Economic empowerment for Women

Economic empowerment for Women

Women represent two thirds of the poor in Asia. Economic insecurity is part of a cycle of disadvantage for women, often caused by discrimination in employment and education. Poverty magnifies this disadvantage by leading to poor health outcomes, limited decision-making power and few opportunities for women to pull themselves out of poverty. Women in many countries do not control key assets such as the family home, property, and decision-making rights on the use of income, further limiting opportunities to break the poverty cycle.

When economies decline, women are hit hardest, with lowered migrant worker remittances, with manufacturing industries scaled back as exports drop, and with women retrenched, forced to migrate under poor working conditions which render them vulnerable to exploitation and gender based violence. As the global economic crisis continues Veer Foundation is looking closely at the ripple effects on women’s lives.

In many parts of Asia, women work in back-breaking and unsustainable agriculture for little reward. Moreover, the overseas employment of Asian women in the informal sector, particularly as domestic workers, is an increasing area of concern. Despite their economic and social contribution to both the source and destination countries, women migrant workers are subject to discriminatory practices, human and labour rights violations at every stage of the migration cycle. Veer Foundation is working with governments and communities to address these and other issues of women’s poverty in India.