Improving opportunities for women's self-employment

Description

Improving opportunities for women's self-employment involves removing barriers to access finance, training, and markets, while promoting supportive legal and social frameworks. This strategy focuses on providing women with practical resources, mentorship, and business development services to enable sustainable income generation. By addressing gender-based discrimination and enhancing women’s entrepreneurial skills, it remedies economic exclusion and empowers women to create and manage their own enterprises, fostering broader economic growth and social equity.

Context

Women are increasingly seeking self-employment for the advantages of "being their own boss" and having job flexibility. But often it is as a response to the lack of job opportunities in the public and private sector resulting from recession and restructuring.

Implementation

Actions that would improve women's viable self employment are; (a) enhancing and facilitating women's access to advice on how to become self-employed, and to credit; and (b) developing an infrastructure supporting the formation and activities of small and medium enterprises.