When Women Work, Economies Grow
Celebrating Women’s Economic Empowerment on International Women’s Day
This International Women’s Day, we want to recognize the role that women have played in building the Cambodian economy, as well as address the problems that still restrict women’s ability to fully engage in the market and access economic opportunities that are available to men. Cambodia has some of the highest proportions of women-owned businesses compared to its neighboring countries, such as Thailand, Vietnam, and Indonesia. In fact, women own 61% of micro and medium sized businesses in Cambodia, a sector that makes up 58% of Cambodia’s GDP and 70% of its employment. Women are also more likely to choose banks for financing their enterprises, at 24% compared to 21% of men. More women use deposits (31% compared to 26%) and insurance products (29% compared to 21%) than men.
Unfortunately, a higher level of participation in the economy doesn't imply that women have equal access to markets, information and economic opportunities compared to men. Gender norms in Cambodian culture limits their economic independence and prevents women from developing in business. This is why women-owned businesses in Cambodia are smaller and less profitable than men-owned businesses, averaging an annual profit of 2644$ compared to $4929 for men. Barriers to women’s economic empowerment include traditional gender norms that require women to fulfill domestic responsibilities such as household chores and taking care of younger siblings, limited educational opportunities which lead to lower levels of literacy (75% of women compared to 87% of men) and a general lack of knowledge and skills surrounding business and finance. This is especially felt by women living in poverty. Furthermore, women have a much harder time accessing banks and finance opportunities, with 58% of their loan applications being rejected due to insufficient collateral. Women have less time to network and build business partnerships due to domestic responsibilities that restrict their time away from home.
Women are evidently central to the success of Cambodia’s economy, and yet they face more obstacles to economic participation than men do. Women’s economic empowerment and autonomy is a crucial step towards women’s rights and gender equality in Cambodia, and must be addressed not only for the benefit of women but for the benefit of Cambodia’s economy.
Our Response
To address this issue, Inclusive Cambodia carried out a 12-part female economic empowerment workshop, aimed at giving women the skills, resources and opportunities to transcend social limitations and encourage their participation in the economy to foster more sustainable development. Our workshop was attended by 52 women living in urban poor communities of Phnom Penh, the majority of whom are silk weavers, market sellers, and farmers. The main goal of the workshop was to develop women's financial literacy, focusing on topics such as budgeting and keeping expense records, financing and business loans, cash flow, waste reduction and using environmentally friendly and sustainable practices. We also aimed to develop soft and hard skills, improve educational attainment, practice life skills and create inclusive economic growth.
However, education is not enough. We wanted to build the capacity of women by providing resources and opportunities for employment and business growth. We provided 18 women with small business grants to help them acquire materials to start or grow their business. We have also created a self-sustaining savings group, where interest free loans can be taken out and repaid over 6 months, to be replenished in the savings group so that others can borrow as well. The group currently reaches up to 100 families on Koh Dach and will continue to grow in size so that more women can have access to loaning opportunities. With this system in place, we hope to empower women by fostering a community of leadership and cooperation.
This was transformative for many of the women who participated, who beforehand had little to no training in finance and were largely running their businesses with the help of their husbands or brothers. By the end of the workshops, the women reported having a better understanding of their spending and greater ability to track their finances both in their personal and work lives. They felt like they could make more informed decisions when it came to business planning and were able to develop strategies for business growth. As Sreymoch, one of the attendees states:
“I am very grateful to have taken part in this project helping women business people in my community. Before I started, I did not know how to record my income and expenses for my house and my small business. Now that I have the right information, my shop is doing much better.”
Women’s economic empowerment is essential to fully realising gender equality in society. Closing gender gaps in the world of work would not only allow for greater female autonomy, but would enhance Cambodia’s economy immensely. When women work, economies grow.