Empowering women in business with skills in labour and decent work in Malawi

Malawai (ILO News) - The event focused on addressing challenges faced by women entrepreneurs, shaping supportive policies, and resulted in the development of an MoU to boost women’s business competitiveness, compliance with labour laws, and decent work conditions.

Recognizing the critical role that women entrepreneurs play in the development of Malawi’s economy and the importance of fostering collaboration between employers and businesswomen, the Bureau for Employers' Activities of the ILO (ACT/EMP) in collaboration with other ILO units organised a dialogue between the Employers Association of Malawi (ECAM) and the National Association for Women in Business (NABW) . The objective was to foster collaboration between ECAM and NABW, in order to find effective ways of addressing challenges faced by women entrepreneurs in Malawi. The workshop took place from 9th to 10th October 2024 in Malawi.

During the event, findings of a survey aimed at assessing the landscape of labour and decent work among Malawian businesswomen were presented. The discussions that followed culminated into a matrix of specific actions by the bipartite on how to influence and shape policies that support women entrepreneurs in Malawi, They identified practical interventions and strategies to empower women in business across Malawi. The workshop provided a platform for the development of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between ECAM and NABW which will ensure cooperation and collaboration between the two, that will promote women’s business competitiveness, ensure compliance with labour laws, and promote decent work conditions for women entrepreneurs and their employees. Additionally, the MoU will enhance networking, information sharing, and membership growth for both parties.

The workshop was attended by representatives from several organizations, including women entrepreneurs under ECAM and NABW. Speaking at the event, the representative from NABW, Mr Jack Banda, highlighted the importance of the workshop as a milestone to ensure collaboration between NABW and ECAM. He emphasized that women are critical drivers of economic growth and social transformation in Malawi but despite this, women continue to face significant barriers in in accessing business opportunities. "This workshop has provided an opportunity to these women entrepreneurs to explore policy solutions, share experiences, and build networks that will promote the empowerment of women entrepreneurs across all sectors in Malawi", added Mr Banda.

Speaking earlier, the Senior Specialist from Employers Activities, Ms Maria Machailo-Molebatsi underscored the importance of promoting decent work for women in business and the need to create partnerships. She explained that ACT/EMP in collaboration with other ILO Departments and employers organizations such as ECAM play a key role in advocating for policies that promote decent work and create cooperative environments for businesses. "Strong and representative employer organizations play a critical role in national economic and social development. As such ACT/EMP will continue to support ECAM to enhance social dialogue with key stakeholders in order to create partnerships and ensure decent work for women entrepreneurs and their employees", added Ms Machailo-Molebatsi.