MICROFINANCE for Women Empowerment IN Labor Force

We have long passed the millennium turning point of 2000 and we are at an advanced information age already. As such is the case, one would assume that human’s only problem was to effectively use technology to better our lives and achieve equality. Unfortunately, this is not the case and women are still fighting for their rights to live as men do.

The fight for an equal life gets even tougher in the workplace. We may see human civilization as an advanced one, but did you know that women are still not paid the same amount of money for the exact same job they do? Traditional families also ignore the education of their daughters, which is yet another negative element contributing to the overall inequality.

As the case is even worse in Turkey whose percentage of women in labor force is only %28, the country is participating in women empowerment projects that will assist women. Microfinance is part of this project and aims to empower women with abilities to run successful businesses. It plans to help women start up a business strong enough to generate a tangible income.

The project that is called “Women Empowerment in Economy” aims to achieve a greater number of women running businesses and uses digital devices to assist them in microfinance, credits, e-commerce and similar mobile solutions. With the help of these tools, women are thought to enter the workforce with less capital and more opportunities.

These microfinance solutions combine with modern day technologies plan to reach 100 thousand women and assist them in their adaptation to the workforce. Even a country with a strong economy such as Turkey can benefit from the help it can get from half of its citizens. After all, women have the power to help in the advance of human civilization.

Vocabulary

Assist: To help

Overall: In all parts

Capital: Money, financial power

Assume: Suppose

Tangible: Real

Questions

According to the passage, which of the following statements is true?

1. The percentage of women in workforce is %50
2. Women have equal benefits in our modern world
3. Women are still fighting for equality in workforce
4. Our advanced civilization created an equal world for everyone

What can be said about the Women Empowerment in Economy project?

1. The project uses technology to assist businesses run by women
2. The project aims to help unemployed males get higher unemployment salaries
3. The project is in use in everywhere, except for Turkey
4. The project created a political debate within the country

What does the writer mean by the last sentence of the passage?

1. That women are physically more powerful than men
2. That women have the potential to help advance the human civilization
3. That men and women should not be equal in the work place
4. That women belong to the kitchen and should just make sandwiches

[toggle title=”Answers”]

(3) Women are still fighting for equality in workforce

(1) The project uses technology to assist businesses run by women

(2) That women have the potential to help advance the human civilization
[/toggle]