Women Leading Change: Experiences promoting women’s empowerment, leadership, and gender justice

Overview

Four case studies describe experiences from Cambodia, the Philippines, Sri Lanka and Indonesia in promoting women’s political and economic empowerment and leadership. Drawn from Oxfam partner organizations which operate in unique environments and have their own approaches, the case studies reveal a number of common themes. They describe the context in which women live, what leadership means and how to achieve it. Attention is given to working within existing institutions and cultural norms, and also to creating new institutions. The final section summarizes common lessons and considerations for future policy and practice aiming to promote women’s empowerment and leadership.
The organizations featured:
• Agri-Aqua Development Coalition (AADC) on the island of Mindanao in the Philippines, which uses the Poor Women’s Economics Leadership (PWEL) approach;
• Dairy Development Programme (DDP) in Sri Lanka, also using the PWEL approach;
• Perkumpulan Sada Ahmo (PESADA), working on the islands of Sumatra and Nias in Indonesia, building women’s credit unions as a vehicle for women’s political empowerment;
• Committee to Promote Women in Politics (CPWP), the first network in Cambodia to empower grassroots women through promoting political leadership;
• Asosiasi Pendamping Perempuan Usaha Kecil (ASPPUK), an Indonesian organization working nationwide to empower women at the grassroots level through a micro-business network.