Women on Wings (WoW) empowers underprivileged rural Indian women
Women in India are usually deprived off of career opportunities that men get. We have entered the 21st century, but still see high levels of discrimination around us. But things can’t be in the dark for long. Women on Wings (WoW), a Netherlands headquartered social enterprise aims to empower underprivileged women living in rural India by proving employment opportunities that will help them achieve economic stability and escape the cycle of poverty.
Women on Wings was established in the year of 2007 by two Dutch women: Ellen Tacoma and Maria van der Heijden. Since2013, WoW has a full time presence in India. It has a team of 14 people in India. According to a government census, collected recently, there are about 54% of rural men working, whereas only 24.8% of rural women work. WoW believed that this gap needs to close, in order help India grow economically.
WoW’s work contributes to the united Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals of promoting economic growth and create employment for all. They also help women achieve gender equality in India. Their mission is to co- create One Million Jobs for women living in rural India. Till date, they have co- created almost 2 lakh jobs. This is the reason today, 2 lakh families have two meals a day and more than 6 lakh children get access to better education.
The challenges in India are too great for an organization to solve alone. Therefore, WoW decided to organize a Silent Auction on the 10th of November 2016.
They brought together network of leading corporates and individuals to auction their time and expertise to help advance entrepreneurship programs for the underprivileged women in India. WoW had partnered up with Embassy of the Kingdom of the Dutch ambassador in New Delhi. At the Silent Auction, the audience got the opportunity to engage with accessible rural social enterprises that WoW partners up with.
At the event we got the opportunity to talk with Maria, the co- founder, “WoW intends to do is bring work to the homes of these women, where they can combine work with taking care of their homes. We work with organizations that distribute work into villages. She said that Women on Wings believes that if you invest in a women then you invest in a whole family and also the economy”.
Maria also explained the problems most rural women face, “when you provide a women with a job, you not only give her the financial grants but also provide her with an escape from the vicious cycle of poverty. Her entire family can benefit from this and uplift them for a better future”. But how do they make sure that women step put, “Well we make sure they get self sustained business and not really head to a factory kilometers away. They can balance their household life and work together and that what makes Women on Wings and exciting concept for most women,” she adds.
The ladies travel to rural areas and often meet people like Rooma Devi, who now sends her children to school and has started saving money too. “Yes there are initial hiccups with families not understanding why we need to work but when they see financial stability and the chances of a better life, they accept it. In fact my husband now encourages me to tell other women to start working too.”
