring woman who has achieved success. If you have a success story to share, please email us with the details. We look forward to sharing your stories. CALL FOR CONSULTANT CV's IFC GEM is looking for women and men experienced in the field of private sector development and gender for future short-term assignments. If you have relevant experience and would like to be included in our database, please email us . EVENTS Black Women in Business Awards: EFBWBO 11th BIBA Dinner 27 October, Grosvenor Square, London: This 10th annual event honors, appreciates and showcases the best women-owned Black British and Black European Businesses. Read more Women's Enterprise Day 15 November, London: Hosted during the UK Enterprise Week, this day will allow women's organizations across the UK to host events and activities profiling successful female entrepreneurs. Read more Global Banking Alliance (GBA) for Women Annual Summit 6-10 November, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Scotland: Hosted by Bank of Scotland, this annual conference will bring together GBA members to share experiences and best practices and will highlight recent global research on access to finance. For more information, contact fmolinaro@ifc.org. 4 Grassroots African Women's Conference 1-4 December, Bondo Teachers Training College, Bondo, Kenya: This conference aims to build social capital among African women in rural areas and provide ground for networking to further community development through partnerships. Read more Fourth Annual Arab Investment Forum and Exhibition 3-5 December, Cairo, Egypt: This forum will bring together local and international enterprises, cabinet ministers, heads of government agencies and private enterprises to exchange ideas on business and investment cooperation. Read more LINKS TO RESOURCES Gender: The Missing Component in the Response to Climate Change This UN report analyses the gender dimension of climate change and the policies to mitigate and adapt to its impacts. It develops gender- sensitive approaches on mitigation measures, adaptation projects and national regimes. Read more Energy and Gender Website This new Web-based resource center promotes the integration of gender issues in energy sector policy and operations by providing information on the relevance of gender in the sector. Read more Ahfad University for Women (AUW) AUW is a pioneer higher education institution in Sudan focusing on women's education, development and empowerment, with more than 4,700 students currently enrolled. Read more Bridge: Gender and Trade Gender and Trade 2006 highlights how trade policies benefit men and women differently, and points to the need for engendering trade policies to reduce barriers to women's contribution to the economy. Read more PublicPrivateDialogue.org (PPD) This Web site is a comprehensive one-stop-shop for exchange of knowledge for those interested in public and private sector development and the investment climate. Read more 5 Where is the Money for Women's Rights? The report assesses the role of donors in promoting women's rights and explores strategies for changing the existing funding landscape so that more resources are made available to women's rights organizations. Read more Published by the Gender ­ Entrepreneurship ­ Markets unit of the International Finance Corporation. Please email us your comments or queries, or to suggest a Web link. To subscribe or unsubscribe, click here. 6