Papua New Guinea women engaged in business activities are expected to be given a boost in moral support and advice by a successful American businesswoman next week.
Samira Cook Gaines, who serves asthe Vice President of Business Development for the National Community Reinvestment Coalition inthe United States, will be in PNG from 19th – 23rd Augustoto facilitate workshops with women groups, and speak to women inthe banking industry and university students’studying business.
Her visit will be hosted bythe United States Embassy in Port Moresby.
Surveys on formal employment in PNG’show that men are almost twice as likely as women to work for wages, 40 per cent of men compared to 24 per cent of women nationally.
Womenin formal sector jobs in PNG report average wages less than half that of men.
TheInitiative will supporPNG businesses to facilitate connections between women in businesses and raisethe status of women in workplaces.
Samira Cook Gaines visit tPNG provides vision and lLeadersip for four small business development centers: The Washington DC Womenrsquo;s Business Center (DC WBe), a Minority Business Center in Washington DC and Manhattan – New York, and a Small Business Teaming Center.
Samira Cook Gaines wasthe Founding Director ofthe Washington DC Womenrsquo;s Business Center, which supports women entrepreneurs through training, individual consultation, mentoring, and business growth through government procurement opportunities and exporting. Under Samira'’s direction,the DC WBe has assisted over 1000 women in achievingtheir business goals.
The workshops that she will be facilitating next week in Port Moresby are expected to be attended by about 50 women who are based in NCD. The women will be fromthe informal sector, as well as those who are small business owners.
The speaker series by Samira Cook Gaines will cover areas such as basic business literacy skills, entrepreneurialism and empowering women to become lLeadersintheir communities.
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