Instead of presiding over an economic system that panders to big business and a wealthy elite, a more human economy must be established which meets the needs of African women and young people.
Interpretation
We need an economic system that prioritizes the needs of marginalized groups, particularly African women and youth, rather than serving only the wealthy elite.
Winnie Byanyima advocates for a shift in our economic approach, urging the establishment of an economy that serves the basic needs of the most vulnerable populations, such as African women and young people. This quote highlights the importance of creating equitable systems that do not simply cater to large corporations and affluent individuals, but rather focus on nurturing the welfare and empowerment of those who have been historically sidelined in economic discussions.
In practice
This quote can be used in discussions on sustainable development at conferences.
High corruption and the influence of big business and the wealthy elite keeps the poorest Nigerians trapped in poverty and cut off from the benefits of economic growth and basic services. Some people - searching for the means to survive - became vulnerable to groups like Boko Haram.
African countries lose billions every year because of tax dodging by big corporations and wealthy individuals. They lose billions more from overly generous tax incentives in a misguided belief that this is the only way to attract foreign investment.
The high price of medicines is crippling healthcare systems and denying people access to the treatments they so desperately need.
The discrimination of women and girls goes to the core of any and all analyses of the world's economic, political, and environmental problems.
Inequality, climate change, and conflict are evicting millions from their homes. But these perils are being met with 'anti-answers' such as nationalism, closed borders, lies, and hatred.
We don't want to tell young girls and boys that the odds are stacked against them from the start. Instead, we could tell them that with passion, conviction, and determination we can build a better future. This future is possible by redesigning our economy to truly reward hard work rather than wealth.
Constructive trade, the two-way exchange of goods and services, is the most efficient and logical way for each nation . . . to build a stable prosperity, a prosperity based not on aid, but on mutually beneficial economic contacts.
Prosperity cannot be restored by raids upon the public Treasury.
Fair treatment in the work force is no longer exclusively a labor issue, nor is it a women's issue - it is a fundamental economic issue.
There is slow growth, but it is positive slow growth. At the same time, ratios of debt-to-incomes go down. That's a beautiful deleveraging.
I will not let anyone tell me we must spend more money. This crisis did not come about because we issued too little money but because we created economic growth with too much money and it was not sustainable growth.
The real bosses in the capitalist system of market economy are the consumers. They by their buying and by their abstention from buying decide who should own the capital and run the plants. They determine what should be produced and in what quantity and quality. Their attitudes result either in profit or in loss for the enterpriser. They make poor men rich and rich men poor. They are no easy bosses.
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