This International Women’s Day, we spoke with Linda Scott, Emeritus DP World Chair for Entrepreneurship and Innovation at the University of Oxford’s Saïd Business School, and an expert in women’s economic empowerment. With the support of ExxonMobil, Scott convened a consortium of corporations to talk about each company’s efforts to improve women’s financial standing across the globe. Now she’s sharing her findings.

“If you’re trying to make long-term systemic changes, you don’t just want a revolution – you want it to last,” says Scott. She explains how the private sector has a unique opportunity to make that happen. “If a corporation builds a women’s empowerment program into its actual business model, the potential exists for it to scale worldwide, and to be sustained by the economy itself.”

When that happens, you see radiant multiplier effects throughout a society, including increased economic activity, bolstered female entrepreneurship, improved health outputs, lower rates of domestic violence and infant mortality, and a higher GDP – for some countries, up to 35 percent higher.

“Everyone involved in women’s economic empowerment plays a particular role toward its progression,” says Scott. “But it’s important to recognize the options the private sector has to create sustainable progress for women.”

Scott’s report elucidates the business case for economically empowering women, an idea ExxonMobil not only espouses, but practices: Women’s economic empowerment is a signature fixture for the ExxonMobil Foundation. Take a look at our infographic for more information on ExxonMobil giving.

 

 

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