Today, Australia will take part in the launch of the United Nations’ first ever International Women’s Entrepreneurship Day.
The United Nations has created Women’s Entrepreneurship Day as a global movement to empower women in business and compel nations to work towards equal economic participation for men and women.
The UN is asking nations to take a pledge to “empower, celebrate and support women in business and build a strong network for change worldwide”.
Globally, women still only have a 58-70% share in the economic and political resources available to men.
WED CEO and Founder Wendy Diamond said the initiative is meant to celebrate and support the ways in which female entrepreneurs benefit the global economy.
“Since 1999, I’ve been a female entrepreneur and woman spearheading in small businesses. I personally encountered the many challenges that women deal with daily in the business world,” she told Thomson-Reuters.
“When women are provided economic empowerment they outspend men on their family’s health, nutrition, and education by threefold. Investing in women promotes economic and social development as women reinvest in their communities and homes.”
The United Nations expects female-owned businesses to grow by 90% over the next five years through initiatives like Women’s Entrepreneurship Day.
To launch International Women’s Entrepreneurship Day, some of Australia’s leading businesswomen climbed the Harbour Bridge this morning to represent the importance of overcoming barriers to success for women in business.
Sonya Karras and Sacha Kaluri were selected to represent Australia as entrepreneurial ambassadors. After separately building careers as motivational speakers for young people, the two women joined forces and created the Australian Teenage Expo, the only nationwide event designed to enable and inspire Australian teenagers.
“This day is a fantastic way to celebrate women in business. We need to recognise all the women – and there are so many of us – who take the risk to start our own businesses and enter the entrepreneurial world,” Karras told Women’s Agenda.
Karras said there are still barriers to women in business but that they are slowly being broken down.
“We know that it is still not a level playing field and there are a lot of issues still facing women in the business world. We have learned that you have to be persistent, find new ways of solving old problems and not back down,” she said.
Karras said both she and Kaluri felt dismissed by male colleagues when starting their business together, but that they encounter these attitudes less frequently now.
“The bridge climb is representative of all of us women overcoming these challenges and succeeding in all of our business ventures,” she said.
Businesswomen Robyn Foyster, Karen Lawson, Elise Strachen and Lyndey Milan joined Karras and Kaluri on this morning’s bridge climb.
New York City will also host a Women’s Entrepreneurship Day launch, with ambassadors Sarah Obama (the US president’s grandmother), Amy Robach and Sandy Lemer.