Educating Women and Girls Initiative

In 2008, ExxonMobil launched a $1.5 million project with Vital Voices to empower women in Africa to become leaders and advocates.

Research demonstrates that investing in the education, training, and leadership of women and girls delivers high returns for economic and social development, including lower infant and child mortality rates, disease prevention, women’s empowerment, and higher income and productivity rates. Healthy and educated communities, where all citizens are valued and productive members of society, help create a stable and prosperous operating environment. Preparing women to participate competitively in the economy allows companies, including ours, to have access to the best talent for employee recruitment and supply chain development, regardless of gender.

The ExxonMobil Foundation’s Educating Women and Girls Initiative aims to equip women and girls in developing countries with the resources they need to fulfill their economic potential. In 2008, the Foundation made grants totaling more than $8 million — bringing our cumulative investment since 2005 to almost $20 million — to provide women with training, resources, and support structures to help them drive economic and social change in their communities. To date, we have supported programs in Angola, Chad, Colombia, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Mexico, Nigeria, and Qatar. Our country affiliates play an integral role in shaping our investments by ensuring that our projects align with national needs and governmental priorities.

In 2008, we continued our support for the Centre for Development and Population Activities’ (CEDPA) Global Women in Management Program (GWIM), bringing the cumulative totals to 199 ExxonMobil Foundation-funded GWIM graduates from 35 countries and 45 CEDPA alumnae coaches from 24 countries. GWIM helps strengthen program and financial management skills of women managers working in community organizations in developing countries. In 2008, CEDPA conducted GWIM workshops in Nigeria, Mexico City, and Washington, D.C., reaching a total of 79 women as well as a coaching workshop for 22 women. In 2009, we plan to support four GWIM workshops in Brazil, Cameroon, Egypt, and the United States as well as one coaching workshop.

Many women face legal, regulatory, and practical obstacles to economic success including access to credit and registering property. In 2008, the ExxonMobil Foundation supported a program that helped legal advocates for African women and entrepreneurs develop 30 new advocacy projects directly impacting over 3000 women in Africa while raising awareness of the inequities and the legal barriers they face. Together with the World Bank, the Vital Voices/ExxonMobil Leveling the Playing Field for Women’s Economic and Social Progress Program created a co-branded publication featuring the success stories of female African entrepreneurs who were able to overcome these barriers and develop businesses.

Through the Vital Voices/ExxonMobil African Women Artisans Export Development Program, we trained 25 African women artisans from 12 countries on business essentials and how to access international distribution channels for their products. The participants developed 75 new product items for the Vital Voices Collection and items have been exhibited at major trade shows and events. Through follow-up activities, the original 25 participants have trained 3700 more artisans in their countries.

As the scope of our projects continues to evolve, we plan to measure and evaluate their impacts and how they contribute to economic and social development. In 2008, we started working with the International Center for Research on Women to refine our strategic focus on women’s economic development and evaluate the success of our investments.