Women's economic participation and female entrepreneurship are critical to economic growth and development as they contribute to poverty reduction and job creation. Although women make up 50% of the world's population, they have less access to resources and opportunities. Women's entrepreneurship is still significantly lower than that of men. Consequently, it has been identified as an enormous untapped source of economic growth.

But that is changing thanks to women's economic empowerment interventions by governments, United Nations agencies and civil society, which have gained momentum in recent years, helping toward bridging the gender gap. One such initiative “to help build women's resilience to global challenges and emerging crises” was a virtual conference hosted earlier this month by the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) in partnership with UN Women, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the Italian government .

Held within the framework of the UNIDO project, Promoting Women's Empowerment (PWE) for inclusive and sustainable industrial development in the Middle East and North Africa region that is funded by the Italian government, the conference titled “Women in Industry and Innovation” tackled such topics as women's empowerment through information communications technology and in the circular economy. 

During interactive sessions held on July 15-17, 56 female leaders and entrepreneurs from Southern Europe and the Middle East and North Africa shared their stories of success that they hoped “would inspire younger generations and open their eyes to the countless opportunities they too can harness to advance in their careers,” said Monica Carco, senior industrial development officer and project manager of PWE, at UNIDO headquarters in Vienna.