Women at the Heart of Cultural Heritage: Protecting Traditions, Shaping the Future
By Deniz Torcu, a member of the 2024 Rising Talents Laureates cohort, a Women’s Forum initiative. As a seasoned economist with an extensive career in culture operations, Deniz has served in governmental and international organizations, such as UNESCO, where she oversaw the local implementation of the World Heritage Convention and the Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage. She manages a master's portfolio and teaches courses in cross-cultural communications, cultural operations, and globalization applied to media and communications.
Cultural industries are often seen as the guardians of tradition, preserving crafts, stories, and rituals that define communities. But look closer, and you’ll find that women are the ones carrying much of this weight—passing down knowledge, keeping traditions alive, and, in many cases, reimagining them for new generations. Whether weaving intricate patterns in a small village, performing ancient songs on a global stage, or using digital platforms to breathe new life into traditional crafts, women’s contributions to cultural heritage are profound yet frequently undervalued.
Despite this, cultural industries remain structurally unequal. Women’s work in heritage—whether in textiles, music, performing arts, or storytelling—often exists in the informal economy, offering little economic security or institutional recognition. Many are labeled as “artisans” rather than artists, “guardians” rather than innovators, their work romanticized but not always respected in ways that lead to financial or professional stability. And when international organizations, including UNESCO, step in to protect cultural heritage, their frameworks don’t always account for the gendered realities of who actually sustains these traditions.
In Morocco, Berber women weave carpets using techniques passed down through generations, but they are often disconnected from the global markets that prize their craftsmanship. In India, women handloom weavers struggle to compete with mechanized production despite government efforts to protect traditional textiles. In Turkey, female musicians preserving folk traditions are less likely to be formally recognized than their male counterparts. These examples span continents, but they tell a common story: women do the work of cultural preservation, yet too often without the financial or institutional support that would allow them to thrive.
Still, there are stories of transformation. In Mexico, women-led cooperatives have found ways to bring indigenous embroidery and pottery to international markets, ensuring both cultural continuity and economic independence. In Senegal, initiatives supporting women in storytelling traditions are redefining how oral histories are preserved in the digital age. Across the world, social enterprises are emerging to bridge the gap between tradition and market access, ensuring that heritage doesn’t just survive but evolves in ways that benefit those who sustain it.
But progress remains uneven. The challenge isn’t just about preserving heritage but ensuring that the people—particularly the women—who sustain it are recognized, compensated, and given the tools to shape its future. Protection shouldn’t mean freezing traditions in time; it should mean giving the next generation of women the resources to reinterpret cultural practices on their own terms.
If the world truly values cultural heritage, it must value the women who sustain it—not just as keepers of the past, but as architects of the future.
Deniz Torcu is a member of the 2024 Rising Talents Laureates cohort, a Women's Forum for the Economy & Society initiative. The program brings together over 270 talented women from around the world, including Nobel Prize winners, scientists and CEOs.