Gender inequity as a social variable is key to Haiti’s recovery from complex socio-economic challenges. While research showed that 45% of households are female-headed, several policy-driven development strategies did not necessarily benefit women after the 2010 earthquake. For instance, the ratio of female to male labor force participation dropped from 85.6% in 2010 to 72.8% in 2012 according to the World Bank.

The Human Development Theory (HDT) is a “people-first” theory that emphasizes people as a society’s wealth as opposed to other resources. HDT argues that empowerment enables disadvantaged demographic groups to participate in and influence their own development process. Thus, there is a bottom-up element to achieving human development; the more these individuals are involved, the more power they gain in the policy sector. Therefore, empowering women by teaching them hard and soft skills is a more efficient way to mitigate gender inequity issues and accelerate development in Haiti.

I believe that a focus on Business and STEM would particularly generate positive outcomes because Haitian women have been historically underrepresented in those two areas. Women are specifically underrepresented in STEM due to existing challenges preventing their access to academic STEM programs. In addition, Business and STEM provide opportunities for financial independence leading to empowerment. If women are enabled to become successful business owners, they will be able to use their voices not only to effect additional social changes in their communities but also to convince others to follow.

All these reasons led me to design Take up Space, a program meant to facilitate the aforementioned outcomes.

Take up Space wants to introduce 60 young girls aged between 12 to 14 years old to Business and STEM. This age range interests me because it is a pivotal age for their cognitive development. Key milestones for that age range include starting to set personal goals, challenging assumptions, and embracing justice/ equality causes. My primary goal is to create a burgeoning network of female trailblazers prepared to challenge the status quo and become pioneers of change in both Business and STEM.

My local partner, BANJ, is a leader in entrepreneurship and technology immersion in Port-au-Prince. The company provides logistical tools for growing ideas from origination to execution. It further describes itself as a hub for entrepreneurship and a stimulating environment facilitating research, teamwork, and learning. However, BANJ works with older women ranging from university students to working professionals. Take up Space is a call for young women to become the leading front of Haiti’s future in Business and STEM and add value to the global discourse about these fields. The program focuses on cultivating fellows’ leadership and entrepreneurial skills giving them full ownership of their ideas, future, and aspirations... Because such vision aligns with BANJ’s mission, our project would specifically complement their efforts and enhance their impact by creating a STEM and business-specific program targeted to a much younger population they have not yet reached.

Most of this summer was spent on gaining additional insights from academic papers to design the program which could not be executed in Haiti due to COVID disruptions. I look forward to continuing to collaborate with my mentor on the execution phase of the project.