Are we getting women’s economic empowerment wrong?

It’s a question that stopped me in my tracks during this conversation.

When we say we’re empowering women, what do we really mean? Is it grants? Skills training? Startup kits? Or have we been overlooking the opportunities that create lasting economic change?

In Part 1 of this conversation, I sit down with my friend Precious Ebere-Chinonso Obi, Executive Director of DO Take Action, to unpack why she believes procurement is one of the most overlooked pathways to women’s economic empowerment.

Drawing on her work with UN Women and partners across Nigeria, Senegal, Mali, and Côte d’Ivoire, Precious shares how research challenged her own assumptions and led her to rethink what empowerment should look like. We ta ...