Gender equality and the empowerment of women are integral to all aspects of our work to ensure young people in Africa can work and thrive.

Build It has a strong track record of promoting the participation of women in our courses. Yet our recent Impact Studies show that our female graduates take longer to find work. They are also less likely to be employed and tend to earn less than their male counterparts.

Our new Women into Work Programme will ensure a significant gender shift in our Training into Work Programme. It will focus on economically empowering disadvantaged young Zambian women.

It is in line with Zambia’s Seventh National Development Plan for education. It also strongly supports several Global Goals (Sustainable Development Goals):

SDG - Global Goal 1 No poverty
SDG - Global Goal 4 Quality Education
SDG - Global Goal 5 Gender equality
SDG - Global Goal 8 Decent work and economic growth

My friends laughed saying that bricklaying courses were only done by males!! I trained hard. Now that I am working, I am able to save. I am saving to open up a business that can sustain myself and my family.”

Prudence at her graduation at the Centre for Excellence May 2021

Our main areas of focus will be to:

  • ​Increase the number of young women completing our Training into Work programme to 50% of total by 2024​
  • Increase access and support for more young women through improved recruitment methods, focused Life Skills training and tailored career progression support
  • Develop female focused skills courses to increase both entrepreneurial and formal employment income​
  • Increase number of employers supporting women with work placements, equal pay and career progression​
  • Support female friendly and safe workplaces

This means as an organisation we will:

  • Create a workplace where gender equality and the empowerment of women are actively promoted
  • Strengthen institutional knowledge, capacity and effectiveness
  • Implement gender equality and women’s empowerment across all programming areas

 

To find out more about our Women into Work programme and how you can get involved, please contact Christine Cartland, Head of Strategic Partnerships via christine@builditinternational.org

Trainees learning at the Centre for Excellence