#mPowerWomen@Work Meet at the American Center Kolkata focused on building regional coalitions and networks to strengthen women’s leadership in the global economy

A networking and learning sharing meet was organized by the U.S. Consulate General Kolkata in partnership with Kolkata based social enterprise, Contact Base, to engage business leaders, change-makers, entrepreneurs and educators, stakeholders in economic empowerment of women in India, Bangladesh, Nepal and USA for building regional coalitions and networks in South Asia to strengthen women’s leadership in the global economy, exploring ways of strengthening access to markets as the foundation of women’s economic empowerment and exploring tools and approaches to manage well-being at work and harness leadership skills at the workplace at the American Center, Kolkata.   This meet was a part of the project ‘Women Welding the Workplace’. Since 2021 this U.S. Consulate Kolkata-led initiative is working to develop solution-based support networks for enabling greater participation of women in the workforce in South Asia with a focus on India, Nepal and Bangladesh. The two day-long meet hosted sessions that covered themes like Inclusive Access to Finance, Building Eco System for Women leadership, Skilling the Workforce and Well-being at Workplace.

  U.S. Consul General Melinda Pavek delivered remarks in the opening session.  She said, “This event is one of many efforts across the region that continues our partnership with local organizations to focus on raising awareness and motivating action toward revised policy frameworks, safer work environments, continued education, and equal compensation.  For our part, we will continue to contribute to the strengthening of this framework as a South Asian dialogue and look forward to continued regional synergies and collaborations.   U.S.-based wellbeing experts Kimberly Moore and Ednesha Saulsbury, co-founders of Black Woman Be Whole, Selima Ahmad, Member of Bangladesh Parliament, Entrepreneur, and Founder President of Bangladesh Women Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Shamiha Yeasin Bintu, Senior Zonal Manager of Thengamara Mahila Sabuj Sangha (TMSS) of Bangladesh, Moniza Islam, Head of Communication and Gender Focal at Mir Group, Bangladesh, Neeru Rayamajhi Khatri and Darshana Shreshtha President and Vice- President of Federation of Women Entrepreneurs’Associations of Nepal (FWEAN) were present as delegates in multiple sessions.   Representatives from business networks like, Indian Women Network-CII, IIM Calcutta Innovation Park, FICCI-FLO, Indian Chamber of International Business (ICIB), WEConnect International, Association of Supply Chain Professionals, Y-East – An Initiative of Techno India Group, Green Business Network, NASSCOM(10000Startups), U.S. Consulate’s Academy for Women Entrepreneurs (AWE) took part to discuss the importance of building gender focused eco-system for accelerating numbers of women in leadership. Representatives from social enterprises working for women empowerment through skill building and employment like Grameen Foundation India, SwitchON Foundation, Empower Pragati, and India Humanity Foundation also joined the conversation. Market Experts and investors from Vector Finance, Mumbai Angels, MeritX Ventures, Tata Electronics, shared insights on access to market and finance, provide investor master class and explore possibilities of women employment in unconventional sectors through capacity building.   A total of five Kolkata and Guwahati based start-ups were mentored on developing elevator pitch. 30 mentors and business experts from India, United States, Nepal and Bangladesh participated in these sessions. More than 30 West Bengal based start-ups participated in the meet and showcased their unique ventures and enterprises. Social enterprises and women achievers shared their learning to encourage these rising entrepreneur