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Walmart announced last week that it had reached one of its goals first envisioned in its 2011 Global Women’s Economic Empowerment Initiative – to increase the number of its women-owned suppliers in the US, reaching a goal of $20 billion in purchased good and services. The retail giant acknowledged that not all goals were met from the initiative, failing to double the amount of goods and services from women-owned businesses outside of the country, which currently stands at 2% of the retailer’s global purchases. This figure is still twice the global average that retailers spend on purchases from women-owned companies. The retailer joins eight other corporations - Coca-Cola, Pepsi, Exxon-Mobil, General Mills, Campbell’s Soup, Procter & Gamble, Johnson & Johnson and Mondoleez – in pledging to source more from women-owned companies. The initiative, which has also given out $134 million in grants for training to one million women in its global supply chain and outside of it, has been successful in teaching Walmart the challenges that women entrepreneurs face, particularly in certain countries where women have traditionally faced challenges in starting businesses or where little government data exists. The retailer also found that creating a successful work environment for women also involved more training for male executives in communicating with female colleagues.