Empowering one woman can empower generations of women to come. Many of us believe there is little to nothing we can do to help change the destinies of unemployed women with limited development opportunities however, every individual and organisation has the power to do just that and by creating a positive impact in their own way.
With this belief, in 2017, I founded Evolvin’ Women, an impact organisation that dedicates itself towards the professional advancement of unemployed women who have faced countless challenges, across Africa.
Six years later, Evolvin’ Women has become an effective programme which puts personal and professional skill development at its heart and ensures individual transformation; the programme, our partners and our sponsors ensure these women can not only dream but do and the impact that this has on their families and communities is almost unmeasurable.
So how did we do it?
Our programme identifies specific areas with a high rate of female unemployment, from African countries where circumstances have prohibited their access to professional skills development and to full-time job opportunities.
We select and interview women from these areas, and invite them to take part in our professional and personal development seminars. We then invite them to the UAE for our training and mentorship programmes, followed by work placements.
Once they achieve work placements, for the first time in their lives, these women can begin to enjoy financial stability and thus are in a stronger position to support themselves and their families; Upon completion of the programme they return home with international experience and enhanced personal and professional skills hence vastly increasing their employability.
We have seen from our graduates that this programme develops a greater determination to succeed, be it in full-time employment or through their own business ventures. This would never have been possible without the support of the private sector, and the UAE’s inclusive and progressive infrastructure of entrepreneurship.
Importance of private partnerships
According to the World Economic Forum, private companies are responsible for nearly 90 percent of the jobs available in the world right now, so they have an opportunity to mitigate several challenges our world faces today.
For example, creating jobs, opening up training opportunities, and providing financial assistance to people from diverse underserved communities, is instrumental in advancing SDG 1, No Poverty, SDG 4, Quality Education and SDG 5, Gender Equality in our societies.
In recent years we have seen UAE companies become more cognizant of their potential to drive change and they are keen to connect with organisations that can help them do so. Evolvin’ Women paves a path for these organisations to embed social responsibility in their operations and contribute to sustainable development goals.
We partner with renowned hospitality groups, luxury retail groups, and logistical organisations that offer women who are enrolled in our programme a two-year work placement. These work placements are a platform for women to learn soft and hard skills, refine their talent, learn from experts, benefit from international exposure, and gain financial independence.
By the end of the work placements, these women have evolved into trained professionals in their respective fields and are empowered to support their communities at home. Some even have business plans they aim to scale. This is a true reflection of the role the private sector can play in propelling both inclusive and diverse equality, bringing positive, long-term reform in our own societies and societies across the world.
Support from the public sphere
The visionary leadership of the UAE has set an example for closing gender gaps in the region by introducing a myriad of opportunities and initiatives which support female entrepreneurship.
Evolvin’ Women has also received tremendous support from local authorities which has empowered us to continue our work and create impactful change.
In 2020 the ‘Global Free Zone of the Year’, Dubai Multi Commodities Centre (DMCC), partnered with us. This partnership provided us with a much-needed office space in DMCC Headquarters, as well as a CSR business license to operate our social enterprise. In addition to support from the government, we also have several professional executives and C suite leaders enrolled as mentors and part of our support group.
These figures are an inspiration for aspiring women and serve as their role models; providing them with monthly meetings where they offer skill-oriented workshops, networking opportunities, and career advice.
In 2018, eleven women enrolled into our programme and had access to international skills development placements in Dubai with a view to securing a job back in their home country at the end of the programme.
In 2019, we decided to monitor the programme, expand our network of partners to international hotel chains in the UAE and now in 2022, we are supporting more than 1,200 women across the Middle East and from nine African countries.
Both private and public sectors have a key role to play in the advancement of social enterprises who are on a mission to do good. Our journey and success would not have been possible without the support of our esteemed partners, and we look forward to extending our programme to evolve the future of more women and promote the culture of social responsibility among the business sectors. When we join our hands together for a meaningful cause, anything is possible.