Women, Business and the Economy: How Can Global Companies Support Empowerment and the Road to Markets?

Nov 14, 2018 | by The SEEP Network

This webinar featured how global companies can empower women by creating opportunities for them as entrepreneurs, suppliers, and distributors in the global economy. Global companies are in a unique position to drive inclusive growth by supporting women’s entrepreneurship and integrating women into the value chain. As women-led businesses are given opportunities to scale and connect to markets, this creates broad-based economic growth in their communities. Our expert speakers shared a model by Coca-Cola that seeks to empower 5 million women by 2020 as well as a toolkit developed by Acumen and Unilever which provides a framework for corporations, investors, donors, and philanthropists to measure the impact of their investments in women and girls.

Moderator

Shamarukh Mohiuddin, Principal Associate, Nathan Associates

Shamarukh Mohiuddin engages the private sector in U.S. government efforts to support international economic development, trade and market integration. Previously, she served as the Director of Economic Empowerment at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation where she helped global businesses harness their efforts to promote economic empowerment in under-served communities globally. She also served as Senior Advisor at WEConnect International, connecting women-owned businesses to global corporate value chains.

Ms. Mohiuddin is an expert in catalyzing cross-sector partnerships for development and equipping businesses to be drivers and advocates for inclusive growth. Her previous experiences included international trade policy, trade facilitation and corporate social responsibility. She holds an M.A. in International Relations from Johns Hopkins University, School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS).

Speakers

Angie Rozas, Senior Director, Social Impact, The Coca-Cola Company

Angie Rozas leads 5by20, The Coca-Cola Company’s signature initiative to enable the economic empowerment of 5 million women entrepreneurs across the Company’s value chain by 2020. Angie’s progressive 23-year career with Coca-Cola includes roles across Strategic Planning, Marketing, Innovation, and Sustainability. Her work on 5by20 began in 2012. As the global leader, she provides strategy and expertise on Women’s Economic Empowerment and collaborates with local teams, stakeholders and partners around the world to drive plans to meet the ambitious goal through shared best practices, scalable tools, and pioneering monitoring and evaluation processes and studies.

Megan Cassidy, Lean Data Head of Content and Operations, Acumen

Megan Cassidy runs point on Lean Data operations and leads the development and execution of content and knowledge management. She has also managed Lean Data’s evolving work on gender. Prior to joining Acumen, Megan spent nine years within the Columbia University ecosystem, most recently as Head of Online Education and Director of Operations at the Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN), a nonprofit organization incubated within the Earth Institute. In that capacity, Megan led the creation of the SDG Academy, an online education initiative that produces educational content at scale on the Sustainable Development Goals. Megan began her career as a teacher at an elementary school in the South Bronx, where she worked for five years. Megan holds an MPA in Development Practice from Columbia's School of International and Public Affairs and a Masters in Education from Pace University.

This webinar is hosted by The SEEP Network's Women's Economic Empowerment Working Group.