To celebrate International Women's Day on the 8th of March, the Economic Empowerment of Women in Green Industry (EEWiGI) held an interview with Patricia Valdez, who has contributed to the formalization of the glass-recycling sector in Peru.
Patricia Valdez participated in a national assessment of Peru’s green industry as part of the UNIDO programme “Economic Empowerment of Women in Green Industry”, which is making a significant push to improve leadership and participation of women as entrepreneurs and industry professionals, while also advancing green industrialization. The programme, underway in Cambodia, Peru, Senegal and South Africa, is assisting policymakers and practitioners with the establishment and implementation of a policy framework to integrate gender and green industrial policies.
On International Day of Women and Girls in Science, UNIDO spoke to Professor Linda Godfrey, a principal scientist at South Africa’s Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR).
Godfrey manages the Waste Research, Development and Innovation Implementation Unit at the CSIR and is supporting the Department of Science and Innovation in its development of a circular economy roadmap for South Africa.
She also serves on the National Steering Committee of the UNIDO programme, “Economic Empowerment of Women in Green Industry”, which is making a significant push to improve leadership and participation of women as entrepreneurs and industry professionals, while also advancing green industrialization. The programme, underway in Cambodia, Peru, Senegal and South Africa, is assisting policymakers and practitioners with the establishment and implementation of a policy framework to integrate gender and green industrial policies.
Interview:
Who has influenced your career? Who has supported you?
The 2019 Economic and Social Survey of Asia and the Pacific by UNESCAP: Ambitions beyond growth reveals that achieving the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030 requires an additional annual investment of $1.5 trillion for Asia-Pacific developing countries—equivalent to 5 percent of their combined GDP in 2018. While this seems unfathomable, it means we need a concerted effort driven by an assessment of fiscal space and leveraging the private sector. I want to emphasize this point: the journey towards sustainable development is affordable, if countries work together.
In fact, raising financing for infrastructure should not be complicated. I encourage you to ask yourself four questions and I offer some of my reflections: