ONE/The GROWTH Act

From the ONE campaign:

TAKE ACTION

Find your Members of Congress by Zip Code

Call your Member of Congress: U.S. Capitol Switchboard 202-224-3121

Schedule a lobby visit (Targets are the House Foreign Affairs Committee Members)

Write a Letter to the Editor of your local newspapers.

TALKING POINTS
GLOBAL RESOURCES AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR WOMEN TO THRIVE

Background:

Investing in women is one of the surest routes to ending poverty in the developing world.

Despite the key role women play in developing countries, women tend to work in the lowest paid sectors, work longer hours, have less access to training and education, and have fewer economic opportunities than men.

Decades of research show that when women get more resources, they put their money towards making sure their children have better nutrition, education and health care.

Expanding economic opportunity for women also decreases women’s vulnerability to HIV/AIDS and gender-based violence.

About the Bill:

The GROWTH Act will provide solid, realistic steps to expand options for poor women by securing jobs, accessing credit and starting new businesses.

Promotes women’s ability to start and grow businesses through continued support for women’s enterprises after the initial microcredit loan, so their businesses will grow and employ other women.

Enhances women’s land and property rights so they can use their assets as collateral for loans.

Increases women’s access to better employment and improve wages and working conditions for jobs dominated by women by increasing women’s skills and informing them of their legal rights in the workplace.

Ensures that the benefits of trade agreements reach poor women in developing countries through programs like trade capacity building and training for women entrepreneurs.

HOW? - The GROWTH Act creates an ‘incentive fund’ within USAID to actively encourage economic opportunity projects in poor developing countries to incorporate women’s needs.

FACT SHEET
THE GROWTH ACT GLOBAL RESOURCES AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR WOMEN TO THRIVE
The Global Resources and Opportunities for Women to Thrive Act (GROWTH Act) is groundbreaking legislation that proposes important changes to U.S. international assistance and trade programs to prioritize economic opportunities for women living in poverty worldwide. Investing in women is one of the surest routes to ending poverty in the developing world. The innovative provisions of the GROWTH Act remove a range of barriers that prevent women from participating actively in their countries’ economies. If passed, it would make U.S. policy a driver of positive change for women around the world.

WHAT YOU CAN DO
Ask your Member of Congress to cosponsor the GROWTH Act (H.R. 2965) - sponsored by Reps. Nita Lowey (D-NY) and Ileana Ros- Lehtinen (R-FL) and soon to be introduced in the Senate by Senators Kay Bailey Hutchison (RTX) and Richard Durbin (D-IL) - which proposes changes in U.S. international assistance and trade programs to prioritize the economic opportunities of women living in poverty worldwide, removing barriers that prevent their access to the world economy.

WOMEN ARE THE BACKBONE OF THE GLOBAL ECONOMY
Women’s share of the labor force is increasing in almost all regions of the world. However, although 60% of farm workers in Africa are women, they receive less than 1 percent of the total credit available to agriculture. Despite the key role women play in developing countries, women tend to work in the lowest paid sectors, have less stable incomes, work longer hours, have less access to training and education, and have fewer economic opportunities than men.

Decades of research and experience have shown that poor women reinvest any extra income they have in their children, creating a positive cycle of growth for the family. Greater economic opportunity for a woman means her daughters are more likely to go to school, her babies are more likely to survive infancy, and her family is more likely to eat nutritious meals. The woman herself is less vulnerable to trafficking and HIV/AIDS, and has more options in the face of violence or abuse.

KEY PROVISIONS OF THE BILL
The GROWTH Act authorizes $40 million for FY 2008 to reshape foreign assistance and trade policy to:

Promote women’s ability to start and grow businesses through continued support for women’s enterprises, and after the initial microcredit loan, so their businesses will grow and employ other women

Enhance women’s land and property rights so they can use their assets as collateral for loans, even prove ownership rights if they need compensation in the event of a disaster

Increase women’s access to better employment and improve wages and working conditions for jobs dominated by women by increasing women’s skills and informing them of their workplace legal rights

Ensure that the benefits of trade agreements reach poor women in developing countries through programs like trade capacity building and training for women entrepreneurs

Read more here.