Swimming Upstream:
The Global Empowerment of Women at Work in the Developing World
“When you empower a woman, you empower a nation,”
– Proverb
From India to Africa, tea fields to technology, women are the resilient hard-working backbones of their communities. These images showcase the magnetic stories of remarkable women in developing countries whose perseverance is often overlooked. These documentary portraits of women living in...
more »Swimming Upstream:
The Global Empowerment of Women at Work in the Developing World
“When you empower a woman, you empower a nation,”
– Proverb
From India to Africa, tea fields to technology, women are the resilient hard-working backbones of their communities. These images showcase the magnetic stories of remarkable women in developing countries whose perseverance is often overlooked. These documentary portraits of women living in post-conflict or hard-to-reach areas, illuminate their shared determination to create better futures for their families through their creativity, ingenuity, and drive. These women from Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Middle East share stories of how they have risen above circumstance to empower themselves through their tenacity and resiliency. This project also celebrates the individuals and grassroots organizations that are committed to finding creative solutions to the challenges that these women face through all aspects of work in their global communities.
By creating awareness of the plight of these women and their struggles we can not only help better their circumstances but learn and be inspired by their determination and strength.
These are more than images of women just toiling in the fields in rural areas. Many have joined co-ops to learn the skills of building their business from kitchen garden to profitable business. Microloans and mobile money are taking women to another level. By starting their own businesses women are opening bank accounts and taking control of their own money. In many of these war torn countries, especially the Congo where a women is raped literally every minute, nearly every woman has suffered some unspeakable atrocity. The numeracy, literacy, and job-skill programs offered to these women gives them usable work skills. This offers the women not only a sense of financial stability but equally as important it gives them a sense of empowerment through like-minded community.
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