Human rights lawyer and co-founder of the Clooney Foundation for Justice, Amal Clooney, was among those who recently honoured this year’s winners at the Cartier Women’s Initiative in Paris.
The Cartier Women’s Initiative event has announced its 32 fellows for the 2023 edition of the program. The leading luxury goods brand has reaffirmed its commitment to women entrepreneurs around the world by providing financial, social, and human capital support for their businesses.
“Women have always had a pivotal role at Cartier, who has actively supported women entrepreneurs for more than 16 years. We are thrilled, this year, to further expand our recognition of changemakers across the world with our two new regional awards and our new Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Award.” said Cyrille Vigneron, President and CEO of Cartier International.
With a total of 297 women impact entrepreneurs supported over the years, Cartier has awarded a total of USD $7,440,000 in grant funding for businesses that aim to have a strong and sustainable positive impact on society.
This year, Cartier is increasing its commitment by introducing new regional and thematic awards to its program, increasing its grant funding and raising the total number of fellows to 32. The event has recognised women impact entrepreneurs from Armenia, Bulgaria, Dominican Republic, and Singapore for the first time. The new Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Award, open to all genders, seeks to encourage entrepreneurial solutions to close gaps of access, outcome, or opportunities for communities that have been under-represented or under-served.
A champion of women’s rights, Amal Clooney spoke in detail about some of the moving cases in which she has helped women achieve justice for their cause: “My goal is equal justice for all and my philosophy is that justice must be waged. Because justice is not inevitable: it doesn’t just happen on its own. We have to fight for it; to gather our forces, forge alliances, prepare a strategy and be determined to do whatever it takes.”
She shared her insights on the importance of empowering women entrepreneurs and how they can make a positive impact on society.
The Cartier Women’s Initiative Awards Ceremony, held on May 10, 2023, announced the first-place awardee of each of the 11 awards. The awardees took home USD $100,000 in grant funding, while the second and third-place awardees received USD $60,000 and USD $30,000, respectively. The total grant funding per edition has increased to USD $2 million, its largest amount yet.
In addition to the grant funding, all 32 fellows will also benefit from tailored mentoring and coaching, media visibility, networking opportunities, and education courses from INSEAD business school.
