Women Plumbers in Jordan Are Breaking Taboos

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.

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.

Women Rising for Africa is training women to become boda boda taxi drivers, teaching them the necessary skills to enter the male-dominated industry and gain financial independence. The organization enrolls the women in defensive riding, road safety, self-defence, financial literacy and first-aid classes to equip them when entering the business. Since 2022, the group has trained 90 women riders.

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.

The Women Radio Centre (WRC) works to empower the next generation of female investigative journalists, training them on reporting tactics to prevent gender disparities and promote reporting on women’s rights, as women are often underrepresented in investigative journalism. WRC also aims to equip young, female journalists with adequate training and connect them with job, networking and story opportunities. In WRC’s second year, 40 journalists have been trained and completed the program.

The Doula C-Hot program trains birth workers to assess and prepare pregnant clients for climate-related health risks like hurricanes and extreme heat, successfully training 12 doulas who have helped over 40 clients better prepare for environmental threats during pregnancy.

CARE Schools are free, half-public, half-private institutions that provide lessons in both Urdu and English. The schools teach both boys and girls, sometimes in co-ed classes, to promote gender equality and provide girls with equal opportunities in their education and increase their job prospects.