H.H. Sheikha Jawaher bint Mohammed Al Qasimi, Chairperson of NAMA Women Advancement Establishment, NAMA, and wife of the Ruler of Sharjah, has taken forward the global call to action for gender equity and women’s economic empowerment with the launch of ‘Elevate’, a pioneering platform to support women in the low- and medium-income countries in Asia, Africa, South America, and the Caribbean.

In a bid to accelerate progress and mobilise the global community to expand women’s economic opportunities in these countries, Elevate will draw upon the active contributions of the private sector, government entities, and non-profit organisations to achieve scalable and sustainable impact, in line with the directives of H.H. Dr. Sheikh Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah.

The launch of Elevate comes in the backdrop of a pledge made by the Ruler of Sharjah at the opening ceremony of the 2019 Women's Economic Empowerment Global Summit, WEEGS, where his Highness extended support for a programme that would help shift the needle on women’s economic empowerment across Asia, Africa, South America and the Caribbean.

"Achieving gender equity and women’s economic empowerment are at the heart of Elevate’s core pillars," said Sheikha Jawaher Al Qasimi. "At NAMA, we believe that economic empowerment is a uniquely potent way to enable women to be dynamic actors in the real economy and is also key to achieving inclusive and sustainable growth."

"Elevate will carry forward its mission of providing technical, professional and knowledge-based support to female workers, women entrepreneurs, institutions and organisations by integrating its work with the established regional and international institutions in the field of women’s empowerment, and addressing any gaps by working in close cooperation with them," she said.

Elevate is founded on six core pillars namely, promote the implementation of effective laws and policies to promote gender equity; promote greater inclusion of women in leadership and supply chains; enhance women’s access to finance and other productive assets; promote initiatives that enable education, training and capacity building for women; ensure regular measurement and public reporting on progress and challenges; and create inclusive societies.

"Launching Elevate reaffirms our belief in the skills and abilities of women and recognises the social and economic imperative of boosting their capacities to deliver better outcomes," added Her Highness. "Women and men are equal partners and contributors in the nation-building process; bridging the gender gap will enable them to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with their male counterparts. Achieving gender equity is therefore an economic necessity as it will boost productivity and growth while also supporting economic resilience."

NAMA will now take forward the overarching vision of WEEGS through the newly launched Elevate to advance women’s economic agenda by their full inclusion in economic activity.

To ensure that the transformative vision enshrined within the core pillars of Elevate directly impacts the lives of women and helps in the building of stronger, more inclusive economies, the platform will bring together its strategic partners, chapter leaders and chapter members to take concerted action in realising its key goals.

The advisory role of Elevate’s strategic partners will lay the foundation for its regional and global strategies on women’s empowerment. Chapter leaders, comprising of a network of policy makers, public and private sector entities, non-profit organisations, academia and civil society, will draw on the most robust evidence to create a positive impact in their respective communities through several integrated programmes.

Chapter leaders will induct chapter members and facilitate their capacity building initiatives, while also exchanging learnings and practices, mapping progress and developing strategies to increase the impact of Elevate.

Elevate’s head office led by NAMA will hold annual meetings with members and partners to discuss the successes and challenges in promoting the platform’s core pillars and goals. To meet these goals, Elevate will impart technical assistance to chapter leaders to enable them to provide education support to female employees, entrepreneurs, and women-led SMEs in the targeted countries with the support of chapter members.

The platform will also help create networking opportunities amongst target entities and international organisations with global industry leaders and policymakers.

"The pledge taken by His Highness, the Ruler of Sharjah, to enable women achieve their aspirations will now be transformed into reality through Elevate as it works by unifying the concerted efforts of international organisations and engaging with them to usher in an economy rooted in the principles of gender equity and equal opportunities," concluded Sheikha Jawaher.