During the months of March to June 2021, TFO Canada conducted Gender Equality and Social Inclusion (GESI) trainings under the Women in Trade for Inclusive and Sustainable Growth (WIT) project for beneficiary countries Trade Support Institutions (TSIs). The training aimed to raise awareness on the value of women in leadership positions and develop strategies for equitable participation of women-led SMEs in international trade so that the TSIs can provide appropriate gender-responsive export readiness services to women-led and men-led SMEs.
In December (6 months after the training) we had the chance to catch up with Maritza Soto, Board Member of La Cámara de Comercio e Industrias de Cortés (CCIC) Honduras and coordinator of the Gender Committee.
Women in Honduras face multiple challenges when it comes to achieving economic empowerment including lack of support from partners and relatives, limited access to funding to develop their projects, and an overall adverse economic situation. Additionally, women are less likely to be seen in leadership and decision-making positions, especially in the private sector.
In Honduras, the GESI training lasted five days and was attended by eight staff members, all of them were women. The trainings included the study of examples from international companies on the opportunity to improve the employment situation of women; and a diversity of cases from other countries related to the programs that help Women Entrepreneurs export their products.
Maritza tells us “Before the TFO Canada training La Cámara de Cortes did not have a gender policy. La Cámara Cortes has a great opportunity for a wide outreach when it come to implementing GESI activities. Particularly with the women from the Bazar del sábado (A marketplace created by La Cámara that is oriented in training entrepreneurial women). There are more than 200 women in the Bazar del sábado and with the training that La Cámara de Cortes has received, we feel that we’ve already made an impact on them. We’ve pushed the women from Bazar del sábado to be registered and to participate in international fairs. These women have faced multiple challenges such as lack of support from their partners and families.”
After the training La Cámara de Cortes created an Institutional Gender and Social Inclusion Plan and developed a Gender policy, the plan includes capacity building activities and the creation of a business culture inclusive of justice and equality. The action plan intends to align organizational policies with GESI principles and support businesswomen access training.
According to Maritza, “many of the women we work with have low self-esteem, now we have the satisfaction of seeing these women with one or more points of sales outside of the Bazar. . There has been a lot of impact made on women entrepreneurs”.
The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic created new challenges. Maritza says “For a moment I felt that the pandemic had destroyed everything we had achieved. It was a real tragedy because many of these people don’t have any financial safety. We’ve heard many stories of people that we’re thriving in their business but because of the pandemic they couldn’t continue. We’re trying to work with them right and trying to help them get back on their feet again”.
“La Cámara de Cortes is one of the strongest organizations in Honduras because we have the greater quantity of businesses and industries. We have existed for more than 60 years and have been very involved in our communities. We want to teach our women that they shouldn’t give up. We aim to work towards economic and social development of Honduras. These women serve as an example for other women, so if one person achieves success or growth, this is good for all of us. My dream for the future is to see more women achieving their goals, reaching financial independence and security, and creating their own businesses with the trainings that we give them”.
TFO Canada would like to thank Maritza Soto from La Cámara de Comercio e Industrias de Cortés for sharing her experiences.