A woman's place is in command of companies, in leading organizations, and at home too, when she wants to. And taking advantage of the motto that has represented the importance of understanding that women's role, long ago, was no longer restricted to home care, women's place is also in leadership in the third sector.
Anyone who has worked in the field for a while knows the strength that this true “female army” has in transforming society. There are countless examples that prove this statement. Just to focus on two success stories, I want to record the work of Priscila Cruz, president of Todos pela Educação, and Luciana Temer, president of Instituto Liberta.
Since 2006, Todos pela Educação has sought to guarantee the right to quality basic education. Considering the country's geographic dimensions and population numbers, it is quite a challenge: a study by Unicef (United Nations Children's Fund), with data from IBGE, shows that there are almost 1.4 million children and adolescents aged 6 to 17 years out of school.
No less challenging is the work of Instituto Liberta, which focuses on combating the sexual exploitation of children and adolescents in Brazil, which ranks second in the world for this type of exploitation. The institute's overview shows that there are 500,000 victims per year.
At Movimento Bem Maior, of which I have the honor and happiness of being executive director, we also have a challenging mission in the face of the historic social challenges that the country faces. These are huge numbers, big obstacles to building the Brazil we want. Seeing so many women at the head of organizations from different areas, we are sure that a Brazilian daughter does not shy away from the fight.
If on the one hand, in the management of organizations, female strength is present and evident, on the other it is no different and we see the importance of women's role as volunteers, supporting contributions, stimulating the culture of donation in the country. According to the report 'Giving Report 2021 – a portrait of Brazilian donors during the pandemic', “female donors are more likely to say they donate because they realize they can make a difference (42% vs 32% of male donors) ”.
There is also relevant data from a 2018 survey by IPEA (Institute for Applied Economic Research), which highlights that women occupy 65% of jobs in organized civil society organizations. As they represent more than half of the people involved in doing voluntary work for a cause, women's work is essential.
Finally, according to UN Women, “women have been hit hard by COVID-19, as they make up 70% of people working in the social and health sector around the world and are on the front lines of the response.”
We form a large chain from north to south of Brazil, working in education, health, social responsibility, combating inequalities and prejudices, using female strength to improve society and, as a consequence, our country. A woman's place is to do good wherever she wants.
This article was originally published on the website of the newspaper O Povo .
