Grants Fi D Gyal Dem – Closing the Gender Gap with Grants

“Alexa, play Woman is Boss by Denyse Plummer.”

This one is for the Ladies. 💃🏽 

According to the International Labour Organization (ILO), the average labour force participation rate in 2017 was 54.8% for women and 73.9% for men. Even though it’s not too shabby when compared with the rest of the world, policymakers are trying to close that 19.1% gap simply because women make the workplace better.

Don’t just take my word for it. According to the World Economic Forum, women have been found to be approximately 10% more productive than men. So there is a definite benefit to seeing our ladies out there thriving in the business world. 💼 And the good news is that these days there are more agencies stepping forward to support women in business and putting their grant money where their mouths are. 

There are usually three ways that grants are being used to close the gender gap. Firstly, there are grants that are only open to applicants with XX chromosomes. That’s right. If you’re a businesswoman and you need a little fuel to help you continue to break new ground and shatter glass ceilings, there are grants to help you out. She Trades Invest is one of those amazing initiatives that connects female investors with female entrepreneurs. There is also the Caribbean Export’s We-Xport Programme which helps Caribbean women in business to begin exporting or to increase their exports.

The second type of grant is focused on encouraging firms to get in on the gender balancing act. There are grants that encourage entrepreneurs to hire more women and create more opportunities for their female employees to move up the corporate ladder. The IADB’s ConnectAmericas for Women programme looks at ways in which they could help female entrepreneurs or firms that are interested in increasing the percentage of females leading their work tribe.  

Finally, there are grants for businesses that want to help women. The Caribbean region continues to fight the good fight in the battle against issues like domestic violence that adversely affect women. Funds like UN Women Caribbean provide financial support to firms willing to join the fight in various ways, including setting up shops and safe havens to support women. 

So whether you’re a woman in business, interested in supporting women in business or you just want to be an ally for women, then sign XX on the dotted line because, ladies…it’s time to get your grant funding on.