Leadership and skills toward GESI and Women's Economic Empowerment

In Nepal, women of all ages face social discrimination creating disparity and imbalance power structures. Nevertheless it is encouraging to learn that: progress in the political representation of women has been achieved; there have been significant gains in their access to services such as access to good quality education and health care; civil society organizations are very active in advocating for Gender Equality and Social Inclusion (GESI) and have some strategies or policies. Through my volunteering mandate with the CECI, I am proud to contribute to the preparation of a Training Guide and a Participants’ booklet on Leadership and Interpersonal Skills.

As leadership and related interpersonal skills are major levers to Gender Equality and Social Integration as well as to Women’s Economic Empowerment, and as leaders are not always people who hold higher ranks in an organization but people who are known for their beliefs and work ethics, it is important to pass on the message that none of the potential discrimination elements (education, caste, religion, etc) a person can undergo, every human being, including women and young women, can learn about the behavioral approach employed by leaders, by people empowered, to have access, control, influence, generate and administer, or to act on life’s decisions.

Hence, the Training Guide and a Participants’ booklet on Leadership and Interpersonal Skills aim at empowering Nepal’s organizations to contribute to further improvements of women development with regards to Gender Equality Social Inclusion and Women Economic Empowerment. Their main goals are to support women to: build their self-confidence and self-esteem to speak-up; contribute to discussions, influence and contribute equally to strategic decisions in their professional and personal lives; and ultimately to be recognized and valued as important agents of change. Stay tuned as these tools will soon be available to CECI’s Hub community!