Australia boosts ‘Investing in Women’ project

Local businesses owned or led by women will receive further support from Australia upon launching the second phase of “Investing in Women” (IW) program that advocates workplace gender equality.

“Ensuring women have opportunities to engage equitably in the workforce provides great economic and social dividends,” Australia Deputy Ambassador Moya Collett says.

Since its inception in 2016, IW’s accomplishments include the establishment of the Philippine Business Coalition for Women Empowerment on the back of the P199.51 million investment in 34 women-led and-owned small and medium enterprises and P624.89 million in private investment.

The coalition has trained more than 300 female smallholder farmers, about 3,000 female agri-distributors, and 557 female teachers.

Collett cites a 2018 study by McKinsey & Company that revealed that advancing gender equality in the Philippines across all socioeconomic groups could boost gross domestic product (GDP) growth by up to 7%.

“We have invested $5.3 million dollars in businesses owned or led by women and capitalised an additional $16.6 million in investment,” Collet adds.

Emmeline Aglipay Villar, undersecretary of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DWSD), cites an International Monetary Fund estimate that granting women equal opportunities could lead to an 8% increase in GDP.

“Closing the gender gap entirely, meanwhile, could boost GDP by an average of 23%. [It] sounds shocking and maybe we should give it a chance,” she says.

Villar said 113,961 women enterprises had benefited from the program in 2023.

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