Joining together to ‘stand with and for women everywhere’

As the first female plumber in her community in Jordan, Ra’edah Abu Alhalaweh (second from left) was so successful in convincing clients to trust her expertise that she was able to grow her business and begin training other women to join the field. Kate Adelung/CARE

When Ra’edah Abu Alhalaweh realized that breaking down barriers to follow a lifelong passion for fixing things around her home could also benefit her community, the obvious choice became to follow her dreams.

In Jordan where Abu Alhalaweh lives, plumbing is not only a male-dominated profession but also a cultural challenge. Women are not permitted to let men enter their home without their husbands present. And while a leaky faucet can be attended to in due time, a broken water pipe cannot wait for a husband’s schedule.

For Abu Alhalaweh, this presented a unique business opportunity: supporting her family to do something she loved while also solving an age-old challenge for her entire community. As the first female plumber in the area, Abu Alhalaweh was so successful in convincing clients to trust her expertise that she was able to grow her business and begin training other women to join the field. “I received so many comments like, ‘Is it possible that you do plumbing?’” she recalls. “I tell them: ‘Yes, I can.’”

Today, when anyone doubts her competence as a plumber, she responds, “Give me something to fix, and you will see the result with your own eyes.”

For Barbara Grantham, president and CEO at CARE Canada, Abu Alhalaweh is a perfect example of how one woman can make a difference for herself, her family and generations to come.

“Through our work, we witness hope and resilience every day. We see countless women breaking through barriers and finding creative ways to write their own stories,” she says. “We know that if one woman can overcome obstacles, she lifts those around her, creating a ripple of change.”

This realization led to the launch of CARE Canada’s One Woman Can campaign, now in its third consecutive year, which builds on CARE’s expertise in designing and implementing thoughtful and transformational projects that address one of the root causes of poverty – gender inequality.

By supporting women with the tools, information and opportunities they need to change their lives, CARE’s work helps to strengthen families, communities and economies.

According to UN Women and the World Bank, if women were able to fully participate in the workforce, the global economy could be strengthened by 20 per cent. What’s more, since women are central pillars in their families and communities, their leadership is crucial to everyone’s well-being.

“When women’s voices are heard, when they are included in decision-making spaces, and when they have the same opportunities to lead as men do, everyone benefits,” Grantham says. “Everyone is then better equipped to break the cycle of poverty, to be resilient in the face of crises, and to build a better world for all.”

Yet equal participation for women remains elusive –
no single country has achieved IT.

According to the World Economic Forum’s 2024 Global Gender Gap Report, it will take 134 years for the world to achieve gender equality, which, according to Grantham, “means that half of humanity cannot reach their full potential.”

In 2024, CARE Canada “reached 1.6 million participants across 58 projects in 31 countries, with women making up 65 per cent of those we worked with,” says Grantham. “We work alongside communities around the world to break down barriers that prevent women and girls from reaching their full potential and achieving their dreams.”

According to the UN’s status of women, one in every 10 women is living in extreme poverty. Globally, women are 14 times more likely than men to die during a disaster. “We know that women are more food insecure than men and less likely to have access to social protection,” she says.

Despite the scope of the challenge, Grantham finds inspiration in witnessing “how much women can accomplish when they have the resources and opportunities they need, and when the barriers they face are broken. What gives me hope is the incredible strength, resilience and creativity of women worldwide,” she says. “Every day, we see innovative solutions and resourcefulness in the face of the most challenging circumstances. In line with this year’s International Woman’s Day theme, we can ‘accelerate action’ to build a more just world, and investing in women is the best and most impactful way to go about it.”

And while “the stories and challenges faced by women in other countries may sometimes seem distant from our lives here in Canada, I’ve come to realize that, at the core, we are not so different,” Grantham says. “Our circumstances may vary, but we all share similar thoughts, worries and joys. As a society and as humanity, we should stand together, support one another and be each other’s greatest champions.”   

At CARE Canada, International Women’s Day 2025 kicks off a month-long focus on “the incredible impact one woman can have and on highlighting women’s stories to inspire Canadians to support women around the globe.

“We invite people to join CARE Canada and all our staff and partners – who work tirelessly to save lives, fight poverty and achieve social justice – as well as our donors and supporters who demonstrate true Canadian generosity and integrity,” says Grantham.

People interested in learning more about CARE Canada and its leading work to fight poverty by investing in women are encouraged to visit care.ca/OneWoman, and amplify the voices of the women who face down inequality and obstacles every day to improve the lives of their families, communities and generations to come.

To view this report on The Globe's website, visit globeandmail.com

To view the full report as it appeared in The Globe's print edition International Women’s Day