In June 2024, the IRC’s Women Protection and Empowerment team and the Women Empowerment Organization (WEO) conducted a transformative five-day training in Iraq for the Women Peace Network (WPN). This IRC initiative, focused on strengthening leadership, advocacy, and decision-making, has empowered Iraqi women leaders to enhance their community impact and foster a unified approach toward women’s empowerment across the country.

Aliyah came to the US with her two children in 2016 and Maria arrived in December 2018 with her husband and eight children. Both came to the U.S. looking for a better future for their families. They are a part of the Women’s Employability Program (WEP) at the IRC Baltimore, which is program that supports women in overcoming obstacles to working in the U.S. The women in the WEP program are a network for each other.

Women are more likely to live in poorer households globally than men. Countries where this is evident are predominantly fragile or conflict-affected. In order to meet the Sustainable Development Goals and ensure no one is left behind, women’s economic empowerment must be prioritized and resourced in crisis contexts.

New cohort of Haitian-Creole women find new success with Elizabeth's Women In Action Program.

The Women's Resilience Center is a safe, collaborative space where the diverse needs of all women and girls are respected and where women and girls can seek, share, and obtain information about their rights and their inherent potential for safety, health, education, economic wellbeing, and power.

In 2022 IRC Seattle started a sewing program called New Americans Artisan Collective to promote women’s empowerment through handicrafts. The inaugural class was launched in the fall, comprised entirely of refugee women from Afghanistan. On December 16th, the program proudly celebrated as the first cohort of six women graduated.

Many Syrian refugee women want to work but face hurdles. The gig economy, with protections for workers, could help change that.

At our Dnipro safe space, displaced women and their hosts take a break from the experiences of the war and recreate a sense of the community they’ve lost.