Research has demonstrated that when Women are Economically Empowered, entire communities benefit. Yet until now, there has been a crucial knowledge gap regarding the most effective interventions to advance women’s economic opportunities. To address this gap, the UN Foundation and the ExxonMobil Foundation joined forces to develop A Roadmap for Promoting Women’s Economic Empowerment.
The Women's Empowerment Principles offer guidance to companies on how to empower women in the workplace, marketplace and community. They are the result of a collaboration between the the United Nations Global Compact and the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women) and are adapted from the Calvert Women's Principles ®. The development of the Women's Empowerment Principles included an international multi-stakeholder consultation process, which began in March 2009 and culminated in a launch on International Women’s Day in March 2010.
In accordance with its multi-year programme of work for 2010-2014, the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) consider ‘The empowerment of rural women and their role in poverty and hunger eradication, development and current challenges' as its priority theme during its fifty-sixth session in 2012. In order to contribute to a fuller understanding of the issue and to assist the Commission in its deliberations, UN Women in collaboration with the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and the World Food Programme (WFP) will convene an Expert Group Meeting (EGM) on ‘Enabling rural women's economic empowerment: institutions, opportunities and participation' from 20-23 September 2011 in Accra, Ghana.
The World Survey on the Role of Women in Development is a UN Secretary-General report mandated by the Second Committee of the General Assembly and comes out every five years. The 2014 report focuses on gender equality and sustainable development, with chapters on the green economy and care work, food security, population dynamics, and investments for gender-responsive sustainable development. (3) UNDP Global Initiative on Gender Equality in Public Administration (GEPA) was produced during GEPA Phase I. It reflects extensive research based on available national data, and provides analysis of the obstacles in the way of women’s equal participation and decision-making in public administration. Public administration is the bedrock of government and the central instrument through which national policies and programmes are implemented. In an ideal world, public administration is guided by principles of fairness, accountability, justice, equality and non-discrimination, and the civil service should serve as a model where women and men equally participate and lead, including in decision-making. Planet 50-50 by 2030: Step It Up for Gender Equality is a new UN Women initiative urging governments to make national commitments to ensure women and girls can reach their full potential by 2030.
Gender was in the spotlight at the 24th Session of the African Union Heads of States’ Summit held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia from 30-31 January, which focused on the “Year of Women's Empowerment and Development towards Africa’s Agenda 2063”. Participating Heads of States adopted the African Union’s Agenda 2063 (a new roadmap for Africa’s long-term development that includes the need to place gender equality and equity at the centre of the continent’s social and economic development), as well as the “Addis Ababa Declaration on accelerating the implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action towards a transformational change for women and girls in Africa” (the outcome document of the Beijing+20 regional review in November 2014) and a Communiqué on gender equality (drafted during a pre-summit stakeholders consultation). “Women must be at the centre and front of all our lives,” said UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in his opening speech. “I applaud your proposal at this summit: Women’s Empowerment and Development towards Africa’s Agenda 2063. Africa is home to Parliaments and Cabinets with the world’s highest percentage of women members.” However, he called for even quicker action, urging African States to make a deep and lasting difference to the lives of women and girls by 2020.
Oxford, Oxfordshire (PRWEB UK) 15 May 2014 'Women comprise half the world's population but still face unequal economic opportunity, from subtle marginalisation to violent exclusion,' said Professor Linda Scott from Saïd Business School, one of the founders of Power Shift. 'In developing economies women are 20 per cent less likely than men to have a bank account; in both developed and developing countries, women have lower financial literacy levels than men; there is a $285 billion gender gap in capital access for women-owned businesses; and women are massively under-represented in financial sector jobs – even more so in the top ranks. Gender inequality sets up economies to fail, but appropriate financial services can help improve family welfare and spur small enterprise activity, helping economies to grow faster and reduce income inequality.'
KROTOASA RESEARCH-INTENSIVE INSTITUTE (KRII)'s insight:
The e-discussion, Make Financial Markets Work for Women, will be co-hosted by Oxford University and UN Women on EmpowerWomen.org from 14 May to 6 June 2014, and will lead up to and inform the School's Power Shift Forum. It is expected that thousands of people from all over the world will join the discussion, which will be stimulated by Google Hangouts with experts including Jeanne Sullivan, Special Advisor and Co-Founder at StarVest Partners; Walt Macnee, Vice Chairman, MasterCard Worldwide, Henriette Kolb, Head of the IFC Gender Secretariat; Christine Svarer, Head of Private Sector Engagement, CARE International UK; Mary Ellen Iskenderian, President and CEO of Women's World Banking; Charlotte Oades, Global Director of Women's Economic Empowerment, The Coca-Cola Company; and Professor Linda Scott, Saïd Business School. The e-discussion will be open to all and participants can register at Knowledge Gateway for Women's Economic Empowerment.
Women's World Banking presents the five minimum indicators that financial institutions must track in order to measure and improve gender performance.
KROTOASA RESEARCH-INTENSIVE INSTITUTE (KRII)'s insight:
Women’s World Banking knows that financial inclusion for women needs to be more than just rhetoric. In order to make it a reality, we have developed a framework of gender-based financial and social performance indicators which will enable financial institutions to measure how well they are serving women and staff, while also building the business case for women. These select five indicators are the starting point — the minimum that all industry stakeholders should use to track and improve gender performance. They are also the first step toward adopting the full suite of indicators found in the manual, “Gender Performance Indicators: How well are we serving women?
This discussion is open between 14 May - 6 June 2014 and will look at enabling financial markets for women's economic empowerment.
KROTOASA RESEARCH-INTENSIVE INSTITUTE (KRII)'s insight:
The e-discussion consists of four separate discussion threads: (1) Women’s access to financial services and products; (2) Women’s financial literacy and skills; (3) Women’s employment in the finance sector; and (4) Measuring the gender impact.
The objectives of the discussion are:
Bring attention to the issues around women’s financial inclusion and economic empowerment.Document and collate initiatives and good practices on women and financial inclusion.Encourage contributions from participants on technologies and innovations in the finance sector that have contributed to women’s financial inclusion (e.g. mobile and internet banking, payment cards).Develop recommendations on required policies, laws, regulations, or public/private sector programmes and partnerships that enable and incentivize women’s financial inclusion.Feed relevant inputs, suggestions and recommendations into the preparations of the 2014 Power Shift conference and the Knowledge Gateway’s Online Summit in September/October 2014....
Michelle Patterson, president and CEO of Women Network and head of The California Women's Conference, shares tips for how women in business can break the barriers and climb the corporate ladder.
KROTOASA RESEARCH-INTENSIVE INSTITUTE (KRII)'s insight:
And while women have made progress — comprising more than half of professional-level jobs and earning 60 percent of undergraduate and maser’s degrees across the country — we are still marginalized with only 9 percent of women holding top management positions across the U.S., according to recent findings from the Center for American Progress, Catalyst, Center for Economic Development. Furthermore, the Center for American Progress predicts that women won’t reach parity with men when it comes to filling those leadership roles until the year 2085.
“When you look at the U.S., we were once this clubhouse leader, and now we are lagging behind other nations in women’s economic participation,” she said. “In the last two decades, when you look at 1990 to 2010, we were the sixth highest rate of female labor-force participating among 22 Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development countries, and we have dropped to No. 17 on the list. So we are not moving forward.”
KROTOASA RESEARCH-INTENSIVE INSTITUTE (KRII)'s insight:
Women’s lives have improved greatly over the past decades. Enjoying ever higher education, women have greater control over their life choices. They use those choices to participate more in the labor force; have fewer children; diversify their time beyond housework and child care; and shape their communities, economies, and societies. And the pace of change for many women in the developing world has accelerated...
This map tells us whether nations include measures to protect the right to equal pay for equal work based on gender in their constitution.
KROTOASA RESEARCH-INTENSIVE INSTITUTE (KRII)'s insight:
This map tells us whether nations include measures to protect the right to equal pay for equal work based on gender in their constitution.
Only constitutional provisions are included in this map. Legislative protections are not shown here. Read more about why constitutions matter.
More information:
The right to equal pay for equal work is considered to be protected based on gender when it is explicitly granted to women or is granted as a right to all citizens and the constitution states that women and men enjoy rights on an equal basis.No means that the constitution does not explicitly mention the right to equal pay for equal work based on gender. This does not mean that the constitution denies this right, but that it does not explicitly include it.General guarantee means that the right to equal pay for equal work is guaranteed for all citizens, but not specifically on the basis of gender.Aspirational means that the constitution protects the right to equal pay for equal work based on gender but does not use language strong enough to be considered a guarantee. For example, constitutions in this category might state that the country aims to protect the right to equal pay for equal work based on gender.
There is mounting consensus that gender equality generates both substantial equity and efficiency gains. However, there is still much to uncover about both the current state of gender equality in developing economies and the accompanying measures that should receive attention. Should the focus be on simple labor participation, or wages? Do any of these measures capture female empowerment? Data availability plays a substantial role in these decisions. For instance, given the dearth of gender wage data in developing economies, a lot of attention may shift to labor force participation as a convenient measure. A primary concern in the feminist literature regarding participation measures is that even though more females may join the labor market there may be little improvement in their livelihoods. There is some evidence that women tend to be employed in the informal sectors which tend to have low wages and are more economically vulnerable. Thus a more informative measure could be one that attempts to capture female economic empowerment. Using this measure, the interesting question would then be for example, in what sectors of the economy are women typically more empowered?
The GOP needs to stop claiming that women are paid less because they "choose" low pay
KROTOASA RESEARCH-INTENSIVE INSTITUTE (KRII)'s insight:
A labor economist from Harvard University has concluded, after a significant amount of research and data analysis, that the gender pay gap is real. (She’s in good company.)
Do you think it will convince the Republican Party to change its mind about the existence of wage disparities between men and women within the same profession?
Yeah, me neither. But the rest of us can look at the conclusions Dr. Claudia Goldin garnered from her research and understand that — contrary to a popular Republican talking point about women “choosing” lower pay — a majority of the gender pay gap is a product of pay inequities within occupations, not salary disparities between different professions and fields...
KROTOASA RESEARCH-INTENSIVE INSTITUTE (KRII)'s insight:
In the latest episode of Development Drums, I talk to the journalist and author Nina Munk about Jeff Sachs and the Millennium Villages Project, and the lessons for development cooperation more broadly.
The Millennium Villages Project is based on the idea that impoverished villages can transform themselves and meet the Millennium Development Goals by investing in health, food production, education, access to clean water, and essential infrastructure. The project was developed by Jeffrey Sachs, who is (among other things) Director of The Earth Institute at Columbia University and Special Adviser to the Secretary General of the United Nations on the Millennium Development Goals.
Nina Munk has tracked the progress of the Millennium Villages Project over the last six year. She accompanied Sachs on his official trips to Africa, and sat in on his meetings with Heads of State and others. She also spent time in two Millennium villages: Ruhiira, in southwest Uganda, and Dertu, in Kenya on the border with Somalia.
KROTOASA RESEARCH-INTENSIVE INSTITUTE (KRII)'s insight:
At first glance, a book called called ‘Feminists in Development Organizations’ looks like a bit of aid biz navel gazing. But if you are working in a large bureaucracy and want it to do more on just about any big issue (women’s rights, but also environmentalism, disabled rights, tertiary education, urban livelihoods), this book is worth a read.
Feminist Bureaucrats (the authors’ preferred title) is written by a network of gender specialists in aid agencies and NGOs, who have been supporting each other over the years in trying to push women’s rights higher up the agenda of their organizations.
It’s hard work, not least because ‘a feminist bureaucrat appears a contradiction in terms’, an uncomfortable insider-outsider position where you can easily be written off both as an unhelpful activist by your bosses and not-so-feminist colleagues, and as a sell-out by the more ‘outsider’ wing of the feminist movement. Even victories can be frustrating, since they are so often partial, e.g. your organization adopts the language of women’s rights but promptly instrumentalizes it into ‘girls’ education is good for growth’. Cue gnashing of teeth.
In a concluding chapter the editors, Rosalind Eyben (ex IDS) and Laura Turquet (UN Women) argue that the trick is to understand and exploit ‘the advantages of living on the edge’. Feminist bureaucrats need to be
‘Tempered radicals, seeking a succession of small wins that, accumulatively and over time, they hope may reduce inequity and promote social justice. Their tempered radicalism places them, voluntarily, on the border, the edge, or the periphery of the development agencies that employ them. Yet despite being a personal choice, the feeling of ambiguity about their location is uncomfortable.’
In a video to mark International Women's Day 2013, political analyst and former White House press secretary Dee Dee Myers asks: What if women ruled the world...
KROTOASA RESEARCH-INTENSIVE INSTITUTE (KRII)'s insight:
Underrepresentation of women in leadership positions and top-paying jobs persists. But a study in rural India suggests that exposure to female leaders can dramatically improve people’s attitudes toward girls and women.
The Gates Foundation, DfID and Save the Children are hosting a discussion on family planning, FGM and child marriage on 21 May and we have a limited number of seats to offer members
KROTOASA RESEARCH-INTENSIVE INSTITUTE (KRII)'s insight:
In an offer exclusive to Guardian Global Development Professionals Network members, we are inviting you to a discussion on the rights of women and girls hosted by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the UK's Department for International Development and Save the Children.
Speakers include:
• The UK's Secretary of State for International Development, Justine Greening MP
• Co-chair of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Melinda Gates
• CEO of the International Planned Parenthood Federation, Tewodros Melesse
• CEO of Save the Children, Justin Forsyth
The discussions will focus on the steps towards improving the lives of women and girls around the world, through family planning, ending female genital mutilation, child marriage and infant mortality.
The event is on Wednesday 21 May, from 2.30 to 3.30pm in a central London location. There will be an opportunity to meet the Global Development Professionals Network team beforehand.
We have a limited number of seats available to our members, for a chance to win a place, sign up here then send a question the speakers via this form.
Women’s World Banking is the global non-profit devoted to giving more low-income women access to the financial tools and resources essential to their security and prosperity.
KROTOASA RESEARCH-INTENSIVE INSTITUTE (KRII)'s insight:
In order for more low-income women to have access to financial products than ever before, Women’s World Banking works closely with its global network of 39 leading microfinance institutions from 28 countries to create new credit, savings, and insurance products specifically designed for the unique needs of women. Each of our network members is committed to serving women as clients, innovators and leaders. Women’s World Banking has found new ways to help women build financial safety nets, by showing a broader range of financial institutions how to move beyond traditional microfinance to provide financial products that include savings and insurance. But new products are only part of the story – innovations in technology have increased the number of women with access to financial products; and education has played a critical role in adoption of new products. Our approach to product design always starts with in-depth research – understanding the lives of women so that our product development team can design products that meet the needs of women while being sustainable for the financial institution. We work with the financial institution to ensure that their leadership and infrastructure are able to support both new product introductions and a potentially new market segment. Once a product is launched, we are able to take what we’ve learned and introduce the product to other institutions in other parts of the world. With this global reach, we are able to greatly increase the number of women who can build a stronger financial future for themselves and their families.
How to narrow the gender gap has become something of a hot topic in recent years, and the situation in East Asia is no different. According to the United Nations, $89 billion a year is lost in the Asia-Pacific region because women are not fully integrated into the workforce. Many discussions and policy initiatives focus…
KROTOASA RESEARCH-INTENSIVE INSTITUTE (KRII)'s insight:
Many discussions and policy initiatives focus on how to create a workplace environment suited to women’s needs. These include quantitative goals, such as Japan’s plan to increase the number of women in leadership positions to 30% by 2020, more – or better – childcare facilities, and improved maternity and paternity leave. I do not disagree with these policies, because a lack of pro-family public policies and support services are ranked among the top five barriers to female empowerment in Asia, and they do help those women who want to work to have a career. The brighter spot I see, however, is the potential for women to be “rule breakers” and move their countries onto a new and more inclusive path to growth.
KROTOASA RESEARCH-INTENSIVE INSTITUTE (KRII)'s insight:
The persistent constraints and deprivations that prevent many of the world’s women from achieving their potential have huge consequences for individuals, families, communities, and nations. Expanding women's agency—their ability to make decisions and take advantage of opportunities—is key to improving their lives as well as the world we all share. -- World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim, Foreword, Voice and Agency: Empowering Women and Girls for Shared Prosperity
A new World Bank report, Voice and Agency: Empowering Women and Girls for Shared Prosperity, distills vast data and hundreds of studies to cast important new light on the constraints women and girls face worldwide, from epidemic gender-based violence to biased laws and norms that prevent them from making decisions about their own lives. These constraints are not only fundamentally unjust but economically unwise, slowing efforts to end poverty and boost shared prosperity.
Designing and implementing effective interventions to advance women’s economic opportunities is a challenge. This session presents highlights from a major report,
KROTOASA RESEARCH-INTENSIVE INSTITUTE (KRII)'s insight:
WATCH EVENT RECORDING
A Gender and Development Seminar Series event
The report, Roadmap for Promoting Women's Economic Empowerment, a collaboration between the UN Foundation and the ExxonMobil Foundation, identifies proven, promising and high-potential interventions to promote women’s economic advancement and increase women’s productivity and earnings worldwide. It also looks at the cost-effectiveness and sustainability of programs to provide a new framework for how best to empower women. The report particularly focuses on four categories—entrepreneurship, farming, wage employment and young women’s employment—identified as priority areas in the WDR 2012 on Gender Equality and Development....
This map tells us whether nations take at least one approach to protecting gender equity in their constitution.
KROTOASA RESEARCH-INTENSIVE INSTITUTE (KRII)'s insight:
Do constitutions take at least one approach to gender equity?JS map by amChartsNo, noneGeneral equity guaranteedAspirationalGuaranteed with exceptionsGuaranteed
This map tells us whether nations take at least one approach to protecting gender equity in their constitution.
Only constitutional provisions are included in this map. Legislative protections are not shown here. Read more about why constitutions matter.
More information:
Approaches to gender equity include prohibitions of discrimination against women, guarantees of equal rights, guarantees of equality before the law, and guarantees of overall equality for men and women.▼ More detailsNo, none means that the constitution does not explicitly mention the right to equity for all men and women. This does not mean that the constitution denies this right, but that it does not explicitly include it.General equity guaranteed means the right to equity is guaranteed for all citizens, but not specifically on the basis of gender.
Lesotho holds fast at the top, while more women in the workforce pushed Burundi up the ranking in the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap 2013 report, published today. The report ranks 136 countries on their ability to close the gender gap – making sure women are not held back – in four key areas:…
KROTOASA RESEARCH-INTENSIVE INSTITUTE (KRII)'s insight:
Lesotho(16 out of 136) holds its place for the fourth consecutive year, despite having lost two places this year because of a decrease in women in the workforce and a small drop in wage equality for similar work. Lesotho is the only country from the region that has closed the gender gap in both educational attainment, and health and survival. Lesotho is the third best performer of the lower-middle income countries.
South Africa (17) slips one place mainly due to a light decrease in women’s economic participation and opportunity. South Africa is the second best of all upper-middle income countries. It continues to be the best performer from the region for political empowerment, holding the fifth position for the number of women in parliament indicator and the 11th for women in ministerial positions.
Burundi (22) follows next in the ranking, moving up two spots. Burundi ranks third for labour force participation and is the best performer from the region for economic participation and opportunity. The country also shows the highest overall score of all low-income countries.
New technologies make it easier for governments, business and civil society to collect data, share information, target resources and provide feedback.
KROTOASA RESEARCH-INTENSIVE INSTITUTE (KRII)'s insight:
The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) have focused international and country efforts on poverty eradication and, over time, have prompted an alignment of donor aid policies. This has supported domestic efforts to reduce poverty, with clear progress being made on the delivery of basic social services including health and education at a global level. But beyond 2015, accelerated progress on poverty elimination and sustainable development requires more than effective delivery of services. Based on our experience and available evidence, we believe the post-2015 settlement must harness the power of technology and information to empower citizens with choice and control over the decisions that impact their lives. Transparency, participation and empowerment should be core components of the post-2015 narrative upon which a future development agenda can be built but we need a practical, workable way to measure these components. Just as the Millennium Declaration was accompanied by the MDGs with targets and indicators to measure progress, we believe a specific goal on access to information can act as a proxy against which progress on transparency, participation and empowerment can be measured.
KROTOASA RESEARCH-INTENSIVE INSTITUTE (KRII)'s insight:
The mainstream broadcast media do not always do a good job of covering international development issues. The constraints of the medium mean that they have to pitch much of their content to a broad audience. Poverty porn sells better than nuanced analysis. One reason I like podcasts is that they are not constrained in the same way as the media. They can be targeted at niche audiences out in the long tail of the distribution. There is a small group of people with an appetite for a more long-form analysis of development which mainstream media are normally not able to serve (though it amazes me that the BBC World Service does not have room anywhere in its schedule for a hour-long programme devoted to development.)
Podcasts often work well for people who have limited other options for media (for example because they have limited bandwidth) and/or regularly have long journeys by air or road. Less glamorously, they also seem to work well for people who run, commute or look after small children.
http://www.unfoundation.org The UN Foundation and ExxonMobil Foundation collaboration is gathering the latest studies and data on what works to promote women...
KROTOASA RESEARCH-INTENSIVE INSTITUTE (KRII)'s insight:
Christine Lagarde celebrates International Women’s Day and those who seek a fairer world in which all women have a right to education, safety and a decent life.
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The e-discussion, Make Financial Markets Work for Women, will be co-hosted by Oxford University and UN Women on EmpowerWomen.org from 14 May to 6 June 2014, and will lead up to and inform the School's Power Shift Forum. It is expected that thousands of people from all over the world will join the discussion, which will be stimulated by Google Hangouts with experts including Jeanne Sullivan, Special Advisor and Co-Founder at StarVest Partners; Walt Macnee, Vice Chairman, MasterCard Worldwide, Henriette Kolb, Head of the IFC Gender Secretariat; Christine Svarer, Head of Private Sector Engagement, CARE International UK; Mary Ellen Iskenderian, President and CEO of Women's World Banking; Charlotte Oades, Global Director of Women's Economic Empowerment, The Coca-Cola Company; and Professor Linda Scott, Saïd Business School. The e-discussion will be open to all and participants can register at Knowledge Gateway for Women's Economic Empowerment.
Read more: http://www.digitaljournal.com/pr/1920078#ixzz32I4olzUE