ECDPM

In Tanzania, gender equality remain a policy priority, but progress is slow. Enter the award-winning Her Initiative, a game-changer that is helping to close the gender gap. This initiative promotes financial resilience and digital inclusion for girls and young women, empowering them to escape poverty and seize more opportunities. Without such innovative efforts, achieving full gender parity could take decades.In this episode of Minding the gap: Conversations on gender, we listen to real-life stories of girls' empowerment from Tanzania. Joining Hanne Knaepen is Lydia Charles Moyo, founder and executive director of the Her Initiative. Lydia talks about the injustice she faced among her peers in school, which led her to set up an award-winning non-profit organisation that aims to achieve financial independence among girls and women.

The circular economy movement aims to create a restorative and sustainable economic system, but can it promote social justice as well?Women play pivotal roles in the transition to a circular economy, engaging in a variety of activities that drive sustainable practices and resource efficiency. However, significant challenges remain in ensuring that this transition is just and inclusive from a gender perspective. Despite the potential for a circular economy to provide equitable opportunities, current strategies and policies often overlook critical gender dimensions.In the latest episode of ‘Minding the Gap: Conversations on Gender,’ we delve into the potential for gender justice in transitioning to a circular economy. Joining Nadia Ashraf is Katharina Gihring of the African Circular Economy Network to explore the roles women are already playing in the circular economy and what needs to be done to ensure a fair transition for all genders.

Women and girls play crucial roles in the prevention and countering of violent extremism.While these distinct roles are increasingly recognized, considerable gaps remain between the enthusiastic commitments set out to empower women and girls, and the inadequate support provided for women, women leaders and women’s groups in this fight. The difficulty of mainstreaming gender for the security community is not shared by many violent extremist groups themselves, who have used gendered strategies to recruit members for decades.For the third episode of ECDPM's podcast series 'Minding the gap: conversations on gender', Sophie Desmidt is joined by Aleksandra Dier, who coordinates the work on gender at the UN Security Council Counter-Terrorism Executive Directorate (CTED), to discuss the latest trends and developments in what is needed to ensure that women and girls’ perspectives and roles are matched with the necessary support.  

Migration is one of the key political issues in Europe today, but little attention is given to the impact that gender has on migration patterns. New research is revealing that gender has an influence on an individual’s decision to move, the way they choose to do it and how their movement is perceived by the old and new communities.

2024 is a key year of elections. From June 6, around 400 million people will be eligible to choose new representatives in the European Parliament. But with polls predicting gains by right-wing parliamentary groups and with a global backsliding on gender equality, how can the vote of women impact the results of the European elections? What impact can we expect from a more right-leaning European Parliament and European Commission leadership on women’s rights and gender equality? What are some of the risks and opportunities in terms of women's political participation in the next European political cycle?

In the fifth episode of ECDPM’s podcast series 'Minding the gap: conversations on gender', Hanne Knaepen talks to Giulia Maci, gender specialist and manager of the Euro-Mediterrean region at Cities Alliance (UNOPS). They talk about gender-sensitive climate action in cities and learn how women empowerment, climate action, and urban development are interlinked.

In the fourth episode of ECDPM’s podcast series ‘Minding the gap: conversations on gender’, Sara Gianesello talks to Houda Zekri, Moroccan gender expert, and Stephanie Willman Bordat, a founding partner at MRA - Mobilising for Rights Associates, based in Rabat. They delve into the Moroccan justice system to shed light on the challenges and obstacles that women face when seeking justice.

Almost two-thirds of African women are employed in agrifood systems as food producers, agro-dealers, processors, distributors and traders. They are also often responsible for sourcing and cooking food for their families. Yet, multiple sources of inequality constrain women’s participation, well-being and empowerment. How can we ensure women have more access to resources such as land or finance? Can food security goals and gender equality be achieved simultaneously? And what steps are already being taken to ensure women are actively engaged in food systems?