Cherie Blair Foundation for Women

Gender-based violence (GBV) is on the rise, especially online. Digital spaces have become increasingly hostile, with women facing new forms of abuse, stalking, harassment, and exploitation. These experiences negatively impact women's safety and wellbeing, as well as their ability to thrive in the digital economy. As global leaders and change-makers gather in New York for the 69th Commission on the Status of Women, our CEO, Dhivya O'Connor, shares critical findings on #GBV from our new?report with Intuit and The World Bank's Women, Business and the Law project, and calls for urgent action to build safer, more inclusive online and offline spaces for women. Read it here: https://lnkd.in/etVWKDBv #VAWG #DigitalTechnology #DigitalInclusion #CSW69 #UNCSW69

AI adoption is growing, but are women business owners ready? ???? Our new report, published with Intuit and The World Bank's Women, Business and the Law project, finds that 38% of women entrepreneurs in low and middle income countries surveyed already use AI for business—but 21% report feeling unprepared for new tech. What's more, over half would like skills and/or training support—AI being the second most-requested training area—in order to tackle their main business challenges. I'm sure many of us are already acutely aware of the many ways AI stands to revolutionise the way we do business. If women are to thrive in the digital economy, we really must close the AI skills gap and ensure that in doing so we truly centre women's needs. Just launched for International Women’s Day, Cherie Blair Foundation for Women's report lays out what’s needed to bridge this gap - have a read here: https://lnkd.in/eUxnQTCk #CSW #AI #DigitalSkills #WomenEmpowerment

Despite increased sales and profitability for 59% of women entrepreneurs in 2024, a staggering 78% say lack of access to finance is their biggest challenge. High borrowing costs, stricter collateral requirements, and financial literacy gaps, among other barriers, stand in their way. Launched for #InternationalWomensDay, the Cherie Blair Foundation for Women, Intuit, and The World Bank Women, Business and the Law new report calls for urgent action to unlock finance for women entrepreneurs and catalyse their business success. Read the full report to see what must change: https://lnkd.in/gDx7eQeK

Listen to our Founder, Cherie Blair CBE KC, share critical findings from our new report, ?‘Empowered or Undermined? Women Entrepreneurs and the Digital Economy’, in this special International Women's Day episode of British International Investment's podcast! #IWD2025 #InternationalWomensDay #WomenEntrepreneurs

#MotivationMonday: Global prosperity is not possible without bridging digital and economic gender gaps. This means combatting tech-facilitated violence against women and ensuring women entrepreneurs can access online spaces for their businesses without fear of harassment or discrimination. Our ?? report co-published with the Cherie Blair Foundation for Women and Intuit identifies pathways for addressing the barriers women entrepreneurs face in accessing digital tools and achieving financial independence. Read the report insights and recommendations here ?? https://lnkd.in/emDuttkG #AccelerateAction #WomenBizLaw #InternationalWomensDay #IWD25 Cherie Blair CBE KC, Lulu Nunn, Emily Scott, Hayley Matthews, Natália Mazoni, Emilia Galiano, Nayantara Vohra

Many women entrepreneurs rely on social media for their business success, yet 57% have personally experienced gender-based violence on these platforms. This not only undermines their businesses, it holds a destructive potential to drive women offline entirely. This form of abuse, which includes harassment, stalking, threats and exploitation online, is both incredibly personally harmful as well as affecting women's ability to participate in the increasingly digital business landscape. 22% of women reported receiving unsolicited explicit images or messages, making online engagement risky and unpleasant. Our new research with Intuit and with The World Bank’s Women, Business and the Law project reveals the scale of this issue and calls for action from tech companies and governments to combat digital gender-based violence and create safer online spaces for women. Read the report for further insights into the issue and how it can be addressed: https://lnkd.in/eNW5r82D

?? Ahead of #IWD2025, the Cherie Blair Foundation for Women, Intuit and the World Bank's Women, Business and the Law project have published new research on how women entrepreneurs engage in the digital economy. There is huge potential for women to grow their businesses through the digital economy, but their growth is hindered by privacy and safety concerns, including online harassment. Read the full report here: https://lnkd.in/etzAH9-j

To mark?#InternationalWomensDay 2025, the Cherie Blair Foundation for Women have collaborated with Intuit and The World Bank’s Women, Business and the Law project, to launch a new research report,?“Empowered or Undermined? Women Entrepreneurs & the Digital Economy”. The report?highlights key challenges and opportunities faced by #womenentrepreneurs in low and middle income countries in 2024, with crucial insights on women’s #digitalinclusion and #financialinclusion, as well as timely findings on their experiences with online abuse and harassment. Key Findings:??? ? ??Adopting digital tools, especially social media marketing and digital payments, was a top success for women in 2024, with 63% of respondents linking it to improved business outcomes.? ? ???Although 92% of respondents report owning a personal smartphone, 45% do not have regular internet access, citing affordability as the primary barrier. Many struggle with high data costs and unreliable network connectivity, which limits their ability to fully engage with online markets.? ? ??Safety concerns continue to inhibit women's ability to do business, whether online or in physical spaces. We found that 62% of women have experienced online harassment, while 14% of women fear aggressive haggling or even potential violence by men during in-person business transactions.? ? ???78% of respondents identified a lack of access to finance as one of their greatest challenges, citing high borrowing costs, stringent collateral requirements, and limited financial literacy as key obstacles to obtaining necessary liquidity for business growth.? ? Women entrepreneurs must be supported to overcome their obstacles and achieve business success. We are calling for coordinated efforts across governments, regulatory bodies, private companies, and development organisations to create meaningful change for women business owners and accelerate global progress for women’s #economicempowerment. You can read our full insights and recommendations here: https://lnkd.in/ejsf7J7j? ? #digital #WomensEconomicEmpowerment #accesstofinance #onlinegbv #VAWG

From gender stereotyping to lack of access to #finance, women #entrepreneurs can face obstacles because of their #gender, especially in the developing world. Cherie Blair CBE KC launched the Cherie Blair Foundation for Women to address these gaps and support women #business owners. Worldwide, the gender gap in economic participation and #opportunity has closed by just 60.5% - and at the current rate, it won’t close fully until 2176. Read more in the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Report:?https://ow.ly/t2gA50VcP8p #IWD25 #IWD2025 #WomensHistoryMonth #WomenInBusiness #WomenEntrepreneurs #Entrepreneurship #GenderGap #Finance

Today we launch ground-breaking new research on the experiences and challenges of women entrepreneurs low and middle income countries, ‘Empowered or Undermined? Women Entrepreneurs and the Digital Economy’, in partnership with Intuit and with The World Bank's Women, Business and the Law project. Read here: https://lnkd.in/gTAbrDVu Released for International Women’s Day, our report particularly focuses on the role of technology in women’s businesses, examining how online gender-based violence (GBV) shapes women’s behaviour and digital inclusion, how women use digital tools like social media, AI, e-commerce and Mobile Money, and digital technology's broader implications for their businesses. Key findings include: ?? Although 92% of respondents own a personal smartphone,?45% do not have regular internet access. ?? Social media is a vital tool for women's businesses—88% of women use WhatsApp and 74% use Facebook for business—yet e-commerce adoption remains low, with only 31% using such platforms for business. ?? Women entrepreneurs without smartphones are?5.5 times less likely to use social media for business and 3.75 times less likely to have a bank account or mobile money account. ?? Online GBV is a major challenge for women entrepreneurs.?57% of women report having personally experienced at least one form of GBV over social media, and?16% of women report?safety and security concerns?as a key barrier to accessing mobile internet. ?? Privacy and safety concerns are major factors shaping women’s online and offline business journeys.?More than one in five respondents fear potential harassment from male customers, and 77% take proactive safety measures to protect themselves. ?? Women entrepreneurs are far more likely to use digital payments with male customers than female, illustrating a desire to minimise physical interactions with male customers. ?? 38% of women currently use AI – however just over one-fifth feel either underprepared or completely unprepared for the wave of new business technologies. ?? Over half of women request skills and/or training support to tackle the challenges they face, particularly in digital marketing and AI. We call for urgent action from global stakeholders to dismantle these barriers and create a more inclusive and thriving business environment for women entrepreneurs in 2025 and beyond. Read and download the full report here: https://lnkd.in/gTAbrDVu #AccelerateAction #IWD25 #InternationalWomensDay #GBV #DigitalTechnology