{"id":34017,"date":"2017-11-01T19:56:32","date_gmt":"2017-11-01T19:56:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/sustainabledevelopment\/?p=34017"},"modified":"2018-04-22T11:48:59","modified_gmt":"2018-04-22T15:48:59","slug":"women-are-looking-for-opportunities-in-business-un-forum-told","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/sustainabledevelopment\/blog\/2017\/11\/women-are-looking-for-opportunities-in-business-un-forum-told\/","title":{"rendered":"Women are looking for opportunities in business, UN forum told"},"content":{"rendered":"
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<\/div>Despite overwhelming challenges women face at the workplace, \u201cthey are not helpless,\u201d they will follow their dreams, work to the hardest and achieve their business goals, was a core message on day two of a United Nations forum on sustainable development.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a chance for everyone around the world \u2013 policy makers, investors, those in technology \u2013 to realize that women are not waiting for handouts, they are looking for opportunities. An opportunity is not a handout,\u201d Adot Killmeyer-Oleche, the Chief of UN Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) Institute for Capacity Development, told\u00a0UN News<\/em>.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is an important message for all of us \u2013 the UN, development activists and practitioners, and change agents,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n

At a plenary panel discussion on the theme of\u00a0Women in industry<\/em><\/a>\u00a0policy makers, business persons, officials from financial institutions and UN agencies, and women and young entrepreneurs came together to discuss the challenges confronting women entrepreneurs and how to overcome them.<\/p>\n

Women entrepreneurs often find themselves at the end of the value chain, not just in terms of employment, but also when it comes to access to knowledge, technology and the basic resources \u2013 particularly finance \u2013 to do business.<\/p>\n

Adding to these barriers, women face very high level of stigma \u2013 a universal problem \u2013 with their projects and ideas not given the same level of attention or simply ignored because of the fact it came from a woman.<\/p>\n

\u201cWomen have challenges at all levels \u2013 traditionally they have had challenges getting education and training [\u2026] or made to enter trades ‘more associated’ with their gender,\u201d explained Killmeyer-Oleche, also a panellist at the session.<\/p>\n\n\t\t