Valuing women and female leadership is a non-negotiable commitment, which must be assumed by the Third Sector as a condition for its own strengthening and for the development of civil society organizations. This is one of the main pillars of the manifest “The Strength of Women in the Third Sector”, of which the Ramacrisna Institute is one of the participants. The text was presented at the panel that closed the 17th National Meeting of the Third Sector (ENATS), held by the Minas Gerais Federation of Private Law Foundations and Associations (Fundamig), from September 27 to October 1, online.

“This cause has been embraced by us at Ramacrisna for some time and we are happy to be part of this group of strong organizations and women entrepreneurs. By strengthening the role of women in the Third Sector through their professional qualification, shared experience and intense community experience, we are consolidating a sector of great importance in the promotion of social justice, gender equality and human development”, says the Vice President of the Institute Ramacrisna, Solange Bottaro.

Gender equality – one of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) established by the United Nations (UN) – guided the discussions. The initiative was co-idealized by Fundamig and Conectidea, a company in the area of ​​design and strategic communication for the Third Sector.

In addition, after extensive debate on the topic, it was defined that the central line of the manifest would be the appreciation and empowerment of women through knowledge, fostering spaces for speech, leadership, training and awareness. One of the excerpts from the manifest talks exactly about this issue: “We want equal opportunities and to be an effective and respected presence in spaces of power. This is a call for us to move forward, generate value and development through knowledge, understanding that it is also necessary to increase access to information and communication technologies to promote empowerment.”

Executive Superintendent of Fundamig, Julia Caldas de Almeida, informs that the main workforce in the Third Sector is female, and it is essential to value women. “The point is that if the main workforce in the Third Sector is female, to empower these women is to empower the Third Sector. A professionalized, qualified, well-paid and, therefore, strengthened Third Sector will be able to dialogue on an equal footing with other sectors and this participation of civil society, that is, the so-called tri-sectorial alliance, is the only way to advance in the development agendas sustainable”, she declared.

The second phase of the project provides for research on the profile and needs of women working in the Third Sector, as well as the construction of a guide with proposals for the Third Sector management to promote qualification, work on the SDGs and open spaces of dialogue to concretize paths of female representation and protagonism.

Following participative dynamics, the Manifesto was built from virtual meetings, discussions and intersectoral strategic alliances. In addition to the vice president of the Ramacrisna Institute, Solange Bottaro, the executive superintendent of Fundamig and co-idealist of the manifesto, Julia Caldas; founder and director of Conectidea, Fernanda Soares; the Chief of Staff of the Attorney General of the Municipality of Belo Horizonte, Vice President of Confoco-BH and member of the Manifesto Working Group, Marisa Seoane; the representatives of the Minas Gerais Center for Intersectorial Alliances – CeMAIS, Aline Seoane Resende Paulino, Valda Maciel, Marcela Giovanna and Mariana Pimenta; representatives of FDC – Cardinal Dom Serafim Social Center, Tatiana Senra and Nádia Rampi; the prosecutor and coordinator of CAOTS/ MPMG, Tatiana Pereira; the chief of staff of the Attorney General of the Municipality of Belo Horizonte, Marisa Seoane; and the president of Diário do Comércio and creator of the Minas 2032 Movement, Adriana Mulls.

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Access the page with the text and video (image and audio) of the manifest “The Strength of Women in the Third Sector”:https://conteudos.fundamig.org.br/manifesto-mulheres-no-terceiro-setor

For those who want to contribute, whether participating in the research and/or in the construction of the Guide, go to: https://forms.gle/oSYLiworiYYNzbXB7