Turning Skills into Opportunity: How Income-Generating Activities Advance Gender Equality
Today, 1 in 10 women and girls live in poverty. A reality that is only becoming more urgent as millions of children around the world face the compounding impact of conflict, climate disasters, hunger, and economic and political turmoil.
When resources are scarce, families are forced to make difficult choices, and too often, girls are the ones who miss out. Decisions about who gets to stay in school and who takes on most of the household chores can reflect deep-rooted inequalities, and financial pressures often put girls at greater risk of child, early, and forced marriage (CEFM).
Investing in women and girls through training, skills development, and opportunities to start businesses and earn their own income are instrumental in challenging these patterns and and alleviating the economic hardships that often drive sexual and gender-based violence.
Save the Children is working to target the root causes of gender inequality, to ensure that our work has a truly transformative impact for women, girls and communities. We support women in securing and managing assets and income, enabling them to provide for themselves and their families, even in the face of shocks and crises.
In Sierra Leone, Mariama* and other women in her community received training in good agricultural practice using climate-smart approaches.
Through the project, women received seeds and learned the full cycle of crop production as well as how to make affordable local compost and manage pests. The income Mariama earned allowed her to buy more food and new clothes for her family.
It also covered the medical expenses when her five-year-old daughter, Halimatu*, was hospitalized with malaria and typhoid. Without this support, Mariama would not have been able to afford the treatment her daughter needed to recover.
In Niger, Save the Children is promoting the economic and social empowerment of women and girls by providing training in sewing, weaving, food processing, and other practical skills. These opportunities help participants to build confidence, increase resilience in the face of stress or violence, and move toward greater self-reliance.
“Today we are trained in income-generating activities, and we hope our younger sisters will also benefit in the future,” said Jamila*, who took part in the program.
Save the Children also works with young women to build skills and access resources by connecting them to markets and services, helping create safe, inclusive, and equitable work environments.
In Ethiopia, Tsion* pursued her dream of owning a tire repair shop, even when the path forward seemed uncertain.
After graduating from university, Tsion struggled to find work, but after joining the Save the Children’s Leadership and Economic Empowerment Program (LEEP), she received training in work readiness, entrepreneurship, and gender equality. With the skills she gained, along with support from Save the Children and a loan from her father, she was able to buy the essential tools and open her own tire repair business.
“Before, just because I’m a woman, some people didn’t think that I could fix tires.”
Initially many people in her community doubted Tsion could succeed as a woman in tire repair. Over time though, her skill and dedication became apparent, her reputation grew, and soon neighbours were coming to her for all their tire maintenance. With her business thriving, Tsion was able to open a second location in a nearby village and significantly improve her financial situation.
When women and girls are empowered, communities thrive.
*Names changed.