VP Kamala Harris Launches WISE Initiative for Women's Empowerment

Vice President Kamala Harris, in collaboration with the Biden-Harris Administration, has established the Women in the Sustainable Economy (WISE) Initiative, a historic step toward gender parity and economic sustainability.

The initiative, which is aligned with the 2023 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) theme of "Creating a Resilient and Sustainable Future for All," aims to empower women globally by increasing access to employment, training, leadership roles, and financial resources in critical sectors such as clean energy, fisheries, recycling, forest management, and environmental conservation.

Vice President Harris announced commitments totaling more than $900 million from governments, private sector firms, foundations, and civil society to increase women's economic participation. The WISE Initiative is a public-private cooperation with three main goals:

Promoting Well-Paying employment: Ensuring that women have the necessary skills, training, and access to well-paying employment in energy, land, and water management.

Supporting Women-Owned Businesses: Increasing women entrepreneurs' access to banking, financial services, networks, markets, and technical support in these vital industries.

Eliminating Participation hurdles: Promoting STEM education for girls and removing hurdles that hinder equitable access to and control over assets.

The Engendering Industries program, the Climate Gender Equity Fund, the Equal Stake in the Soil project, and the Building Economic Inclusion via the Blue Economy initiative are all flagship programs.

WISE has received significant funding from governments such as Australia, Canada, Japan, Mexico, and Norway, as well as private sector behemoths like as Amazon, Citi, LinkedIn, Mastercard, PepsiCo, Reckitt Benckiser, Unilever, and the Visa Foundation. This historic alliance intends not just to provide economic possibilities for women, but also to fight climate change and promote global sustainable development.