UPS' New program to provide empowerment to Indian women

Due to a partnership with a potent Atlanta-based firm that knows how to deliver, 500 previously uninvolved Indian women now have a fundamental grasp of international trade.

United Parcel Service Inc. began its Women Export Programme in India this month in an effort to overcome barriers that have kept women from participating fully in the global economy.

The effort is consistent with UPS's dedication to empowering women via economic access, particularly in Asia but also in many other areas across the 220 nations and territories it serves.

The company's executive vice president and chief corporate affairs and sustainability officer, Laura Lane, was also travelling to India at the same time to showcase the company's commitment to women via different business and humanitarian efforts.

Several countries, notably Mexico, Saudi Arabia, and Vietnam, have launched the Women Exporter Programme. According to Ms. Lane, although precise difficulties differ based on each country's cultural and legal structure, women typically confront the same difficult situation.

Some cultures forbid women from opening bank accounts, acquiring property, or applying for credit without a male co-signer. In certain places, women are not allowed to travel, either locally or abroad. These rules prohibit many individuals from controlling the direction of their business, Ms. Lane claimed in an interview with Global Atlanta.

How can a business be run if the land and other resources required to produce the product are not owned by the firm? There are differences in who has access to money, according to Ms. Lane. "All small and medium-sized firms must have access to capital for business growth as well as trade financing to maximise the growth and scaling potential of exporting. If women are not permitted to obtain it, how can you do that?

UPS has been working inside international organisations to advance top-down reform. It has forced World Trade Organisation members to amend their nation's General Agreement on Trade in Services to forbid gender discrimination. The APEC Business Advisory Council, or ABAC, where Ms. Lane is one of three business representatives for the United States in the Asian forum, gave birth to a project that was tied to it.

Since the launch of the Women Exporter Programme in 2018, UPS has also worked locally, educating women in areas including marketing, warehousing, customs, finance, managing e-commerce platforms, and more. Businesses like Microsoft and Google, together with partners like Visa and Mastercard, have been enlisted to help with credit and payment access.

Ms. Lane launched the India edition in March in cooperation with the Ministry of Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises in Delhi and the India SME Forum in Mumbai. For the initial 500 open positions, almost 2,000 applications were received, much surpassing capacity.

"I frequently get asked, 'Well, it's only 500 women, but we want to make sure we have 500 success stories. So, we're taking it slow and methodically working with every woman as an individual, understanding their special product offering and special market opportunities, and making sure we're running right alongside them so they can be successful. Repeat after me: wash, rinse, and repeat, Ms. Lane said.

Ms. Lane spoke with Global Atlanta the day before she arrived in Atlanta to kick off the third edition of the Women's Export University programme, a one-day event held in partnership with the Mayor's Office of Immigrant and International Affairs. For additional information about the programme, click here.

Even though the Atlanta programme had a lot of participation, India's impact was far bigger because of its greater need.

Although many may be concerned about the risks of selling abroad, Ms. Lane claims that "there are many women entrepreneurs outside the United States who don't have the benefit of being able to sell to a U.S.-size consumer market to be able to" and that "the training helps calm their anxieties."

She said that many of these women-owned businesses "recognise that they don't have to restrict their development potential, merely by how far their community spreads, provided we explain the hazards".

Along with UPS coworkers, Ms. Lane donated 4,000 feminine hygiene products and helped plant 900 trees. She also agreed to help small and medium-sized enterprises assess their environmental impact and receive certifications by signing a contract with FICCI.

After then, Ms. Lane took part in a panel discussion titled "The Startup Planet: Reclaiming Half the Sky" on the second day of the Raisina Dialogue, a significant geopolitical and economic conference held in Delhi.