How the OPEC Influences the International Economy - Research Paper Example

Effects of Gender Equity and Gender Mainstreaming on Development Name: Course: Tutor: Date: Introduction Gender inequality has always permeated the society through shared social understanding, unwritten norms, and even through the laws and statutes that govern countries. As a result, women, who are always on the receiving end of gender inequality, are at a disadvantage compared to men. This happens on both economic and development fronts since women have fewer opportunities to make use of productive resources in the society. The plight of women is worsened by the fact that most of them not economically independent, have to balance between family and work, and are more likely to face violence, harassment or discrimination than their male counterparts1. Economic independence has also been a core theme in the gender equality debate. Notably, economic independence is realised when a person - whether man or woman - recognises and receives value for the paid and unpaid work that he or she participates in both economically and socially2. Unfortunately, the gender disparity has always favoured men, with some countries like Australia estimating that women in full-time employment earn “16 percent less than men”3. Women face further financial disadvantages since they are more likely to receive low wages for their work, are more likely to be engaged in part-time and casual work due to their family commitments, and also save less money for retirement. Looking back in time, one realises that the gender debate has been in focus since for the better half of the 20th century. In Australia for example, the 1984 Sex Discrimination Act was enacted as a mode to encourage gender equity in the society4. The act specifically sought to “promote recognition and acceptance of the principle of equality between men and women; and eliminate, as far as possible: discrimination on the basis of sex, marital status, pregnancy or potential pregnancy in employment, educational institutions, in the provision of goods and services, in the provision of accommodation, and in the administration of federal programmes.”5 Drawing from different literature, it is observed in this essay that despite many countries across the world stating their willingness to enhance gender equality, policy measures are still lacking. This is despite evidence that gender equality aids in the development agenda. Background Gender Equity Gender equity refers to a concept that proposes that the role of men and women should receive equal value in the society.6 Proponents of the gender equity concept argue that men and women can equally contribute and benefit from social, economic, political and cultural developments. For this to happen however, prejudices and stereotypes attached to gender differences have to be overcome. It is proposed that both relative equity between men and women would lead to faster development7. The argument behind this proposal is that gender equity would ensure that women are better educated, healthy, and have equal access to gainful employment as well as leadership positions. Such parity would then directly affect their families, communities and humankind at large. Evidently, there are physical differences that account for gender inequality between men and women. However, it is the legal, social, political and economic interpretations of gender inequality that that deny women equal chances in the society.8 In addition to the different responsibilities and role that men and women hold in and outside the home, social inequality is evident in the higher status and value granted to jobs held by men. Additionally, women, especially those in the developing countries do not enjoy equal access to health services and education as their male counterparts. Violence against women and some social customs such as marrying off teenage girls are also factors that widen the social inequality gap between the two genders. Gender equity is further hindered by the economic disparities that prevail between men and women. Statistics indicate that an estimated 70 percent of the poor population worldwide is made up of women.9 This situation is perpetuated by unequal access to education, employment opportunities and economic resources. Even where women have equal skills to men, Charlesworth10 found out that men are more likely to get higher salaries for their skills than their female counterparts. Politically, gender equity is yet to be realised because women continue to be inadequately represented in decision-making positions in the society. Legally, gender equity remains a far-fetched dream because contemporary legal systems in some countries (especially in developing countries), still have laws that discriminate against women. This is especially evident in criminal law, citizenship laws, land and property ownership, inheritance and family law.11 Gender Mainstreaming Gender mainstreaming is defined as a deliberate policy action by governments and other development agencies to include women and men in the mainstream development activities.12 Wells and McEwan13 on the other hand define it as “the process of ensuring that all our work, and the way we do it, contributes to gender equality by transforming the balance of power between women and men”. The latter definition indirectly acknowledges that, in the past, the balance of power always favoured men especially because the world was largely made up of patriarchal communities. The main development activities where gender mainstreaming is touted to occur include “resource allocation, policy legislation formulation, and programme or project planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation”14. The main reason why gender mainstreaming is considered important in the development agenda is that prior to any policy or programme decision, an analysis is done to determine the effect that such projects will have on both genders. However, Elsey et al.15, notes that the overall aim of gender mainstreaming is the promotion of gender equity through reframing ways of conducting development processes. According to Wells and McEwan16, gender mainstreaming aims to integrate the needs and experiences of all people - regardless of their gender - into all development aspects of the society. This is done in recognition of the fact that for real development to occur, women - who are the majority population world wide - need to control and influence development processes. Gender mainstreaming acquired significance in the attainment of gender equity during the 1995 Fourth World Conference on Women organised by the United Nations (UN) in Beijing, China.17 During the meeting, gender mainstreaming was endorsed as the ideal approach that governments, the UN, as well as other stakeholders would use in order to push the gender equity agenda globally. Does gender equity aid development? Development is often touted as the solution to poverty. Incidentally, gender inequalities are prevalent in the underdeveloped countries18, something that gives the impression that there exists a link between enhanced gender equity and development. In the least developed countries as well as in developing countries, gender inequalities are evident in access to education, healthcare, rights, income levels and political participation. Though women suffer the most in such situations, the entire society and economy of such countries do suffer too. This is especially so because gender inequality means that a section of the society is not properly engaged in productive activities. This in turn means that their potential to contribute towards poverty reduction is not utilised, something that affects the economic growth of their countries negatively. Admittedly, gauging the effects of gender equity in development is not a straightforward thing. While some analysts argue that gender equity gives a society better chance to develop, others state that this is not always guaranteed.19 This is especially so because women in societies where gender equity is enhanced may still choose not to work. For example, although Iceland and Norway are ranked among the 5 top countries with enhanced gender equity, the participation of women in the workplace is much lower when compared to countries with less gender equity.20 The Australian Government in conjunction with the Australian Aid Programme for example observe that relative equality between men and women enables the economy to grow faster. More to this, gender equality would lead to an improvement in children’s health, and less corruption would occur in the society as women are stricter with morals than men.21 Using the example of India, it is estimated that a 10 percent increase in the female to male workplace ratio would lead to an 8 percent increase in gross domestic product.22 Apart from part-time achievements that seem to occur when women are empowered, there is evidence that gender equality also enhances long-term economic development. Writing for the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) observer for example, Mörtvik23 notes that analysis done on well-performing economies proved that the demographic structures in such countries were well structured mainly because women were able to plan their families. The countries also registered high participation of women in the workplace, and the results were seen in the robust economies where indicators such as literacy levels and health were high. An interesting finding was also made by Mörtvik. Countries with more favourable attitudes towards gender equity registered more women who gave birth to fewer children, and who were more willing to postpone childbirth and marriage. This was done for purposes of attaining an education and a career24. While this may appear like a good indicator in countries that are overpopulated and struggling with a burden to provide social services to a huge population, it may also be an indication of mixed fortunes for some countries. For example, low birth rates in some countries may mean that such countries are at a risk of experiencing a human resource shortage in the future. This may mean that the long-term development potential of such countries is at a risk of jeopardy from gender equity norms that move women from their traditional role as homemakers and child bearers. To ensure that short-term and long-term development needs in any country are considered in the gender equity debate, societies need to balance gainful employment and family needs. This however does not mean that women alone need to shoulder the responsibilities of bringing up children. Both men and women should take time to take care of the children, meaning that each gender gets to spend time working and looking after the family in equal measure. Interestingly, gender equity and development are related not only in regard to white collar jobs but in other sectors as well. A report by the Development Assistance Committee (DAC) observes that development in the African continent could improve tremendously if women accessed agricultural resources. Such include land, farming tools, fertiliser and seeds. Specifically, the African economies would register a 20 percent annual improvement if women were given equal access to land resources.25 Unfortunately, gender inequality always makes the women lag behind in development. In developing countries like India for example, the lack of collateral means that most women cannot access financial services like loans from banks. This is despite the fact that DFID observes that men are more likely to default on loans than women. 26 It was also found that women were more intent on investment than men given the same resources. According to DAC, statistics indicate that most men re-invest an average of 35 percent of their income, while women reinvest up to 90 percent of their incomes.27 This means that in communities where gender equity is entrenched there are chances of development as more people would be willing to invest. Assuming that the consumerism theory is right, it is also rather obvious that gender equity would place more money in women’s hands, thus encouraging spending. This would in turn spur economic growth as spending rises. In regard to political development, the DFID statistics showed that only one out of six parliament representatives are women throughout the world. If the current progress is anything to go by, it is estimated that gender equity in parliament representation will only be attained by 2068. Despite this, there are examples to prove that enhanced gender equity in political representation can indeed aid in development. In Rwanda for example, 49 percent of members of parliament are women.28 Collectively, the women parliamentarians in the African nation have been able to lobby for increased spending on education, health and support for the disabled. This in turn means that Rwanda will in future be a healthy, literate nation where every person is given equal chances to develop regardless of their gender or physical disability. Reviewing past development however, one also realises that though women were not directly involved in mainstream development activities like formal employment, they played a crucial role. While the men worked in formal employment, women remained at home nursing children and providing the emotional support that their men needed. As such, it is evident that though their work was not recognised as much and even received little value, they indirectly contributed to development. As such, cultures that do not allow women to move from their domestic roles can still enhance gender equity by recognising and valuing the work that women do while at home.29 This would however require women to be better negotiators so that they can receive value for their contribution in the society. Gender equity in developed and developing countries The World Bank differentiates between developed and developing countries based on per capita incomes of such countries. Developed countries have per capita Gross National Products (GNP) that range from $10,000 to $30,000. Such countries also have a large urban population, extensive infrastructure, high literacy rates, and are highly competent in science and technology.30 They include countries like the USA, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, France, Germany, United Kingdom and Canada. Jointly, these countries have formed an organisation dubbed the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD)31. Developing countries on the other hand, have economies that are yet to hit maturity. According to the World Bank, annual GNPs in such countries range from $10,000 to $755 or lower. Countries with less than $1,000 annual GNP are however classified as poor, and are usually found in Africa and Asia.32 In a study conducted by the World Social Forum33, the highest gender equity was evident in Nordic countries, all which are in the developed countries spectrum. The countries where gender equity was highest were also characterized by liberal societies, welfare systems and high regard for human rights. This meant that women, just like men, were able to access educational, health, political and job opportunities available in their respective countries. Developed countries also showed stronger socialist ideologies, which encouraged women to participate more in formal employment. However, it has been observed that equality is yet to be fully realised even in such developed countries because women often have to do everything.34 This means that in addition to handling all the work in their homes, they are also expected to work as professionals outside the home. In a country like the United States, it was observed that although the literacy levels are high and the economic opportunities high, most women lack opportunities to advance their careers, implying that they are more likely to earn less than their male counterparts. The United States also has high number of teenage pregnancies as well as child mortality despite the country having a large number of physicians. As such, it is evident that though the developed nations are performing well in the enhancement of gender equity, there are societal elements that are yet to be met for complete equity to be attained. In developing nations like China, it is a bag of mixed fortunes for women therein. As noted in the World Economic Forum report, gender equity is not evident in areas like access to education or political empowerment. However, Chinese women participate in economic activities rather well compared to other women within Asia.35 Incidentally, and despite whether a country is developed or developing, there exists a link between conservative attitudes and tradition and gender inequality. In patriarchal societies especially evident in Islamic countries, women’s participation in activities that would improve their position in the society is minimal. The World Social Forum report notes that most Islamic countries registering the lowest equality between men and women had ratified the Beijing Convention36. This means that they had made a commitment to eliminate practices that discriminated against women. Notably however, all countries do not have coherent strategies through which women can be empowered. Developed countries also seem to have realised that a link exists between development and gender equity. Through the provision of development aid, such countries are able to influence positive changes relating to gender equity in developing countries.37 Changing gender inequalities in the aid-receiving developing nations is however not without its challenges. In some countries gender inequalities are deeply entrenched in the culture, hence the aid-receiving nation may perceive the donor’s questioning of inequalities as unwarranted interference.38 Overall, it is quite evident that though the gender equality gap is greatest in developing countries, even the developed countries are yet to attain an ideal gender balance. If the World Social Forum report is anything to go by, then there could be some hope that Nordic countries may attain gender equity in the near future. Notably, attaining gender equality will take deliberate action from all stakeholders in the society. This includes governments, women and the men as well. The role of the government is especially critical because gender mainstreaming can only occur effectively if gender-specific measures are put in place. Only policy regulation can enable the society, whether in developed or developing countries, to overcome subordination of women by men. With the right policy measures in place, women’s status can be improved, biases in both private and public sectors removed, and the overall status of women improved.39 International and local efforts in the promotion of gender equity in Australia In Australia, the gender equality agenda is pushed both by the government and non-governmental organisations. The importance of gender equality is so prominent in the government that there is a gender equality policy specifically set aside for purposes of enhancing gender equity. The policy’s goal is “to reduce poverty by advancing gender equality and empowering of women”40 At the forefront of government efforts is Australian Aid Programme, which champions gender equality in the many platforms where it is mandated to work. Since the organisation is also charged with implementing aids programmes abroad, it has made gender equality as one of the essential factors needed to increase the effectiveness of aid41. Both within and outside the country, AUSAID seeks to ‘improve [the] economic status of women; [enhance] equal participation of women in decision making and leadership, including in fragile states and conflict situations; [enhance] improved and equitable health and education outcomes for women, men, girls and boys; and [ensure that] gender equality [is] advanced in regional cooperation efforts.”42 In addition to setting priorities, AUSAID also recognises that the presence of well-targeted and strategic interventions is important in tackling inequality inside and outside the country.43 In development aid recipient countries for example, AUSAID requires the stakeholders to develop gender equality strategies in identified areas. To gauge if indeed gender equity is being realised in aid recipient countries, the Australian government has several outcome measures. They include women’s economic status; women’s participation in leadership and decision-making positions; and the status of education and health in women, girls, men and boys.44 According to AUSAID, Australia’s commitment to the promotion of gender equity can be traced back to a 1975 commitment made by the Australian government to women45. Over the years, the government has focused on improving gender equity in sectors such as education, health and employment participation. In future, the government intends to enhance women’s economic status by increasing their access and control of resources. It also intends to improve the basic infrastructure needed by women in order to access basic services. Special interest will also be directed on ways to improve women’s participation in leadership and decision-making positions. Moreover, men will be targeted for inclusion in the gender equality debate, since issues such as violence against women, property rights and equality in the home front involve them (men) directly.46 Australia has gender-specific legislation, which includes the 1984 Gender Discrimination Act.47 This legislation was meant to make the general population more aware of the equity concepts between men and women. The act was also meant to bring more acceptance of gender equity among the populace. Australia also enacted the Affirmative Action Act in 1986, with the intention of addressing systemic barriers that faced women in the workplace48. This Act was renamed in 1999 to become the Equal Opportunity for Women in the Workplace Act. The latter outlawed all form of gender based discrimination in government offices, private sector, institutions, training companies as well as community sector departments.49 As a country, Australia through these two legislations has succeeded to a great extent in removing legal barriers that perpetuated gender inequality especially in the workplace. Government efforts towards making gender equality more acceptable within the society have also borne fruits, with acceptance in the country about equality at least in formal platforms considered high.50 Millennium Development Goals and Gender Equity According to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, “all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and all persons are entitled to fundamental rights and freedoms without distinction on the basis of sex.”51 The quintessence of this declaration was brought closer to most women by the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), which were adopted by the international community in 2002. MDGs are a group of eight goals, which aim to halve poverty throughout the world by the year 2015. To ensure this happens, the MDGs are supported by targets and indicators that are theoretically meant to help governments gauge their performance on the same. Gender equity is specifically addressed in Goal 3, which relates to the promotion of gender equality and empowerment of women.52 In the goal, countries were asked to strive towards “eliminating gender disparities in education (primary and secondary levels) by 2005, and at all levels by 2015”. The indicators proposed for use in monitoring how countries were fairing on meeting the goal were: comparing the boy to girl ratios in primary, secondary and tertiary schools; identifying the percentage of women employed in other sectors other than the agricultural sector; and establishing the parliamentary seats held by women when compared to the same positions held by men.53 All the three indicators offer some pointers about the extent of women empowerment in a given society. Overall, the prospects of all countries attaining the MDGs by 2015 are directly and indirectly linked to the respective countries’ abilities to enhance gender equity. This is especially so because in most societies where gender inequality exists, multi-dimensional poverty is likely to be prevalent. It has also been observed that gender equity presents society with an untapped resource, which can be used to stimulate economic growth and promote social development.54 Halving poverty by 2015 is a milestone that cannot be achieved if the majority of the population, who are women, are left behind in the development agenda. This is especially so because statistics indicate that of all the world’s illiterate people, 800 million are women55, meaning they stand lower chances of getting gainful employment. If poverty is to be halved by the target year therefore, a lot more attention will need to be paid to gender equity. This is especially necessary if pro-poor growth among women is to be attained. As stated elsewhere in this essay, observing the economic growth in developed as well as developing countries implies that there is a correlation between economic growth and gender equality. It has been argued that giving women equal chances in the development agenda gives the economy a synergy that can only result in improved fortunes for a country. 56 Notably however, MDGs address gender issues as means through which human development can be attained. In goal 3 for example, gender equality is mentioned in relation to its ability to empower women. As such, the MDGs state that the outcomes of the goal would be to eliminate gender inequalities in both primary and secondary education. The goal on reducing maternal mortality is closely linked to gender equality since most infant deaths occur due to women lacking the necessary healthcare due to poverty related issues. Improving maternal health is also a MDG, which relates to empowerment of women. The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) had targeted a three-quarters reduction of maternal mortality ratio, and also hoped to encourage governments to increase the ratio of births attended by trained and skilful health personnel.57 Overall, all the eight MDGs touch on some essential factors that affect the well-being of women all over the world. The framers of the MDGs may have realised the immense potential that women have towards development. The first goal, ‘eradicate extreme poverty and hunger’ is relevant to women across the world since women and children always suffer the effects of these two more than the men. The second goal, ‘achieve universal primary education’ is also relevant to gender equity because in most societies, especially in the developing countries, young boys were educated, while the girls are denied chances to do the same. The third goal ‘promote gender equality and empower women’ is specific to the gender equality agenda. Fourth on the list is ‘reduce child mortality’. With equal opportunities to access health services, women will find it easier and cheaper to seek medical intervention for their ailing children. The fifth goal, ‘improve maternal health’, relates to gender equality based on the fact that women will have improved access during pregnancy and after birth. This will in turn mean that fewer women will die during childbirth and they stand higher chances of being healthy during and after the pregnancy. The sixth MDG ‘Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases’ also have a link to gender equality because just as men, women are at risk of contracting the identified diseases. More so, women bear the burden of care when their husbands, brothers, parents, children or relatives contract these diseases. Seventh on the MDG list is ‘ensure environmental sustainability’. Notably, sustainability cannot be attained without addressing the economic, social and political causes of violence.58 Gender inequality is among the social factors that need to be addressed for environmental sustainability to be attained. The eighth and final MDG is ‘a global partnership for development’. Having established that women indeed play a vital role in the development agenda, no partnership can be complete without their equal participation. This therefore means that in order for the partnership to be comprehensive, women need to be factored in as equal stakeholders. Conclusion As evident through the literature used in this paper, the attainment of gender equity is closely related to development. This is evident from the fact that developed nations have performed impressively in some of the pointers of gender equity. As such, developing nations can benefit by enhancing gender equality, starting from ensuring that girls have equal access to education. This would furnish them with the knowledge necessary to compete for equal opportunities in the workplace. Equal access to jobs would on the other hand provide women with income, which they would not only use for development purposes, but also for domestic consumption. However, even where women have equal access to education, health services and job opportunities, perceptions of women as being the ‘weaker’ sex need to be thrashed. Such perceptions impose an intangible barrier, commonly known as a glass ceiling, on women’s potential to advance in their careers. In developing nations, enhancing gender equity will take the concerted effort of governments, civil society, and ordinary citizens including men and women. Specifically, women need to stand up for their right as equal and deserving participants in the development of their respective countries. Without women lobbying for their rightful position in the society, most governments will not act as fast as they should. Women can however believe that they deserve equal opportunities if they are well informed of their rights. Contrary to this, many especially in the developing countries, will sit back and accept their subordination by men as a fact that cannot be questioned. References Adams, Francis Gerard, Macroeconomics for Business and Society: a Developing/Developing Country Perspective of the “New Economy”, (World Scientific Publishers 2002) 5. Australian Government, AUSAID, Gender Equality and Development (13 October 2010), Cerise, Somali and Black and White Media Australia ‘Gender Equality: What Matters to Australian Women and Men’ (2008) Charlesworth, Sara ‘Legislation and Mechanisms for Promoting Gender Equality: The Australian Experience’ (2008), 29 WLUML Dossier 40. DAC, Gender Equality: Empowering Women so that Development is Effective (22 June 2010) < http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/14/27/42310124.pdf DFID, Gender Equality at the Heart of Development: Why the Role of Women is Crucial to Ending World Poverty (2007), http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/+/http://www.dfid.gov.uk/Documents/publications/gender-equality.pdf> Ehrenpreis, Dag ‘Gender Equality’ Poverty in Focus, International Poverty Centre (January 2008), < http://www.ipc-undp.org/pub/IPCPovertyInFocus13.pdf> 2 Elsey,H, R. Tolhurst and S. Theobald ‘Mainstreaming HIV/AIDS in development Sectors: Have we Learnt the Lessons from Gender Mainstreaming?’(2005), 17(8) AIDS Care 991 Global Education, Gender Equality (2 November 2010) < http://www.globaleducation.edna.edu.au/globaled/go/pid/517> Jaquette, Jane and Gale Summerfield, Women and Gender Equity in Development Theory and Practice: Institutions, Resources, and Mobilization, (Duke University Press, 2006) 40 Kabeer, Naila, Commonwealth Secretariat and Canadian International Development Agency, Gender Mainstreaming in Poverty Eradication and the Millennium Development Goals (Commonwealth Secretariat, 2003) 197. Lopez-Claros, Augusto and Saadia Zahidi, Women’s Empowerment: Measuring the Global Gender Gap, (2005) < http://www.weforum.org/pdf/Global_Competitiveness_Reports/Reports/gender_gap.pdf> Mörtvik, Roger, Does Gender Equality Spur Growth? OECD Observer, July 2005, < http://www.oecdobserver.org/news/fullstory.php/aid/1664/Does_gender_equality_spur_growth_.html NGO’s Women Forum, Social, Economic and Environmental Sustainability from a gender Perspective -14 Issues to Tackle (2002), < http://www.rio-10.de/rioprozess/bilanzpapiere/bilanz_gender_engl.PDF> 2 Tarp, Finn and Peter Hjertholm, Foreign Aid and Development: Lessons Learnt and Directions for the Future, (Routledge Publishers, 2000) 254. UNDP, Goal 3: Promote Gender Equality and Empower Women < http://www.undp.org/mdg/goal3.shtml United Nations Development Programme, What are the Millennium Development Goals? < http://www.undp.org/mdg/basics.shtml> Wells, Jenny and Trish McEwan ‘Gender Mainstreaming: Moving from Principles to Implementation – The Difficulties. An ACFOA discussion Paper’ (2004), 64 Development Bulletin 52. Zuckerman, Elaine and Ashley Garret ‘Do Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers (PRSPs) Address Gender? A Gender Audit of 2002 PRSPs’ A Gender Action Publication (2003) 3. Read More