Why Willow Fund
We were established during one of the worst pandemics in history. Today, Covid-19 continues to devastate lives and livelihoods around the world, and women have been disproportionately affected. According to McKinsey, “the magnitude of the inequality is striking”. In their July 2020 feature, it was reported that in pre-Covid-19 India, women made up 20 percent of the workforce. Just months into the pandemic, based on unemployment surveys, women accounted for 23 percent of job losses. On average, women do 75 percent of the world’s total unpaid-care work, including childcare, caring for the elderly, cooking and cleaning. This situation is exacerbated by traditional societal mindsets that still exist today. According to the global World Values Survey, more than half the respondents in many countries in South Asia and MENA agreed that men have more right to a job than women when jobs are scarce. And, about one in six respondents in developed countries said the same. Our purpose at Willow Fund is to endeavour to uplift the women impacted by Covid-19, by providing economic support to give them hope for the future.
HOW ARE WE DOING IT
We provide a platform to share the stories of these women in need: homemakers whose families have lost their breadwinners, women who are their families’ breadwinners, and women artisans in rural areas who have lost the traditional platforms to promote their handicrafts. We raise funds for select charities with causes that are aligned with ours, so the women who are impacted can get more support that will help reduce their risk of living in poverty. We provide an online shop for impacted women artisans to showcase and sell their handicrafts. Our hope is that these women will be able to have access to better livelihoods and break out of generational poverty. We urge you to help make a difference to the lives of these women!
Our Mission
We exist to support women and girls to realize their dreams
and achieve their full potential. We provide a platform for women artisans from
rural areas to promote and sell their handicrafts, and share the stories of
women impacted by COVID-19 to raise awareness and funds to empower them.