Empower Co. hosted the reception during the NYC Climate week to showcase W+ Standard to scale quantifiable women’s empowerment impact.
Jeannette and Rachel presented a brief overview of W+ Standard and Empower Co. It was a diverse gathering of like-minds and hearts from financial institutions, academia, private sector organizations, NGOs, public sector groups, media, and more.
Destiny Treloar and Storm Lewis, Master of Environmental Science (MESc) Candidates at the Yale School of the Environment Student, attended the reception and share their reflections below.
Hello! Buenas! My name is Destiny Treloar (she/they/ella), and I’m a Master of Environmental Science Candidate (MESc) at the Yale School of the Environment with a focus on food insecurity among Latina/x/e women. I had the excellent opportunity to attend Empower Co’s reception during Climate Week. This was such an enlightening meeting among an array of climate leaders with invested interests in amplifying the power of women amid the worsening climate crisis. Everybody there was so kind and welcoming to genuinely explore how W+ Standard is a vital tool for empowering women to control their financial resources in the Global South. Prior to attending this reception, I have a novel understanding of the W+ unit framework and its role in building social capital for women. However, after engaging in a very detailed presentation by Jeanette and Rachel, I gained a deeper understanding of how each unit represents a positive net change across six critical domains and, ultimately, delivers verified social impacts for the advancement of women’s equality. I was especially interested in the domain of food security, in which often the immense women’s agricultural activities in meeting diverse food needs are extremely underrecognized. This reception was the highlight of my NYC Climate week, and I’m excited to accompany Storm and Jeanette at COP27 in Egypt.
My name is Storm Lewis, and I am from Brooklyn, New York. I am currently a Master of Environmental Science (MESc) Candidate at the Yale School of the Environment ’23.During this event, I developed a deeper understanding of Empower Co.’s global voluntary market, which connects mission-aligned buyers with W+ credits. Each W+ credit quantifies women empowerment’s impact across categories, including health, income, education, leadership, food security, and time saved. Learning about the W+ Standard greatly inspired me and pushed me to consider how alternative markets can promote food sovereignty in my community. Across my hometown and the U.S, Black farmers have been systematically discriminated against by institutions such as the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Predatory lending, exclusion from loans, and limited access to quality land are some of the many tactics used to hinder Black farmers. As a result, the number of Black farmers in the U.S has substantially declined. There are even fewer Black women working in agriculture. Establishing markets in which farmers can achieve self-determination is a vital aspect of ensuring food security and autonomy in Black communities. I wonder if the Empower Co. and W+ Standard model would benefit Black women farmers in Brooklyn. I am excited to further my knowledge of women-focused standards and voluntary markets at COP27.
