The Vodafone Connected Women Report 2014, released today in India, has found that providing women with greater access to mobile phones and services could lead to a $29 billion increase in annual global productivity from 2020, as a result of greater female participation in the workforce and savings in public services.
This Report, produced by Vodafone Group, supported by the Vodafone Foundation and in collaboration with Oxford University's Saïd Business School and Accenture Sustainability Services, was released by Ms. Cherie Blair, Founder, Cherie Blair Foundation for Women at a special event held earlier today.
Speaking about Vodafone’s staunch commitment toward leveraging the inherent potential of the mobile technology for socio-economic development, especially amongst women, Marten Pieters, Managing Director & CEO, Vodafone India said,
"The Vodafone Connected Women Report focuses on the impact and potential of mobile technology in various facets of the lives of women around the world. With gender disparity in itself being a big social challenge in India, the number of women owning a mobile phone is considerably lesser than the men. This gap not only affects women's ability to communicate, but it also presents a lost opportunity in terms of health, education, work, safety and inclusion. At Vodafone, we endeavor to address these issues by developing solutions that harness the power of mobile technology to foster inclusion and empower communities."
The Vodafone Connected Women Report Illustrates the power of the mobile technology to catalyse economic development and exemplifies its transformational impact across the world with real life cases, Highlighting the impact in India, the Report features on its cover Ramilaben Somabhai Parmar a RUDI ben and profiles in detail the success of the RUDI Sandesha Vyavhar (RSV) initiative from India.
This system, developed through a partnership between the Vodafone Foundation in India, Cherie Blair Foundation for Women and SEWA (Self-Employed Women]’s Association), who contracted a local company, Ekgaon Technologies, to write the software. RSV has been designed such that, with training, it is easy to use, even for women who are illiterate.
Speaking about the success of the RSV initiative, Ms. Blair said, "I have been overwhelmed by the success of the RSV project in Gujarat in partnership with the Self Employed Women's Association and the Vodafone Foundation in India. Many of the women have been able to increase their income significantly, in some cases by as much as four times. With higher profits, they have been able to send their children to school and afford healthcare."
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