Sujatha Ramani, CEO, Pollinate Group
If you find yourself at an event, a morning tea, a panel discussion, even a dinner with friends, I challenge you to look with new eyes and find deeper meaning on International Women’s Day.
It’s easy to enjoy cakes and ribbons, quotes from famous women in presentations and social media celebrations. But one day is a moment, and we need an ongoing movement to accelerate change and create impact at a grass-roots level.
The issues we must address to achieve gender equality are hard to talk about, they make us feel uncomfortable, but it is those very conversations that will instigate change at a faster pace.
As the United Nations states: the world has made unprecedented advances, but no country has achieved gender equality. For all communities to prosper we must ensure women have equal access for opportunities in education, business and life.
At Pollinate Group, women are at the centre of our solution. Our vision is a world where women are equipped to lead their communities out of poverty. Our mission is to empower women as leaders of change, distributing sustainable products such as solar lights, to improve health, save time and save money for the world’s most neglected communities, while contributing to a greener planet.
I’m incredibly proud of our efforts to train more than 650 women as entrepreneurs, providing access to opportunities and meaningful income that see women increase financial independence, and be able to contribute financially to improve the life and education of their children.
While acknowledging how far the world has to go, I also acknowledge the importance of celebrating successes, like Lakshmi and Sabitri, to show what’s possible when we commit to empowering women at every level. I am also proud of our own team, which is comprised of 53% women.
We met Lakshmi in 2013. Together with her four children, she was surviving without basic needs and doing all she could to keep her children in school. Lakshmi was one of our first customers and she bought a solar light, a product she had never heard of before. Lakshmi was able to afford the product on one of our payment plans. Now, compared to spending money on kerosene, she saves A$100 every year. In 2018 Lakshmi decided to join us as a sales agent, to sell products that improve quality of life. She is becoming a leader in her community and a role model for other women and girls.
Sabitri is an entrepreneur in Nepal. Her role has given her confidence, and she feels she is a completely different person than she was before she began working as an entrepreneur.
Sabitri says, “I have grown as a person and in business, we receive training that helps build skills and we make connections in Nepal and Internationally too. My family is very proud of my role with Pollinate Group, they are happy to see me standing on my own two feet, supporting my family and being financially independent.”
My challenge to you
The women we work with every day, like Lakshmi and Sabitri, have taken risks, embraced the unknown and are paving the way to end systemic barriers and discrimination based on their gender.
In your conversations this International Women’s Day I challenge you to discuss how you can do the same. Be brave, be bold and be proud.
Lastly, mark another date in your calendar: International Men’s Day on November 19. Because it will take everyone to make progress faster.
Inspired to empower more women?
Learn more about why we empower women.
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