How Inclusive Is Inclusive Business For Women

Download or read book How Inclusive is Inclusive Business for Women? written by Asian Development Bank and published by Asian Development Bank. This book was released on 2016-05-01 with total page 70 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Inclusive businesses are commercially viable business models that provide in-scale innovative and systemic solutions to problems relevant to the lives of low-income people. Inclusive business companies often involve women in their value chain and provide specific services that help low-income women. This report assesses the extent to which inclusive business models promote women's economic empowerment. Examples come from the inclusive business portfolios of Asian Development Bank, Inter-American Development Bank and International Finance Corporation. The report finds that inclusive businesses are indeed bringing positive change to women’s lives and that addressing gender-based constraints also yields business benefits. However, a company’s financial return and its social impact can be maximized only if companies understand and address systemic issues of gender inequality.