The IORA-UN Women Women’s Economic Empowerment Project – Indian Ocean Rim Association

IORA has collaborated with UN Women to strengthen research on women’s economic empowerment, and promote the Women’s Empowerment Principles in the region, supported by the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

The IORA-UN Women Promoting women’s economic empowerment in the Indian Ocean Rim project was implemented over a period of three years (2018-2021) with the support of the Australian Government and built on an earlier IORA-UN Women-IORA project supported by Australia, which produced a baseline study of women’s economic participation in 2015 and an interactive infographic in 2017. Over 2018-2021 the partnership involved research and capacity building:

Research Outcomes

The project supported substantive research to help fill the gaps concerning women’s economic empowerment in the region:

the study on ‘Women’s economic empowerment in fisheries in the blue economy of the Indian Ocean Rim: A baseline report’ is a detailed research report on the status of women’s participation in the fisheries sector, and was launched by Australia’s Minister for Foreign Affairs and Minister for Women, Senator the Hon. Marise Payne, on 17 December 2020.
the study on “Women’s Economic Empowerment in the Indian Ocean Rim: Progress and Challenges” and interactive infographic provides an update to the 2015 baseline report and explores key gender issues and gaps in the region, and key recommendations to translate women’s economic empowerment commitments in the region to reality. It was launched by Australia’s Senior Official to IORA, Dr Christian Hirst, and IORA Acting Secretary-General Dr Gatot H. Gunawan, on 16 June 2021.
the interactive infographic is an innovative and engaging platform, helping to make UN Women’s research findings more accessible and easier to understand for a wider audience in the region and globally.

Capacity building Outcomes

The project also conducted capacity-building activities virtually (by webinar) and in person in the region, to foster enabling environments for women’s economic empowerment. The focus has been encouraging IORA-wide adoption and implementation of the Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEPs), with a particular focus on providing advice, networking and support to women entrepreneurs to respond the COVID-19 pandemic.

To learn more about the activities, their outcomes or to view the recordings, please click on the links below.

Economic Empowerment and Entrepreneurship

20 July 2021: Webinar: Women’s Economic Empowerment in the Indian Ocean Rim: Progress and Challenges
15 June 2021: Launch by Australian IORA Senior Official, Dr Christian Hirst, of the report on “Women’s Economic Empowerment in the Indian Ocean Rim: Progress and Challenges.” which provides an update to the 2015 baseline report.
29 April 2021: Webinar: Supporting Women Entrepreneurs and Women-Owned Enterprises amid COVID-19
20 April 2021: Virtual Café on Supporting Women Entrepreneurs and Women-Owned Enterprises amid COVID-19. (Outcomes were presented at the subsequent webinar on 29 April 2021)
23 March 2021: Webinar - Closing the Gender Pay Gap in the Indian Ocean Rim
22 February 2021: Webinar: Overcoming inequalities through finance: Targeted financial products and services for women entrepreneurs and women-led businesses (Virtual Meeting)
9 December 2020: Webinar: Implementing the Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEPs) in Conflict-Affected States (Virtual Meeting)
26 November 2019: Webinar: Women’s Empowerment Principle 5: Enterprise Development in the Indian Ocean Rim region (Virtual Meeting)
22 October 2019: Webinar: Women’s Empowerment Principle 1: Corporate Leadership in the Indian Ocean region (Virtual Meeting)
17-18 June 2019: UN Women presentations at IORA’s Modernising Trade Conference, including the second Working Group on Women’s Economic Empowerment (WGWEE) (Durban, South Africa)
27 March 2019: Webinar: Introducing the Women’s Empowerment Principles in the Indian Ocean region (Virtual Meeting)
10-11 December 2018: Participation at IORA Workshop on Financial Inclusion for Women Entrepreneurs (Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates)

Tourism

28 May 2021: Webinar: Women’s Economic Empowerment in the Tourism Sector of the Indian Ocean Rim Region.
11-20 May 2021: Virtual training: Women’s Economic Empowerment in the Tourism Sector of the Indian Ocean Rim Region. (Outcomes were presented at the webinar on 28 May 2021)

12 January 2021: Webinar: Reignite commitment: Sharing the latest tools, guidance and good practices for implementing the Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEPs).

Fisheries and Blue Economy

17 December 2020: Launch by Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs and Minister for Women, Senator the Hon. Marise Payne, of the research report ‘Women’s economic empowerment in fisheries in the blue economy of the Indian Ocean Rim: A baseline report.’
28 September 2020: Webinar: Economic Empowerment in Fisheries: Implementing the Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEPs) in the Indian Ocean Rim (Virtual Meeting)
19 June 2019: Research Validation Workshop for the “Promoting Women’s Economic Empowerment in the Indian Ocean Rim” Project, side event to IORA’s Modernising Trade Conference (Durban, South Africa)

Gender Responsive Procurement

4 March 2021: Webinar: Gender-responsive procurement: Increasing women’s inclusion in supply chains
23-25 February 2021: IORA Workshop on Gender-Responsive Government Procurement (over period of 3 days)
9-11 February 2021: IORA Workshop on Gender-Responsive Government Procurement (over period of 3 days)

The project supports IORA’s broader work on Women’s Economic Empowerment. To learn more about IORA’s work on Women’s Economic Empowerment, please contact hq@iora.int.