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Demand More Balance in How Women Are Treated

Wonder Woman — just like Superman — was a superhero born out of a time period and culture that made her creation necessary. She was created strong and powerful, fighting for justice, love, peace and gender equality. She was created on the backbone of two world wars and the 70-year civil rights struggle for women suffrage.

In the earliest comic strips, Wonder Woman fought bravely for women’s rights and independence long before she fought super villains. She even created a university for women because she believed in the power of education.

Fast-forward to today and women in the U.S. are still fighting to be treated equally. In 2015, women are still under-paid, under-represented in politics and in the boardroom, over-sexualized and too often not taken seriously.

The great news is that women’s rights in America have come a long way and, according to the United Nations’ Gender Inequality Index, the U.S. is now considered one of the best places in the world to be a woman.

However, most women in other parts of the world aren’t as lucky. About 70 percent of the world’s poor are women. In countries such as Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Cambodia, women and girls make up around 70 percent of the apparel sweatshop workers. They are paid between 50 cents and $1 per day for working 12-hour shifts with no paid time off or health benefits. In Uzbekistan, children (mostly girls) as young as 7 are forced to work in cotton fields for four to five months a year during cotton-picking season.

Women’s access to basic education is still difficult in many developing nations. Malala, the youngest Noble Peace Prize winner, took a bullet to the head because she was outspoken about her right as a woman to go to school.

Empowering Women Drives GDP

The problem lies in the economic cycle of poverty. Breaking that cycle and empowering women through business is the most important thing we can do to even the scales and improve a nation’s GDP over time.

In the U.S. and abroad, women are more likely than men to repay loans when given the opportunity. Educated and economically empowered women are the key to raising a community out of poverty. Many developing countries stunt their ability to thrive because girls and women are treated as property or as second-class citizens who are denied access to education and well-paying jobs.

Since I co-founded Vavavida three years ago, my work has given me the opportunity to understand these issues more deeply in the hope that I can help solve them. I also decided that, as a consumer, I have the power to demand more from brands.

Fair Trade is a Reinvestment

Shopping more ethically was the simplest step I could start with and seeking out ethically made products was a simple commitment I could make to support them. At Vavavida, my partners and I made the commitment from the beginning that the jewelry we would retail would have to be fair trade. For an artisan, being part of the fair trade system means that the product they make yields a living wage and that part of that premium will be reinvested in the local community.

That’s why I would encourage you to purchase fair trade products. You can also get involved with local women-focused organizations like PCI (Project Concern International) with their Women Empowered program, or Connected Women of Influence, an organization dedicated to creating a support and networking system for women in leadership positions.

And finally, my advice to business leaders is to review your roster and demand a more balanced ratio of men and women in the office and in the boardroom. Hire women, listen to the women on your staff, encourage them, promote them, pay them equal to what men are paid, and bring them onto the board. You won’t be sorry you did.

Antoine Didienne is the founder of Vavavida, a San Diego-based fair-trade accessories company that empowers women to break the cycle of poverty.

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