Global Congress on Women Entrepreneurship

Abstract

Gender is a contentious subject as it strikes at the heart of who we are as human beings, and it is apolitical and cuts across civic, cultural, social and economic spheres. In trying to understand gender, there is need to understand cultures and sex, the three interphase and situate women and men, boys and girls in different categories, the impacts of which could be devastating on the gender that is placed in inferior, less privileged and less valued position.

Cultures are shared values, norms, traditions, customs, arts, history, folklore, and institutions of a group of people. these shared beliefs serve as guides and determinants for behaviours within cultural groups. They are complex and dynamic and help individuals and communities adjust to changing environments and are always changing.  
Sex describes the biologically determined differences between males and females. It refers to the biological and physiological characteristics that define males and females with different sex characteristics and different sex roles which are natural, universal, obvious, few and generally permanent and unchangeable. For this presentation, this definition of sex would be used and I encourage the organisers to please, accept my perspective on this.

Gender is concerned with socially constructed and assigned roles, behaviours, expressions and identities of women and men, girls and boys and other gender diverse people. It highlights how individuals perceive themselves and others and the interactions between and among individuals and how power and resources are distributed, accessed, owned, and controlled by different gender groupings. 

This presentation will look at gender as a social construct that creates gaps in entrepreneurship that highlights underlying social, cultural, civic, political and economic disparities and gives insights to inequalities in treatment and access to resources, rewards and benefits. In March 2024, the Women, Business and the Law Index measured a strong relationship between the level of female entrepreneurs and the legal disparities. It will also look at how gender roles, expectations and relationships negatively impacts women’s effective  entrepreneurship.
The presentation will highlight few result-oriented strategies to engender entrepreneurship for the benefit of men, women and society in general.

Biography

Susan Sesay is a Gender Advisor (Gender Affairs Officer), serving the United Nations Mission in South Sudan. Prior to this assignment, Susan served in Darfur as UNV Gender Affairs Officer in the former United Nations/AU High bride Mission in Darfur, Sudan (UNAMID). She also served for over eight years in her home country, Sierra Leone as Gender Regional Officer in the Ministry of Social Welfare, Gender and Children’s Affairs. Susan holds a Bachelor and Master’s degrees in Educational Guidance Counseling  and series of certificates in Gender Equality and Women, Peace and Security; Gender Mainstreaming; Gender and Human Rights; Gender and Conflict Mediation etc.