World Water Day 2022: Why Water Is A Women’s Issue

, ,

World Water Day 2022From morning cups of coffee to the successful operations of our homes and businesses—water is essential to our daily lives. Imagine your morning, your afternoon, and your bedtime routines without access to safe water. What challenges would you experience? How would this limit your choices? What would a lack of access to water prevent you from doing?

Right now, a lack of access to safe water at home is why 771 million people around the world remain trapped in a cycle of poverty. And those who suffer the most are women and girls, which is critical to highlight since it is International Women’s History Month. Their lives are disproportionately affected by the water crisis as they have no choice but to spend hours daily, collecting the water their families need to survive. Globally, women and girls spend 200 million hours on the task each day. Time and energy spent collecting water means time and energy not invested in opportunities like earning an income, starting a business, or going to school. This is why the global water crisis is a women’s crisis.

And this is why theglasshammer.com is bringing this issue to our readers. As part of the global community of women, we have the opportunity to use our influence to make a positive difference in other women’s lives.

The water crisis is a women’s crisis

There is an inextricable link between the global goal to ensure universal access to clean water and sanitation by 2030, Sustainable Development Goal 6, and the global goal to achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls, Sustainable Development Goal 5. To solve gender equality, we must solve the water crisis. And to solve the water crisis, we must look to new sources of capital.

Ending the water crisis will unlock the power and potential of women and girls globally but right now, there is not enough money dedicated to solving it. This is why millions of women, girls, and their families remain trapped in a cycle of poverty, unable to realize their potential as contributors to their household incomes and the global economy. The World Bank estimates that to achieve universal access to safe water and sanitation, it will cost approximately $114 billion a year between now and 2030, and those are only the costs for constructing new infrastructure, not the costs of operating and maintaining infrastructure over time. Meanwhile, Official Development Assistance (ODA) hovers around $13 billion a year – far short of what is needed. Mechanisms that strategically use donor finance to catalyze private investment are critical to filling the financing gap, and Water.org is well-poised to help the global community move forward.

Empowered women empower other women

This is where you, your position as a leader, and your philanthropy can help drive change for women living in poverty. The reality is access to a water tap or toilet at home costs money upfront and women who lack access to safe water and sanitation often cannot afford the investment. Water.org focuses on removing this financial barrier.

With your support, we help women and families in need get access to small loans through our local, partner financial institutions so they can pay for the upfront costs of establishing lasting water connections and sanitation solutions. They make affordable payments over time and their loans are repaid at a rate of 99%. This is because with safe water at home, they can swap the hours once spent on water collection for time to earn and explore their financial potential. This approach gives women choices, it is immensely empowering, and it is working. To date we’ve helped change more than 43 million lives with safe water and the pace of our impact is increasing.

Case Study: Read about how a small loan empowered Patricia (pictured) and her family in Kenya with affordable, lasting access to safe water.

An investment in water is an investment in women

Our solution is in high demand, sustainable, and reaching people in need. Eighty-eight percent of borrowers are women and the majority of households borrowing the loans live on less than $3.73 a day. Your investment in water will help reduce poverty and give women more choices.

Join us. Our work to help the world reach a critical goal – safe water and sanitation for all – drives our desire to make a dollar go as far as possible. Our donors recognize that giving to Water.org is a smart investment. And our funding partners know that working with us is a smart business decision. Together, with women leaders like you, we can change more lives, faster and more efficiently.

Call-to-Action: Go to Water.org to learn more about how you can help empower women, girls, and their families with affordable, lasting access to the safe water they need to survive and thrive. ​

/by

Ms. Foundation Event Reveals Movement in Transition

gloria_anikaBy Melissa J. Anderson (New York City)

“How can we explain that the women’s movement is part of everything?” Gloria Steinem asked Monday night at the Ms. Foundation’s annual Gloria Awards dinner. “I, for one, am tired of reporters asking if I’m interested in anything else.”

While Steinem was referring to the fact that women are an integral part of the world – every field, every debate, every discipline, every community – her comments also served as a powerful reminder that the work of feminism isn’t done. Until reporters, and people in general, understand that women’s continued inequality affects every single part of the world, and all of us, we still have a ways to go.

For someone like me, who was born in the ’80s, it is hard to imagine the rapid shift that has taken place over the past 50 years. The “Mad Men” days seem more like fiction than reality, or at least like historical circumstances to gawk at in more enlightened times. But the stories women shared on stage during the event illuminated the very real circumstances in which the movement was born, and the profound changes that have taken place the real world since.

Judging by the dismaying events that have occurred on the political stage in the past few months, we can not forget that the mission of 20th century feminists hasn’t been accomplished yet. What will 21st century feminists do to achieve it?

Read more

/by

Unique Partnership Helps Girls Build Bigger Dreams

FEYWBy Melissa J. Anderson (New York City)

Earlier this week, Texas Wall Street Women, a networking and philanthropy group of women in investment management, gathered in Dallas to discuss investment and market trends. The event was held in support of the group’s philanthropic work supporting the Foundation for the Education of Young Women, a public private partnership supporting six all-girls schools around the state.

As one of the key benefactors of the foundation, the networking group provides mentors and financial support for disadvantaged young women attending the Foundation’s schools around Texas. To date, every girl who has participated in the program has been accepted to college – many of them, the first in their family not only to go on to higher education, but simply to finish high school.

Amy Bean, Executive Director of the FEYW, commented, “Texas Wall Street Women’s financial and professional support has been essential in empowering us to meet our college readiness goals for the girls in FEYW’s six schools.”

She added, “Our alumnae enroll in college at nearly twice the rate of other students from the state, and with TWSW’s continued support, we plan to see more phenomenal results unfold at all of our schools across the state of Texas.”

TWSW’s support of the Foundation shows how, by working together, women can make the impact of mentoring even bigger.

Read more

/by

Women in Philanthropy: Tania Mulry, Founder and CEO, DDx Media and edRover

TaniaMulryBy Melissa J. Anderson (New York City)

“There’s security in staying with what you know. But there are a lot of other interesting pursuits out there,” said Tania Mulry, Founder and CEO of DDx Media and edRover. “Take a chance and do something you’ve always dreamed of doing.”

Mulry took the plunge herself – leaving her career at a mobile marketing strategy company to pursue her dream of doing something that would help the world – and eventually founded edRover, a mobile app that helps families direct donations from businesses to a school of their choice.

She continued, “It’s about taking a risk. At the end of the day, you don’t want to say “I really wish I had…”

Read more

/by

Women in Philanthropy: Frances Hesselbein on Leadership and Diversity

Frances HesselbeinBy Melissa J. Anderson (New York City)

At the headquarters of the Girl Scouts of the USA on Tuesday, the organization welcomed home its beloved leader Frances Hesselbein, who served as its CEO from 1976 to 1990. Upon taking the reins, she led the faltering organization to a new era of dynamic success, by implementing new delivery methods and ushering in a host of initiatives aimed at improving diversity. At the event, Hesselbein recalled the lessons she has learned throughout her life and career.

Now President and CEO of the Leader to Leader Institute (formerly the Peter F. Drucker Foundation for Nonprofit Management), Hesselbein’s model of servant leadership has inspired powerful people around the world, and in 1998, she was awarded the Presidential Model of Freedom, the highest honor a civilian can receive in the US. She is the recipient of over 20 honorary degrees, and her work on leadership and management is respected globally. As Marshall Goldsmith, who moderated the event, explained, “In the world of leadership she is the role model.”

Hesselbein, who is deeply patriotic, said her commitment to diversity comes from her love of her country. “How can we sustain democracy if we don’t know the power of inclusion?” she asked.

Read more

/by

Ms. JD Celebrates Education and Empowerment

iStock_000007716967XSmallBy Kelly Tanner (New York)

As the light faded outside the offices which overlooked the Statue of Liberty last week, a team of professionals gathered at Sullivan & Cromwell LLP to celebrate women’s successes. The event honored Ms. JD’s New York City chapter and its new Global Education Fund, founded last year to assist women in developing countries in becoming lawyers.

In its first year, the Fund highlighted their support of two women, Joaninne Nanyange and Monica Athieno, as they attended law school in Uganda. In a video comprised of interviews over Skype, the women described the challenges they overcame and their single-minded devotion to achieving their goal of making a life for themselves in law. Nanyange hopes to leverage her hard-won education to become a human-rights activist, while Athieno wants to become a judge.

In a country where only 45% of women have access to any type of schooling, and men are more than twice as likely to have an opportunity to attend any type of higher education, these successes change the landscape of a developing nation like Uganda.

Read more

/by

Building Careers and Doing Good

iStock_000006684238XSmallBy Melissa J. Anderson (New York City)

On Wednesday, Morgan Stanley held its third annual Strategy Challenge event, the culmination of an eight-week program in which 60 of the firm’s up-and-coming talent put their skills to use for fifteen charities in need of strategic advice on organizational growth.

Audrey Choi, Managing Director of Global Sustainable Finance at Morgan Stanley, remarked, “At Morgan Stanley, we have a long standing, deep commitment to giving back to the community.”

The non-profits are not the only beneficiaries of the program, though. Choi added that the participants in the Strategy Challenge are nominated by their business leaders as future leaders of the firm. They are able to make connections with other rising stars, and gain access to senior level individuals they wouldn’t otherwise have the opportunity to meet, in addition to gaining valuable skills and experience.

As a result, Choi said, Morgan Stanley has donated 6,500 hours of community service this year, worth approximately $1 million – and that figure does not include the value of the advice provided by the firm.

Joan Steinberg, Managing Director and Global Head of Philanthropy at the firm, added, “When we say we want to deliver the best to our communities, this is what we mean.”

Read more

/by

5 Reasons to Continue Volunteering at Every Stage of Your Career

iStock_000000723468XSmallBy Melissa J. Anderson (New York City)

Many women who are featured or profiled on The Glass Hammer have sung the virtues of volunteering – from serving on non-profit boards to working in soup kitchens, many women are breaking the glass ceiling while taking part in philanthropic efforts.

Some have described how volunteering has helped their careers, and some have discussed how volunteering has helped them grow closer to their families. And still others have explained how volunteer work can help build the next generation of female leaders.

Why should professional women consider volunteering? Here are five voices from The Glass Hammer on what volunteer work has done for them.

Read more

/by

Project Nanhi Kali: Educating Girls for a Growing India

iStock_000012513252XSmallBy Melissa J. Anderson (New York City)

As India’s growth – 8% last year, measured by GDP – quickly outstrips its supply of talented workers, the country will need to focus on better educating its huge population, particularly its girls and young women. According to a new report by Catalyst, India is facing a severe projected talent gap – more than 5 million – by 2012. The report adds, “Women’s labor force participation, at 36 percent, is less than half of the labor force participation rate of men (85 percent).”

But keeping up with labor demand is only one reason to focus on educating girls. As Sheetal Mehta, Trustee and Executive Director of Project Nanhi Kali, explained, when girls are educated, they have more opportunities, and a better chance in life. In many areas of India, girls are seen as an expense, not an asset. While educating girls can lift entire families from poverty, Mehta explained, the impact of an education begins with each girl herself. She said, “When girls get educated, the earnings go back to their families. All of that is wonderful, and it does happen. But more importantly, it’s for their own self esteem.”

Education, Mehta said, keeps girls safe. She continued, “If girls are not educated, they are vulnerable to exploitation and abuse. They could fall prey to other possibilities (like getting involved in terrorism or sex trafficking). If a girl is educated, she becomes independent and able to make her own decisions. She need not reach the level of poverty where she has to earn money by selling her body or risking her life. It’s about self respect, and those benefits are huge.”

Read more

/by

Pooling Corporate Philanthropy Efforts for Real Progress

Schoolgirl-TeacherBy Melissa J. Anderson (New York City)

“There are 600 million young women between the ages of 13 and 19,” said Louise Guido, president and CEO of the Foundation for Social Change. The organization works to unite leaders from non-profits, governments, and companies, to share best practices and collaborate in their efforts toward improving environmental and social issues.

Guido continued, “Helping a few thousand people is great, and it’s necessary, but if you really want to change the world, it takes a lot of resources.”

“We really need to share the cost and the outlay. And what we’ve been trying to do seems like it’s working,” she added.

The Foundation is currently launching a program designed to provide job training and education for young women around the globe. But unlike most corporate philanthropy efforts, in which one company “owns” the project and might contract with local non-profits, Guido’s project is bigger.

“We are getting as many corporations involved as possible.” The network includes a major technology company, financial corporations, and hopefully telcoms – and more. Through a “shared enterprise platform,” Guido said, the program will be able to reach more girls, provide more resources, and create better programming.

The initiative will involve several programs around the globe, featuring learning and development modules around business and life skills, as appropriate to each individual culture. These programs will enable the participants to improve their job prospects, and hopefully become the next generation workforce for companies sponsoring the program. “So there’s an HR sustainability component as well,” Guido explained.

Read more

/by