The Women Building Gender Equity From The Social Enterprise World Forum

For those of us lucky enough to have attended the historical first Social Enterprise World Forum in a developing economy, Addis Ababa was a week to remember for the rest of our lives. Not only was it evident that social enterprise is a proven solution for the most challenging issues we face as a human race, it reinforced the momentum this movement is generating.

It was also a refreshing breath of hope to see that social enterprise is really becoming a level working field for women and non-binary leaders globally.

Davinia Vella shares insights into how the annual SEWF is building gender equity by empowering female and non-binary leadership in social enterprise, putting a spotlight on a number of the women leaders from this year’s forum.

Statistically those of us interested in gendered leadership have all read the articles about social enterprise being a more accepting place for women leaders. The 4.8% of women CEOs in the top 500 S&P Companies is comparatively dwarfed by the 38% female leadership in social enterprises[1], even if the London School of Economics in 2015 revealed that women CEOs in social enterprises earn 29% less than their male counterparts. The argument is that women are more likely to succeed when they are doing it for someone else’s benefit, or that women are most willing to work the hardest toward social outcomes with less financial returns. We will collectively applaud this as a win. It was especially important to see this shift reflected and celebrated at SEWF 2019. Where for the first time ever 53% of speakers were female, more than half the attendees were female and each panel or discussion showcased strong diverse African leaders, empowered in their mission to bring change within their own communities.

Culture is said to be set at the top, and it is no surprise that strong and empathic female leaders are currently serving on the SEWF board. Women like Paula Woodman who leads the British Council’s Global Social Enterprise programme in over 20 countries, and Elena Casolari, an economist and impact investor in social enterprises and inclusive businesses in 16 countries, have set the agenda long ago. Fuelled by the all-encompassing, equitable and feminine leadership of the current SEWF Chair Hélène Malandain, this energy was felt throughout the Addis Ababa activities. Hélène’s dynamic leadership was evident when she started working on SEWF 2017 in Christchurch. Hélène and the team at the Ākina Foundation delivered an impeccable Forum that year. The attention to detail, the deep respect for tradition, culture, community and environment, together with seamless logistics and technology, made the Forum a deeply spiritual and connected experience, full of hope and excitement for the future. Hélène not only excelled in the coordination and delivery of that event, but positioned herself as a global mover and shaker in the international social enterprise movement by joining the SEWF board. Her journey to Chairperson fills many young and not so young females with aspiration, as we see our possibilities open in a field which values what we bring to the table as empowered women.

A notable pioneer of social enterprise globally and a fixed and valued presence at each SEWF, is the Edinburgh based Claire Carpenter. Claire founded one of the first ever co-working spaces when in 2005 she started The Melting Pot. The Melting Pot is more than a shared office space; it encapsulates a philosophy of building on people, places and ideas. The brilliant localised franchising model has allowed over 10 co-working spaces, 48 accelerator programs and 300 partnerships to be created and thrive in the last year alone. Claire continues her journey of scale and reach by affecting the lives and livelihoods of hundreds of people she works with.

Claire is notorious when it comes to being at every after party and social happening around the SEWF, so it’s unlikely that you have not had a dance with her.

Heliante Hilman founder and CEO of JAVARA in Indonesia, is no new face at SEWF either. Her leadership in bringing over 52,000 Indigenous farmers together to protect and fairly commercialise Indonesia‘s rich food bio-diversity and rare produce, has seen her acknowledged as one of the top 99 Inspirational Females in Asia. Heliante is beautiful, articulate, probably in many languages, and decidedly committed to her homeland, the farmers she has activated and the cause of repelling grain and heritage food extinction. My foodie self is extremely grateful to Heliante and her work; not only is she educating our palettes, protecting rare foods, providing employment where there was none before and empowering Indigenous farmers to take control of their produce, she does it with high ethical values and a heart to match. This is the type of leadership the world needs.

SEWF Bronze partner NGO Reach for Change is led globally by a talented and passionate CEO, Sofia Breitholtz. Her work in Africa is commendable and Reach for Change Ethiopia is changing the lives of millions, (yes millions), of children. We spoke to Tadzi Madzima who shared the impact that Reach for Change Ethiopia is achieving by empowering over a 1000 social entrepreneurs.

Bruktawit Tigabu, Founder and General Manager at Whiz Kids Workshop is an inspirational power house in her own right. This woman gives me the impression she is not just a rocket, but the fuel, the spark and the launch pad. When I first heard her speak in Edinburgh her passion and energy stuck with me all year. When at the closing ceremony, we found out that SEWF 2019 was going to be in Ethiopia, seeing her leading a dance troupe on stage just made me like her even more.

Not only does this Rolex Young Laureate regularly effect the lives and education outcomes of 5 million children with each and every broadcast of Whiz Kidz Workshops, (talking about impact), she is also developing a cartoon series starring the super logical and empathic super heroes Tibeb Girls[2]. Amongst all this she found time to co- found Social Enterprise Ethiopia only a year ago, and deliver a kick ass SEWF in a challenging developing country context. I must acknowledge Bruktawit‘s impressive outfits and striking presence at all the events and activities: stylish, locally woven and made, and just fabulous. This awesome female, mass media personality, social entrepreneur, community leader and caring soul, personally made sure all attendees were safe and looked after. Often staying behind late at venues when I’m sure she had better things to do, ensuring that everyone got home safe. Thank you Bruktawit, you made Ethiopia special and welcoming for a lot of us.

Impact Boom team members and social entrepreneurs, Davinia Vella & Carlie Daly.

One of my favourite Ethiopian female speakers has to be Sara Eklund from Nobel Cup during the SEWF 2019 opening ceremony (kudos to Helen Harvey; what a way to set the agenda)! This awesome human, Sara, took the room by storm, ran with it and brought it back upside down. Her powerful presentation about periods and menstrual cups put a few of the menfolk there on the spot, made them a bit uncomfortable and shook cobwebs in minds that had been there for eons. That was exactly her plan. If the awoke and evolved men in the room could not handle that, what hope do we have to talk unashamedly and openly about one of the main drivers of gender inequality – menstruation.

It’s easy to forget that each one of us lives because a woman menstruated; there is nothing dirty, taboo or cringe-worthy about it. “Every Queen Bleeds”, part of our empowerment is coming to terms with that and dealing with it like we do with any other bodily function. Sara’s courage and strength had an instant liberating effect on the women in that room. With a message like that, one can only imagine the empowerment she is going to bring to many African females. Sara your great work does not go unnoticed. You are a pioneer and a change maker in what could be the single strongest issue to perpetuate gender bias. Through your social enterprise you are challenging the otherwise unquestioned and opening the world for millions of females.

On the shoulders of these great women are a number of other notable Ethiopian social enterprises led by females who are doing great work. We talked to Selam Wondim, CEO of GroHydro Ethiopia who is on a mission to make soilless farmers out of refugees, people with a disability and other disadvantaged persons. Not only is Salem changing lives, providing food sources and employment, this young engineer is leading social innovation and simple green tech.

Reassuringly Ethiopia is not the only African country benefitting from the empowerment of entrepreneurial brilliant leaders. In Mali, Chmba, a cool as hell, non-binary musician and music personality is engaging disadvantaged females through her social enterprise Tiwale. Tiwale is a women’s centre which delivers training and skills workshops in business, music and DJ-ing. Changing the lives of many by providing a road to instant employment, music therapy and a support network of sisters who can help out when times get tough.

In Ghana and Burkina Faso, tech entrepreneur and educator Regina Honu is bridging the gender gap in coding and programming through Soronko Solutions and its programs to engage with girls and women. In Cape Town, South Africa, the 24 year old, blue haired Kiara Ramklass, launched Marimba Jam in 2012 when she was still in high school. This joyful initiative is tackling some serious issues like promoting nation building and reducing racial bias through music and dance. Marimba Jam is now introduced within the school curriculum and engages with over 500 students per week. As they learn to play music and share resources between private and public school students to promote equity, friendships and creative links are built to last a lifetime.

In a pan-African context, Feven Gebremeskel from WAWI Fashion has founded and leads a cooperative for African artisans to collectively market and supply their products.

In Australia we are also benefiting greatly from the leadership of some great Sheilas (a slang Aussie word to describe females, never to be used when in the presence of ladies). Close to home is the passionate and dedicated Emma-Kate Rose, General Manager of Food Connect, and Chair of the refocused Queensland Social Enterprise Council. In the last 2 years since Emma-Kate took the helm of QSEC, it has achieved historical outcomes for social enterprise recognition, and this is not only evident within the Council and to its members, but it is spilling into government, community and mainstream business. During 2019 the Queensland State government commissioned a study and acknowledged social enterprises, making available $1 million in sector specific grants. This small but fantastic outcome comes from the bottom up grassroots led Social Enterprise Stand Up Project, where 100+ social entrepreneurs from all over Queensland came together and advocated government for recognition. Emma-Kate was at the frontline amongst other tireless leaders. This magnificent women is a mother, wife, General Manager, community leader, Chairperson, Fellow at the Yunus School of Business and lots of fun. Last year she also co-ran the first ever community equity funding campaign to the value of $2 million. This allowed over 500 community members, 75% of whom were females to acquire community shares in the Food Connect Shed, a community asset where inner-city fold can connect to their food producers and each other.

In Victoria the power house Cinnamon Evans is forming a Network of Social Enterprise Networks across the state. SENVIC brings social enterprises together to share and collaborate. The openness and collaboration in sharing resources is one of the few perks that social entrepreneurs enjoy. Facilitated well this can be a saving grace for many.

In Sydney, New South Wales, Belinda Morrissey, CEO of the English Family Foundation, is a truly valuable link between philanthropy and social enterprise. You can all thank Belinda for the large contingent of Australians at SEWF 2019. Thank you Belinda for your hard work to grow and support the sector. It is felt across the nation.

And of course the future looks bright with more female leadership at SEWF 2020 in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. The impressively accomplished young and beautiful Managing Director of Common Good Solutions, Lauren Sears, proudly received the waka (SEWF’s totem model of a Maori war canoe) during the closing ceremony in Addis Ababa. Marking the passing of the boat (literally) to an inspiring emerging female leader, who has already successfully led the Canadian team in their bid to host a SEWF.

All in all, this year‘s SEWF was not only inspiring but highly motivating to keep up the good fight. The future is female and it gives us all hope.

PS. This piece is not intended to take away any acclaims or praise from our male counterparts. To effect real and lasting change we need to be in this together, inclusive of gender, race, age and any other excuses we use to see ourselves differently. Obviously there are many other people who make SEWF the success it is each year, the awesome humans mentioned above are but a few.

[1] The Guardian.

[2] Tibeb Girls is a cartoon created specifically for girls. In a place such as Ethiopia, where social supports are often inadequate, adolescent girls struggle to find a path into a healthy and secure adult life. Many adolescent girls struggle with limited access to high-quality education while simultaneously facing traditional practices such as child marriage and health risks such as high maternal death rates and HIV infection. According to Girl Up, a campaign of the United Nations Foundation, only 38% of girls and young women between the ages of 15-24 in Ethiopia are literate, one in five girls is married before the age of 15, and girls aged 15-19 are seven times more likely to be HIV positive than their male peers. Furthermore, 12% of girls between the ages of fifteen and nineteen are mothers or pregnant with their first child.

About Davinia Vella

Davinia Vella is the Founder of #MakingItHappen, a Sunshine Coast-based social enterprise driving growth in socially-conscious businesses and not-for-profits across Queensland.

#MakingItHappen is the culmination of a life’s journey for Davinia and her guiding belief that economic success isn’t the end, but merely the beginning for a good business. Since the age of 23, Davinia has worked in the social and community space developing and delivering projects and programs for the Sunshine Coast Council, Education Queensland International, the European Social Fund, Médecins du Monde, and Amnesty International among others. Combining her enterprising spirit and belief in community work, Davinia founded #MakingItHappen in 2014 to support social impact organisations in transitioning from grant and donation-dependent operating models to newer, sustainable revenue-making approaches.

Guided by Davinia's expertise in management, strategy, business development, and funding coordination, #MakingItHappen empowers not-for-profits by making them more business-like and strengthens businesses by making them more socially-minded. Their clients range from compact start-ups to established international brands, as well as community organisations across the health, sports, arts, disability, Indigenous and multicultural sectors.