PRESIDENT DONALD J. TRUMP IS COMMITTED TO WOMEN’S ECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT AROUND THE WORLD.
“By investing in women around the world, we’ve investing in families, we’re investing in prosperity, and we’re investing in peace.” – President Donald J. Trump
PROMOTING ECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT FOR WOMEN: The Trump Administration is launching a historic initiative to empower women globally to fulfill their economic potential.
• Today, the Trump Administration launched the Women’s Global Development and Prosperity (W-GDP) Initiative, the first-ever whole-of-government approach focused on advancing women’s full and free participation in the global economy.
• Through the W-GDP Initiative, the Administration will seize on the significant opportunity that promoting women in the economy represents for boosting global gross domestic product.
o The aim is to reach 50 million women across the developing world from the start of the Trump Administration in 2017 to 2025.
o The President signed a National Security Presidential Memorandum and directed the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) to allocate an initial $50 million for the new W-GDP Fund.
• The W-GDP Initiative will have three pillars of focus:
o Helping women to prosper in the workforce by improving women’s access to quality education and skills training;
o Continuing efforts to fund and support women’s entrepreneurship and access to capital, markets, technical assistance, and mentorship; and
o Working to identify and reduce the policy, legal, and regulatory barriers to women’s participation in the global economy and promote improved practices.
SUPPORTING OPPORTUNITIES TO ENSURE GLOBAL STABILITY: When women are empowered, they spur economic growth and help create stable societies.
• Everyone benefits from the growth and stability that economically empowered women add to the global economy:
o When women are empowered economically, they invest in their families and communities, spurring economic growth and creating more stable societies.
o Research shows that promoting global women’s economic participation, especially in developing countries, could boost global economic growth by $12 trillion by 2025.
• Unfortunately, women in many countries face significant barriers to full and free participation in the global economy.
o Women are legally restricted from working in specific jobs in 104 countries, preventing more than 2.7 billion women from having the same job choices as men.
• Despite making up half of the world’s population, women only own one-third of formal businesses worldwide and have less—or no—access to financial services, markets, and property.
BUILDING ON OUR EFFORTS: Improving the role and ability of women to participate in the global economy is a critical issue and a high priority for President Donald J. Trump.
• At the 2017 G20 Leaders’ Summit, President Trump and global partners announced the first-of-its-kind Women Entrepreneurs Finance Initiative (We-Fi).
o The initiative is on track to raise more than $1.6 billion in capital.
• On International Women’s Day 2018, the Trump Administration launched the WomenConnect Challenge, to increase women’s access to digital technology and bridge the gender divide.
• Through the Administration’s 2X Women’s Initiative, the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) is mobilizing $1 billion to support women in the developing world.
• President Trump has signed bipartisan legislation, including the Women, Peace, and Security Act; the BUILD Act; and the Women’s Entrepreneurship and Economic Empowerment Act.
W-GDP DELIVERABLES: The Trump Administration is excited to announce these new and expanded programs and partnerships as part of the W-GDP initiative.
• The W-GDP Fund: With an initial $50 million, this new fund at USAID will support innovative and effective programs that advance women’s economic empowerment, including:
o The Incentive Fund: $20 million will be dedicated incentivize new programming in the field, including partnerships with government agencies and the private sector.
o The Women’s Impact Livelihood Bond II: A partial guarantee of $100 million in loans to women entrepreneurs and businesses that support women in South and Southeast Asia.
o The PepsiCo Partnership: A USAID and PepsiCo partnership in West Bengal, India, to scale women’s economic empowerment throughout PepsiCo’s agriculture supply chains.
o The Engendering Utilities Partner Expansion: Expanding a program to increase participation and leadership of women in the energy sector to Malawi, Mozambique, Kosovo, El Salvador, Ghana, and Liberia.
• The USAID-UPS Memorandum of Understanding to improve the ability of women entrepreneurs to export their goods to markets, with an initial focus in Africa, Asia, and Central America.
• The Department of State’s Office of Global Women’s Issues will launch WE RISE to work with microfinance civil society organizations to reduce barriers faced by women entrepreneurs.
• Overseas Private Investment Corporation initiatives:
o Impact-First Development Fund: OPIC’s $50 million loan to Global Partnerships’ Impact First Fund will support organizations providing financial support to female borrowers.
o Induced Bank Limited-Women Microentrepreneurs Facility: The OPIC $100 million loan will expand IndusInd’s microfinance lending to women in India.
• Peace Corps commits to raising $1 million per year through 2025 from private donors supporting Community Economic Development, Agriculture, and Education projects.
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