Gender equality is advancing through cooperatives | Division for Inclusive Social Development (DISD)

The report, Advancing Gender Equality: The Cooperative Way was released right before International Day of Cooperatives on 4 July 2015. This report was written by the International Cooperative Alliance and the International Labour Organization as a way to promote gender equality within cooperatives and other private business sectors.

The research within the report included an online survey that asked participants around the world to share their views on gender equality within cooperatives. Around 75% of the respondents believed that cooperatives had improved the roles of women in the workforce in the past twenty years.

80% of the participants also believed that cooperatives are better than any other type of private business in promoting gender equality. Even though women are less than 50% of the board members of most well-known cooperatives, women make up more than 50% of membership within the enterprises. This research proves that although women play a vital role in cooperatives, their leadership within them can still be improved.

To read more about this report, please click here.