Women Shaping Our World
March 7, 2025
The theme of this year’s International Women’s Day — For ALL women and girls: Rights. Equality. Empowerment — reads a little like a book dedication. Like a line of text on a page that might precede a profound manuscript. A manuscript that holds the ultimate word on uplifting and celebrating women. One written once true equality has been achieved. A manuscript that’s long overdue.
When women have the resources they need, entire communities prosper. They are entrepreneurs, farmers, caregivers, and change-makers, ensuring food security, driving local economies, and fostering education and healthcare. By investing in women, we invest in a future where everyone thrives.
Jovita Ramirez Marroquin has faced water insecurity of all kinds. She has walked to collect water, waited out the 20-day cycle in vain for community water to come to her, and made trips to the river day after day. Today, “everything is different,” she shares. During the rainy season, the newly installed network of bright orange pipes channels the water that beats down on her tin roof into the screened top of her 2,500-litre water storage tank. Water for laundry; water for cleaning; water for animals; water for plants; water for cooking. Water without leaving home!
Mechanical rice threshers installed in the Bosawas region have dramatically reduced the domestic workload for women and girls. The task of pounding rice is reduced from up to six hours each day by hand to only 20 to 30 minutes per day. Small-scale rice processing is a means to increase local food self-sufficiency. With access to a mechanical rice thresher, local food production has increased in the Bosawas, with a reduction in the need to purchase imported basic foodstuffs. The rice threshing machine saves young women like Jennifer time, and among the increased freedom, she particularly enjoys spending more time playing with her cousins. Jennifer is a young woman, but she is also a kid. Reducing her burden lets her be exactly that.
Women in Walakitang, Bosawas, Nicaragua are experiencing a significant transformation in their lives. They now have access to water in their homes, and the very real realities that access to water brings resonate throughout the community. Says Digna Solomon, “I am overjoyed and grateful to finally have access to water in my house. We use it for drinking, cooking, washing, bathing my daughters, and feeding our household animals. For years, we endured the hardships of water scarcity. I truly feel that a great burden has been lifted off my shoulders”.
Across the developing world, women of all ages are the backbone of agriculture, small enterprises, and community development. Women are at the heart of thriving economies, sustainable societies, and nurturing families. Yet, too often, their work—both paid and unpaid—goes unrecognized. This International Women’s Day, we celebrate the resilience, strength, and contributions of women around the world.
We are committed to empowering women by supporting sustainable livelihoods, providing access to education and training, and advocating for gender-inclusive policies. This International Women’s Day, join us in recognizing and uplifting the women who shape our world. Let’s keep writing new chapters.
Central America and the Caribbean Food Sovereignty Health In The Field Indigenous Peoples Water