How Women Radio Centre is Fanning the Flames of Female Investigative Journalists in Nigeria

ACCESS Development Services trains women to drive electric auto rickshaws, providing them with marketable skills that help them earn a living independently. The all-women Pink City Rickshaw Company employs the women to provide tours throughout the city and has since trained over 200 women.

Local organizations such as Mujeres Rurales Argentinas and the provincial Ministry of Agriculture's Gender Cabinet are empowering rural women through artisanal tea production. By offering training programs structured around women's caregiving schedules, creating spaces for gender-inclusive collaboration, and advocating for policy changes, these groups have helped increase women's leadership roles in tea production, as more than half of artisan producers are now women.

Targeted plumbing training programs are providing women with life-changing skills, independence, and career opportunities. Led by initiatives such as the German government aid agency GIZ and the Wise Women Plumbers Cooperative, hundreds of women have become licensed plumbers, overcoming societal stigma to gain economic empowerment, improve local water management, and shift perceptions around women's roles.

Despite it being a historically male-dominated field, women in Kashmir are learning copper smithing to become both socially and financially independent. Women who have mastered the skill then teach it to others, allowing more and more women to not only learn a valuable skill, but to secure income to support themselves.

To combat unemployment, the Girls2Women Initiative runs 6- to 12-week training programs for girls and women in underserved communities in Nigeria. During this time they learn skills they can use to find a job or start their own business in industries like graphic design, decor, and tailoring.

To quickly build a skilled workforce, two Kansas community colleges and Panasonic created an accelerated 8-week apprenticeship, funded by the company and featuring tailored classroom and practical training. The program aims to fast-track workers into Panasonic's new EV battery factory while providing clear career pathways through stackable credentials.

In an effort to break the cycle of poverty and combat gender stereotypes and stigma, several women are entering the commercial transportation industry by driving tricycles around the city to offer rides to locals. By working, these women are earning more money for their families, helping to ensure there’s food on the table and that they can afford to send their children to school.

Mutindo Women aims to increase representation in the construction and real estate industries by connecting women to networking and job opportunities. Mutindo Women has built over 15 houses across the country since forming in 2019, and has even collaborated on projects with men in the field.

“Grow your own” programs, like Reach University’s, are working to address teacher shortages, particularly in rural areas, by recruiting school employees who don’t have college or education degrees and giving them a chance to earn an undergraduate degree in education at just $75 a month. Participants take courses online and take 15 hours out of their work week to spend time observing and training in classrooms. So far 84% of all parishes across the state have signed up to take Reach trainees, which could put a significant dent in the statewide teacher vacancy issue.

The Sewing Labs provides apprenticeships that teach sewing skills as a route to jobs, financial independence and dignity. The Sewing Labs was recently chosen as one of 207 businesses to participate in the U.S. Department of Labor’s Apprenticeship Ambassadors Initiative to present an “earn and learn” model to create equitable and debt-free pathways to good-paying jobs.