SDG Cities: Women-led businesses supporting Women-led cities

SDG Cities aims to support 1000 cities accelerate their achievement of SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals), and positively impact on 1 billion lives, by offering a systematic way to support cities becoming sustainable and resilient. The global initiative does this by connecting data to inclusive, evidence-based strategic planning, to high impact project development and financing, and measuring for impact. It accompanies this process through diagnosing and strengthening local institutional capacity and systems in key areas of data management, governance, planning, financing, and service delivery, as foundations for urban transformation. SDG Cities is comprised of six implementation windows, one of which is women-led businesses supporting women-led cities, thus championing women leadership while delivering local impact. Women and girls represent half of the world’s population and therefore also half of its potential. Women’s equal participation and leadership in political, public life and private sector are essential to achieving the SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals) by 2030. However, data shows that women are underrepresented at all levels of decision-making worldwide and achieving gender-parity is far off. Encouraging women to take on leadership roles allows for financial independence, confidence, self-esteem, and role modelling for young women. Providing women with the right platform to share their ideas can enrich an organization's overall outlook and strategy, while producing tangible benefits. In addition, women with the correct means to express their ideas will not only be heard but will become part of the discussion that shapes cities. This session will bring together women speakers, including Liane Freire of BLENDGroup | BLENDLab who is dedicated to promoting sustainable development impact investments, and Carole Crist who is the Former First Lady of Florida and an accomplished international businesswoman. Additionally, women mayors will share their experiences and bring light to the challenges and opportunities they have faced during their journey to leadership. Over the last two decades, the gap between male and female employment rates has closed by only 0.6 percentage points. 1. The financing gap for women entrepreneurs remains at an estimated $285 billion. 2. Inequities between men and women have been exacerbated by the lingering effects of the global financial crisis. Solving these and other challenges will require more than private sector support— it will require private sector leadership. A WOMEN Business leadership. Gender-smart strategies for projects development and funding solutions are being promoted and can deliver benefits ranging from a better talent pipeline to a positive investment SDGs that creates markets for all.