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Whats Next for Empowering Women and Girls

APCO Worldwide has supported clients across industries and geographies contributing to this space, providing services such as strategy development, program implementation, partnership development, thought leadership, storytelling, media outreach, campaigns and reputation management. Roadmap for Promoting Womens Economic Empowerment APCO supported the branding, website development, digital strategy and media outreach for the Roadmap initiative, in addition to overall strategic and communication counsel. BlackBerry Scholars Program The BlackBerry Scholars Program is a four-year, full-ride scholarship program for women studying STEM elds. APCO helped shape the Scholars Program, developing the structure and messaging and working to identify ways to leverage the program internally and externally. We have conducted media outreach announcing the program as well as the winners, garnering more than 190 articles. Landesa APCO worked with Landesa to build a robust, global media relations program, positioning Landesas senior leaders as issue experts. To date, we have helped secure coverage in a variety of national and international media including NPRs Morning Edition, Oprah Magazine, The Guardian, The Economist, The Wall Street Journal and Forbes. Mary Kay Dont Look Away In 2012, Mary Kay engaged APCO to garner national and local media coverage showcasing Mary Kays ongoing efforts in support of domestic violence awareness and prevention. APCO conceptualized the Dont Look Away campaign, which raised awareness for the issue and highlighted many of Mary Kays domestic violence prevention and awareness initiatives. APCOs support included media relations, the creation of a logo and infographic design for the campaign, and the development of a communications toolkit with key messages and talking points. APCO garnered nearly 6.5 million impressions through earned media coverage.

n 2013, women and girls (W&G) took a central role in the global development agenda, as more companies, NGOs and governments took action on these issues launching new partnerships and initiatives. Key convenings of global leaders, including the Clinton Global Initiative Annual Meeting and World Economic Forum, also featured the subject. Empowering women and girls promises to be a continued focus in 2014, with several key trends taking the forefront. >>
Research & Databases Data-driven research initiatives have been launched by diverse organizations to map the landscape and identify what works. Three highly visible initiatives include: Roadmap for Promoting Womens Economic Empowerment: The Roadmap for Promoting Womens Economic Empowerment, led by the United Nations Foundation and ExxonMobil Foundation, identies interventions that are proven, promising or have a highpotential to increase productivity and earnings for different groups of women in particular economic and country contexts. Knowledge Gateway for Womens Economic Empowerment: Led by UN Women in partnership with several international agencies and organizations, the Knowledge Gateway is a user-friendly online platform and database with a library of resources, tools and information on successful policies and best practices on womens economic empowerment. No Ceilings: The Full Participation Project: No Ceilings, led by former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, is conducting a global analysis of progress against the 1995 Beijing conference goals for the status of women and girls, with particular focus on their role in the economy, politics and national security.

Women in Leadership There is growing attention to gender diversity within corporate boards and senior leadership. Lean In sparked a global conversation about women pursuing their ambitions. Housed at the Wilson Center, 50 by 50 is pushing for 50 percent representation of women in public service by 2050. Additionally, one of the main criticisms of Davos 2014 was the low percentage of female attendees, particularly given the Forums focus on women. Emphasis on Supply Chain Numerous companies have launched initiatives to connect women entrepreneurs with large global companies to provide access to markets, earnings and demand-driven skills. At the 2013 Clinton Global Initiative Annual Meeting, WEConnect International, Vital Voices, and companies including Accenture, ExxonMobil, Intel, Marriott International and Walmart committed to identify, develop and scale high-potential women entrepreneurs who can become strong corporate suppliers. Property Rights/Family Farming The UN declared 2014 the International Year of Family Farming to highlight the potential of family farming to eradicate hunger, preserve natural resources and promote sustainable development, as well as put smallholder farming at the center of agricultural, environmental and social policies. Because women make up a large portion of smallholder farmers, the role of women in agriculture has been a key part of this conversation. There is growing recognition of the crucial role of land rights in enabling womens economic empowerment. Women in STEM The gender gap in STEM elds has garnered signicant attention, prompting the private sector, governments and NGOs to engage more women and girls in these areas where they have been chronically underrepresented. Using the US Census Bureaus statistic that only 24% of STEM-related jobs are held by women, top tier outlets like The New York Times and The Washington Post have brought attention to this issue. As a result, several initiatives from the government, top organizations and companies such as Oracle, Microsoft, IBM, Yahoo!, etc. have established programs to provide scholarships, mentoring, tutoring and other support for girls entering STEM elds. Violence Against Women Violence against women has recently seen renewed activism in the United States, European Union and developing countries. In the United States, the focus has largely been the Violence Against Women Act, sexual violence on college campuses and rape culture, whereas in developing countries, the emphasis has been on violence against women in conict regions. Recently, there has been a lot of activism surrounding ending violence against women in the Middle East, particularly in Afghanistan and Syria, as the region tries to rebuild after upheaval. In November-December 2013, the UN and UN Women launched the Orange the World campaign to promote the annual UNiTE to End Violence against Women campaign.

Adolescent Girls Over the past year, there has been an increased focus on girls in particular. Girl activists, such as Malala Yousafzei, have gained prominence for their bravery and leadership for girls rights and education. Ending child marriage and promoting the healthy development of girls are two other major areas of focus. Girl Declaration: The Girl Declaration, led by Nikes Girl Effect, is a call to action to put girls at the heart of the post2015 development agenda. A number of individual leaders, government agencies, and companies have signed onto the Girl Declaration, vowing to follow its principles to create a better future for girls and end poverty. Girls Not Brides: Girls Not Brides is a global partnership of more than 300 civil society organizations from more than 50 countries committed to ending child marriage. Financial Inclusion Because women have less access to nancial services and make up a large portion of the worlds poor and informally employed, new initiatives are emphasizing the untapped power of womenomics. The World Bank, IMF and IFC have all been active on this issue, regularly releasing reports and publishing op-eds and blog posts on womens nancial inclusion as a way to eradicate poverty. Featured sub-topics in this area include savings, mobile banking, and cash transfers. Equal Pay In the United States, equal pay has been a great concern; activists have largely rallied around the lack of implementation of the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act and the notion of equal pay for equal work. On January 28, 2014, President Obama highlighted equal pay as a key priority in his State of the Union address.

World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts APCO has a multi-year partnership with the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts, which helps more than 10 million girls and young women in 145 countries realize their full potential as responsible citizens of the world. APCO helps the organization build corporate partnerships, develop compelling materials, report its progress more effectively and raise its external prole. APCOs support has helped the organization gain access to and leverage important positioning opportunities including the Clinton Global Initiative, National Council on Volunteerism and Service and IAVEs World Volunteer Conference. Diversity at a Global Tech Company APCO partnered with global Fortune 500 technology company to help raise the visibility of its programs to empower women internally and externally, and improve its presence on relevant rankings and awards. APCO surveyed the landscape of diversity and inclusion examining competitors and those considered best in class and provided recommendations on how to advance the companys public image in this space.

Globally, many developed countries including the United Kingdom and those in the European Union have also begun to focus more heavily on the gender wage gap. MENA Region Violence against women, economic equality and political participation of women in the MENA Region are growing areas of focus. In March 2013, the World Bank released a report on the lag of womens economic and political participation in the region despite increased investments in health and education and provided recommendations to facilitate their participation in the labor market. Most recently, conicts in Syria and Afghanistan have put women at the forefront of peacebuilding. MDGs As the deadline for the Millennium Development Goals approaches, there has been a renewed effort to make signicant progress and achieve the global 2015 targets. MDG #3 (gender equality) and MDG #5 (maternal health) both focus on women and girls, subsequently fostering dialogue on how to promote gender equality and empower women. At Davos 2014, the UN Foundation led the Investing in Girls Empowerment for MDG Acceleration luncheon featuring UN Secretary General Ban KiMoon, Norwegian Prime Minister Erna Soldberg and Rwandan President Paul Kagame, which highlighted investment in girls education as a prerequisite for driving development, ending poverty and promoting gender equality. The approaching deadline has driven discussions on the post-2015 development agenda. At various events and press conferences, Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, executive director of UN Women, has already emphasized the need for women and girls to be at the forefront of this agenda. For more information, please contact:
Leela Stake director, San Francisco lstake@apcoworldwide.com Hannah Grill project consultant, New York hgrill@apcoworldwide.com

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