Kuli Mungombe owns and operates a fishing rig with nine other women in Zimbabwe. The group entered the male-dominated industry last year after being provided with the boat, equipment and training, and have doubled their sales. These women join millions...

The relationship between trade and gender has been hotly debated. Some say that globalization has excluded or impoverished women, causing disproportionate job losses due to the influx of foreign goods into domestic markets. Others argue that increased...

Data from the most recent Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) suggest that women represent approximately one third of all new business activity and one fourth of established business activity in countries around the globe. These data represent an important...

Nearly 40 years ago, the government of Atlanta adopted sweeping and bold economic development policies to stabilize the city’s economy and expand business and job opportunities. Then-mayor Maynard Jackson, Jr., the first African American mayor of a major...

‘She’s thanking you for her soft knees,’ said the Swahili translator. ‘Her what?’ The translator’s English was so heavily accented that I was not sure I had heard him correctly. The translator tried again. This time he pointed to his knees for emphasis...

During the Chinese New Year of 2007, I received a long distance call from the United Kingdom. The president of the Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB), Professor Roger Flanagan, was on the telephone and told me the board of the Institute had nominated...

As countries concentrate their efforts on meeting the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by 2015, a hot topic is the development framework that will succeed the MDGs. United Nations Member States seeking to shape the post-2015 agenda are considering...

It was a passionate message by the Malaysian prime minister, welcomed after so many years of toil: ‘If we look at the progress we have made in Malaysia, there is no denying that a large part of it has been achieved thanks to the women of this country.’...

In 1999, Charlotte Robert took some time off from her job at the Swiss Ministry of Economy to learn Spanish in Costa Rica. During her walk to and from school each day, she was struck by the fragrance of the blossoms from a certain plant in many people’s...

The role of women in Somaliland, the north-western territory of Somalia, has changed dramatically since the country’s long-time dictator was overthrown in 1991, prompting the collapse of the economy and leaving scores of men unemployed. While men still...

G(irls)20 summit convenes in Mexico ahead of G20In early June, leaders of the G20 nations met in Los Cabos, Mexico, to discuss the current state and future direction of the global economy. Timed to coincide with the G20 summit, the G(irls)20 summit —...