This is an association of women around the world that want to help other women become self reliant.

Women and Fair Trade

One of the main goals of Fair Trade is to promote development opportunities for disadvantaged producers, especially women and indigenous people, and to protect children from exploitation in the production process.

Women have benefited far more than men when they have had the opportunity to participate in Fair Trade. The stark facts about the conditions of working women in developing countries says it all:

• Worldwide, of the 1.3 billion people surviving on less than $1 a day, 70% are women.
• Women are paid 30-40% less than men for comparable work.
• Two-thirds of the world's one billion illiterate adults are women.
• Women in developing countries work an average of 60 to 90 hours a week. Much of this work is unpaid and in the home - childcare, cleaning, cooking, and agricultural labour.
• Young girls account for two-thirds of the 130 million children absent from schools worldwide.

Indigenous women have the world's lowest rates of education and life expectancy and the highest rates of illiteracy, infant and maternal mortality, and death from preventable diseases.

According to the Fair Trade Federation, 70% of fair trade artisans are women who are often the sole wage earners in their homes. Through their work in Fair Trade craft production, women not only improve the lives of their families, but improve their own lives as well. Many women artisans report that their work has given them self esteem and the opportunity to participate in decision making in their communities. Increased income ensures better alimentation, better schooling for their children, and an improvement in housing and living standards.

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