October 26, 2023 – In Mexico, women from indigenous backgrounds face real hardship in a patriarchal society which often exploits them, discriminates against them, and provides few opportunities for personal growth and socio-economic development. Furthermore, they often suffer from racism or go missing, or worse, with little public outcry regarding their well-being.
At WPDI, our experience working with underprivileged communities around the world, often in conflict zones, has shown us that women have the intrinsic power to be agents of positive transformation. All we have to do is provide them with a platform to flourish, to understand their vast potential and to teach them the skills necessary to succeed as independent, empowered citizens.
This belief in the power of women led us in 2022 to launch a strategic drive to double down on our global action on female empowerment. This has led to more and more women gaining access to our Business and Entrepreneurship programs, which provide access to training that can transform the futures of women from marginalized communities.
The indigenous women of Tijuana, Mexico, are one of those communities. At the beginning of October, we were honored to graduate a cohort of 15 of these women from the “Casa de la Mujer Indigena” (House of Indigenous Women) who had spent over two months following our Business and Entrepreneurship program. Over the training period, the group participated in both in-person and virtual sessions, conducted exercises and presented assignments focused on their business projects, which was often a challenge for those not fluent in Spanish.
None of the women are originally from Tijuana; they come from the south of Mexico and have experienced tremendous hardship throughout their lives, which led them to leave their hometown and seek a better future. Carmen Solís, one of the participants, explained why she left the south: “Coming to Tijuana, I knew this was the city to have a better life. My children and husband say they are proud of me, and so am I! Aside from the learning, WPDI offers many great opportunities for me, such as opportunities to set up my stand and be able to sell my products.”
Indeed, the women are now graduates and eager to participate in upcoming WPDI Business Bootcamps, which will give them the opportunity to develop their business projects further and possibly access seed funding through a Business Plan Competition.
Silvia Ramirez, who runs the House of Indigenous Women, underlined her excitement at the doors it could open: “As a leader of the indigenous community, I have to say that from all of the training and opportunities we have had, we had never been considered for anything of this sort. This represents a brand new scenario for the women who gather at this “House” who often come from violent situations and this will definitely change their lives. Thank you WPDI!”
By the end of 2023, we hoped to have trained a total of 120 vulnerable women, helping them transform their futures and leading the economic transformation of their communities as empowered agents of change.
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