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Women are known to be the more willing volunteer in all part of the world due to their contributions to the household well being. Here is a woman in Togo as compared to kibera's self help group, selling handicrafts and african jewelleries

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Additional informations

For more information about the Kibera's Women project you can visit this pagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kibera

Women contributions in poverty alleviation

The fate of women as citizens and the need to end poverty and achieve social justice, particularly in the developing world,  are still seen as intertwined: the 3rd Millenium Development Goal is to Promote gender equality and empowerment of women,  and the United Nations believes there is international support for women's rights and gender equality as core values of development. A visit to the World Volunteer Web, the UN Volunteers website quickly reveals the important role that women volunteers are playing in supporting other women and their communities through the provision of basic health and education services.

Women volunteering

A study done for WOMENS WAY found that these critical skills plus others such as problem solving, coaching/mentoring, and public speaking are developed and improved through volunteerism.

The study found that:

·            83% of participants reported that they acquired, improved or developed their leadership skills due to volunteer participation, and 78% reported improvement in their communications skills.

·            62% of survey respondents said that they enhanced problem-solving skills; 57% improved organization/multitasking; and 53% enhanced their marketing skills.

·            Some 50% of participants have been involved as volunteers for more than 5 years, and 22% for more than 10 years.

·            Nearly 40% of participants started volunteering before they were 16 years old, and over 55% were volunteering by the time they were 30 years old.

The study emphasized the benefits of volunteerism for women and provides these recommendations to the corporate community:

·            Promote volunteerism--it is a cost-effective tool for career development and training.

·            Recognize the "power skill" set gained from volunteer activities when hiring women and evaluating them.

·            Make it easy for employees to volunteer--the payoff is an energized, educated, and well-rounded group of employees.

·            Participate as a corporation in volunteerism because it builds healthy communities which in turn enhance business opportunities.

Volunteerism is a rich education and career development tool for professional women. Corporations and nonprofits can work together to enhance the skills of women both in their volunteer capacities and their professional lives.