The Hidden Economics of Remarkable Women (HERO)

As FP Analytics highlights in its new report, “Elevating Gender Equality in COVID-19 Economic Recovery,” there’s a dire global child care shortage, which the pandemic only worsened. But increasing COVID-19 recovery plan investments in care work—especially the child care sector—would deliver greater and more sustainable stimulus than other measures, such as construction-oriented funding. Still, even if more governments better support the care sector, how does one launch high-quality, affordable child care centers in the near future?

On the premiere episode of the Hidden Economics of Remarkable Women (or HER♀ for short), host Reena Ninan speaks with Kidogo co-founder Sabrina Habib about how she created a new approach to franchising affordable child care centers that has changed the lives of low-income mothers and female day care owners in Kenya. Habib describes how almost stepping on a baby in a day care center was a “moment of obligation” for her to make a difference. Then, Ninan hears about the state of early childhood development in Kenya from African Population and Health Research Center associate research scientist Patricia Wekulo.

The Hidden Economics of Remarkable Women is a Foreign Policy podcast supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

On today’s episode of the Hidden Economics of Remarkable Women, we’re headed to Uganda, where a group of women are saving money—and participating in a pilot program called “Household Dialogues” from the nonprofit CARE, where they’re attending a form of couples counseling. Host Reena Ninan speaks with Namara Eve, who participated in the Household Dialogues, and Julia Arnold, senior research director at Accion’s Center for Financial Inclusion.

But before we get into the Household Dialogues project, let us first explain a bit about women’s savings groups. Informal savings groups operating outside of a bank, where around a dozen individuals from a local community band together to save their money collectively, are a common practice in Uganda. One estimate showed that around two-thirds of all adults in Uganda save money that way, including a large number of women’s only groups. And during the pandemic in sub-Saharan Africa, FP Analytics notes that households with a member in an informal savings group have been more likely to have savings and less likely to experience food insecurity.

Women’s informal savings groups, however, can only do so much. To access larger sums of capital, the women need to join a bank, and oftentimes own a smartphone. And for many of these women, their husbands have the only smartphone in the household—which can be a barrier to the women’s economic advancement. So, in the Household Dialogues project, CARE financial counselors met seven times with women and their spouses to help the husbands be more actively supportive.

To hear more about the Household Dialogues project, listen to our latest episode on this page or subscribe on your favorite podcast app. The Hidden Economics of Remarkable Women is a Foreign Policy podcast supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

According to the International Labor Organization, 81.8 percent of women’s employment in India is concentrated in the informal economy—that is, work that is not taxed or is under the table. On today’s episode of the Hidden Economics of Remarkable Women, we examine why India has one of the highest rates of women in the informal sector and what can be done to get them more rights, income, and support. Host Reena Ninan first speaks with Deepa, a domestic worker and union member of the Self Employed Women’s Association (SEWA), which has more than 1.5 million women informal worker members. Then Ninan speaks with SEWA’s Punjab state coordinator Harsharan Kaur, who describes how SEWA advances the rights and economic empowerment of women informal workers. After that, Ninan talks to Institute of Social Studies Trust research fellow Monika Banerjee, who specializes in women informal workers in India, and, finally, the chief economist for South Asia at the World Bank, Hans Timmer.

To hear more about women informal workers in India, listen to our latest episode on this page or subscribe on your favorite podcast app—and thank you to Apple Podcasts, which just listed HERO as a New & Noteworthy Podcast! The Hidden Economics of Remarkable Women is a Foreign Policy podcast supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

When we use the phrase “remarkable women” for this podcast, Letty Chiwara definitely fits the bill. She is the current U.N. Women Representative to Ethiopia, the Africa Union Commission, and the U.N. Economic Commission for Africa. Although these are broad titles, one major part of her work is helping others get better data on the lives of Ethiopian women, including their full financial contributions to society.

On today’s episode of the Hidden Economics of Remarkable Women, we explore how getting better data on gender disparities is uncovering hidden truths in Ethiopia and elsewhere. Host Reena Ninan first speaks with Chiwara, who spearheaded a major gender data effort in Ethiopia. Then, Ninan talks to Emily Courey Pryor, executive director of the nonprofit Data2X. Her organization partners with entities like U.N. Women, the World Bank, the World Trade Organization, and individual countries to improve their collection and analysis of gender data.

To hear more about the movement to improve gender data, listen to our latest episode on this page or subscribe on your favorite podcast app. Also, for the real nerds out there, you can sign up to get a policy brief on gender equality. This is content that’s normally behind a paywall at Foreign Policy, but we’re offering special access to our podcast listeners. It’s a great resource for understanding the big picture on what’s happening globally to try and tackle gender inequality.

The Hidden Economics of Remarkable Women is an FP podcast supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Violence between cow herders and farmers has killed more people in recent years in northeastern Nigeria than the Boko Haram insurgency, according to the International Crisis Group. One solution to this conflict is creating a better environment for dairy producers so cattle herders do not need to travel as far to get feed for their cows. This would impact not only the country’s security but also the livelihoods of many rural Nigerian women.

On this episode of the Hidden Economics of Remarkable Women, we look at the Advancing Local Dairy Development in Nigeria (ALDDN) program. It is focused on smallholder female dairy producers, who make the majority of milk products in the country. ALDDN is primarily supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, which also supports this podcast.

First, we hear from Rakiya Dalhatu, a dairy producer who participated in ALDDN. Then, we talk to Ndidi Nwuneli, the co-founder of Sahel Consulting Agriculture and Nutrition Ltd., which leads the ALDDN program. And finally, we speak with Cornell University’s Ed Mabaya, who focuses on global development, agriculture, and food security issues in sub-Saharan Africa, including Nigeria.

To learn more about how the ALDDN program is trying to empower women, mitigate the effects of climate change, and decrease conflict in Nigeria, listen to our latest episode on this page, or subscribe on your favorite podcast app. The Hidden Economics of Remarkable Women is an FP podcast supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Finally, we are still offering a new policy brief on gender equality to our listeners! This is content that’s normally behind a paywall at Foreign Policy, but we’re offering special access right now. It’s a great resource for understanding the big picture on what’s happening globally to try to tackle gender inequality.

When we considered what to do for this last episode of the Hidden Economics of Remarkable Women’s first season, it was hard to think of the right people to interview. Who could really comment on what women are facing in the entire world? Thankfully, we were able to connect with two of the most influential women in the world fighting for global gender equality. They reflect on some of the themes we covered on the podcast and what they’re doing to move these issues forward.

Host Reena Ninan first talks to Melanne Verveer, currently the executive director of the Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security. U.S. President Barack Obama nominated Verveer to serve as the first-ever ambassador for global women’s issues in 2009. Before that, Verveer was chief of staff to Hillary Clinton when Clinton was the first lady.

Then, Ninan hears from UN Women Deputy Executive Director Anita Bhatia. UN Women is a part of the United Nations that is dedicated to gender equality and female empowerment. It works with governments, the private sector, and civil society around the world to create better programs and laws for women and girls. Bhatia largely focuses on improving women’s financial reality, so she shares some of her ideas for the best ways to advance women economically.

If you would like to keep in touch with us in the meantime—including sharing ideas of remarkable women we should talk to—feel free to email podcasts@foreignpolicy.com. We hope to be back in your feeds some time soon. The Hidden Economics of Remarkable Women is an FP podcast supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.