Latest news with #LaurenHendricks
Forbes
4 days ago
- Business
- Forbes
The Dark Side Of Women's Empowerment
Written by Lauren Hendricks, President and CEO, Trickle Up Women are living through dark times. Gender-based violence kills one woman every 10 minutes, and feminist attitudes and policies—after decades of hard-won progress—are now regressing due to an onslaught of anti-feminist rhetoric in the news, on podcasts, and across social media. Younger generations are shifting to more conservative viewpoints, and anti-feminist beliefs amongst young men have been on the rise. A Trickle Up participant in Odisha, India, works on a task for her small business. These shifting attitudes make it even harder for women to navigate gender bias on their path to economic equity and empowerment. One study across 20 countries found that 40% of respondents felt it was 'natural for men to earn more than women,' 23% agreed that men should be paid more than women for the same job, and 34% believed that men make better business executives than women. What's more, another study found that 60% of Gen Z men across 31 countries believe that women's equality actually discriminates against men. In many of these countries, deeply ingrained patriarchal attitudes deny women autonomy and limit their access to education, financial resources, job opportunities, and business or property ownership—the full spectrum of economic independence. In rural regions where employment opportunities are scarce, one of the best ways for women to reach economic empowerment is through entrepreneurship, but social norms biased against women often create barriers to success. And even when women overcome these barriers, their success can prove dangerous. The Cost of Ambition The threat of women's success to the male ego is universal. Having lived and worked in developing countries, I have seen this dynamic unfold repeatedly: when women become primary breadwinners or earn more than men, it creates conflict. In Uganda, I worked with some of the most capable, intelligent women I have ever met. But many hesitated to accept high-paying international jobs that could transform their families' futures because they feared their husband's disapproval and jealousy. For rural women living in poverty, the situation is even more dire. In my work on women's economic empowerment projects across Africa and Asia, every opportunity had to earn a man's approval, requiring careful navigation around what husbands or fathers would allow. Giving a woman a smartphone could boost her income, but it could also lead to physical violence and confiscation of the phone by her husband. Women across the globe make large and small decisions based on what they believe their husbands or partners will tolerate instead of basing goals on their talents or ambitions—placing limitations on themselves that wouldn't be necessary in the face of true equality. When women step outside their carefully defined roles and succeed too much, they may risk a violent backlash. Redefining Masculinity: From Dominance to Partnership Violence against women is a symptom of a larger problem: some men's belief that they have the right to control women's behavior. Some exert control through violence, some through financial dominance, and others through the threat of divorce and social isolation. Whatever the method, the goal is the same: to keep the women in their lives under their control. The tactics needed to overcome these entrenched and dangerous attitudes require slow and painstaking work on multiple fronts. And much of this is men's work. We need more men to openly support their wives' success. We need more conversations within households about how an entire family benefits when a woman thrives. We need men to congratulate each other when their wives succeed, instead of questioning their masculinity. And we need men to model to their sons the appropriate behavior of showing women respect and decency. The bottom line is that we need to redefine manhood in a way that does not involve dominating women. Shifting harmful gender norms starts with encouraging men of households to be allies (AVSI Foundation). For any of these strategies to succeed, we must engage men and boys and transform them into allies by working at the ground level with families and communities to shift harmful gender norms. Some of this begins with early education on gender issues, while other tactics begin with including men in discussions about economic challenges and financial literacy—which has been shown to encourage joint-decision-making, joint goal setting, greater cooperation, and more equitable partnerships that redistribute household and caregiving responsibilities. Changing Gender Norms by Investing in Women's Potential Dismantling harmful social norms also requires a woman-centered approach. We've discovered that when women earn income, they reinvest in their families and communities, leading to improved health, education, and economic outcomes. Financial independence also gives women greater autonomy, enabling them to challenge oppressive social norms and participate in decision-making in their communities and households. And when men see women as equal partners in the household, we get one step closer to true equity. By providing the right resources to women in rural areas—like seed capital, savings groups, training in financial literacy, and links to local markets—we can help them start and sustain small businesses. And while a savings group may seem like a simple approach, it's more complex than it sounds: these groups are essential venues for women to gather, meet, and learn from one another how to advocate for their rights, negotiate better wages, access new economic opportunities, and build the support and self-esteem they need to take on larger roles in their households and communities. Pushpanjali Baccha of Balangir, India, works with her livelihood coach on her agricultural business. In a world where gender inequality continues to threaten the rights, safety, and potential of women, we must move beyond surface-level solutions. True change starts by recognizing the power women hold and ensuring they have the tools, opportunities, and support to claim it. At Trickle Up, we see every woman not just as a participant in our economic inclusion programs, but as a leader, a provider, and a catalyst for transformation. When women gain economic power, they shift the dynamics of entire communities and reshape the future.
Forbes
4 days ago
- Business
- Forbes
As Global Aid Recedes, The Need For Proven Solutions Grows
Written by Lauren Hendricks, President and CEO, Trickle Up We've entered a new era of austerity. The global pullback on international aid is still unfolding, and the sector is only beginning to process the full implications. International development foundations will need to choose between the immediate need of providing emergency supplies and providing long-term investment in economic inclusion-based poverty alleviation. This trade-off is daunting, and points to a future where choices are not about priorities, but about survival. Global development efforts face uncertainty — and communities that need aid will suffer if we do not change our approach. Yet within this sobering reality, there is also a sense of possibility. The shift in resources is pushing the sector to confront long-overdue questions and explore new models. Impact investors, philanthropic venture funds, and blended finance models are stepping in where traditional funding is pulling back. These changes mean international development groups must step up now, more than ever, to ensure that vital humanitarian and development efforts continue to reach those who need them. As global development faces growing uncertainty and shrinking aid budgets, one thing is clear: we must invest in what works, and we must embrace the knowledge and lived experience of local leaders. The Data Mandate: Prove It or Lose It As development dollars become scarcer, the pressure to demonstrate cost-effectiveness and results is only intensifying. Donors—large and small—are going to double down on data and evidence of efficacy. In the emerging funding landscape, we will need to prove not only that our poverty alleviation programs increase income, but that they improve outcomes in health, education, women's empowerment, and more. On top of that, we'll need to identify ways to reduce costs without compromising on quality and show funders that investing in economic inclusion delivers multiple returns, across sectors and across time. The Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL) recently published a brief that identifies six development programs that save lives, reduce disease, and help the poorest people in the world transition out of extreme poverty. Among them, only one approach has been repeatedly proven to sustainably move the most vulnerable households out of poverty: the Graduation Approach. This holistic, time-bound model equips families with the resources and support they need to build lasting livelihoods, and it works across contexts and geographies, from the remote rural communities of India, Burkina Faso, and Ethiopia, all the way to the post-conflict settings of Uganda and Colombia. Participants in economic inclusion programs continue to earn and save more than their peers even after the programs end. The benefits of the approach persist years after the programs end, with participants earning more, saving more, and experiencing greater food security and social inclusion. Plus, as household income grows, we witness life-changing outcomes in health access, education, and nutrition. A Social Return on Investment (SROI) analysis on the MPowered project—an economic inclusion program focused on women—showed that for every Indian rupee invested, the project generated INR 6.7 in social value. This is a powerful case for scaling graduation programs, especially those rooted in gender equity, digital access, and local leadership. Locally-Led Is No Longer Optional There's now an opening for national governments, local organizations, and regional institutions to step up. Leaders from the Global South represent the communities most impacted by global challenges, and they're ready to offer the clearest solutions. As traditional donors retreat, local leaders have an opportunity to reclaim ownership of the international development agenda and truly decolonize aid. And with their on-the-ground knowledge of local markets, community dynamics, and lived realities, partnering with these local leaders can unlock more effective solutions, and mobilize the funding needed to scale them. Working with local leaders to advance the international development agenda has become essential. This will require some deep shifts in mindset and practice for international NGOs. We must ask ourselves: What role do local organizations want us to play in the next chapter of development? How do we support rather than direct? And how do we shift power, resources, and decision-making to the communities we serve? A New Chapter Begins Working to support those who are experiencing extreme poverty and exclusion has never been more urgent. In the current funding climate, the Graduation approach isn't just a smart policy, it's smart economics: cost-benefit analyses show that long-term income gains often exceed the cost of implementation. In short, if we want to efficiently reduce poverty, we must fund approaches grounded in evidence—and Graduation delivers. When paired with the partnership of local leaders, the Graduation approach becomes a powerful engine for sustainable change, rooted in trust, tailored to context, and scaled for impact.
