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.
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 FOUNDATION(K-SAF)'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...
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.
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...
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 economic, fiscal, and monetary policies that I have already mentioned are a big part of the solution. But with space for supportive policies narrowing in many countries, the role of structural reforms as a policy lever will increase.
What does that mean in practical terms? It means more and better-targeted investment, more labor market reforms, and more product market and services reforms.
First, public investment has taken a hit over the years in many countries; higher, well-prioritized investment would increase potential output and jobs. In Brazil, India, South Africa, and across the ASEAN countries, more public and private investment is essential to close infrastructure gaps. Investment to upgrade existing infrastructure networks is also needed in a number of the advanced economies—for instance, in Germany and the U.S.
Second, inclusive labor market reforms can go a long way in boosting potential growth. In countries with aging populations, increasing participation of underrepresented groups can help to keep them dynamic. In Korea, for example, measures to increase the participation of women and older workers should appreciably boost potential growth and more than offset the impact of aging. Recent IMF research has pointed out that, in many countries, increasing women’s participation in the workforce can be a powerful impetus to growth.
In countries with high levels of youth unemployment or informality, labor market reforms can be critical in avoiding a lost generation. In Mexico, for example, it is estimated that reforms to reduce hiring barriers in the formal sector could create nearly 400,000 new jobs annually.
Third, reforms to product markets and services can help break down vested interests, boost competition, and unleash huge growth and employment potential. This is the case not only in advanced economies such as Japan or Germany, but also in emerging market economies such as China.
Why? Because the innovation and productivity that underpin the services sector are the drivers of a modern economy. Think technology, communications, or finance. These, in turn, depend on effective, accountable and rules-based institutions.
� CONCORD puts gender and development in the spotlight at European Parliament The CONCORD Gender working group – which encompasses organiza...
KROTOASA FOUNDATION(K-SAF)'s insight:
The CONCORD Gender working group – which encompasses organizations working on gender-related issues in both development and humanitarian settings – as part of its monitoring and advocating for the inclusion of improved gender-focused actions within the development policies of the European Union and its Member States, is organising a series of gender and development lunches at the European Parliament.
In the context of the current discussions underway on the Post-2015 Framework, the first gender and development lunch took place yesterday 29 January at the European Parliament. The lunch was hosted with the support of Mr. Mikael Gustafsson, MEP – the Chair of the Committee on Women's Rights and Gender Equality (FEMM) – and Ms. Edite Estrella, MEP – Vice chair of the FEMM Committee.
This inaugural meeting, which brought together representatives of the European Parliament, civil society, the EU institutions and EU Member States representatives , and the United Nations focused on the outcome of the UN General Assembly held in September 2013 and the current debate on the Post-MDGs framework. Speakers and participants took stock and debated the next steps that the European Union, multilateral organizations, and civil society organizations in Europe and globally can take towards a singular target: the adoption of a Post 2015 Framework in which gender equality, together with the empowerment and rights of women and girls, feature as central elements, with a special focus on sexual and reproductive health and rights. - See more at: http://www.concordeurope.org/295-concord-puts-gender-and-development-in-the-spotlight-at-european-parliament#sthash.qosG5f3I.dpuf
Poverty reduction on a large scale depends on empowering those who are most motivated to move out of poverty? poor people themselves. But if empowerment cannot be measured, it will not be taken seriously in development policy making and programming.Building on the award-winning 'Empowerment and Poverty Reduction' sourcebook, this volume outlines a conceptual framework that can be used to monitor and evaluate programs centered on empowerment approaches. It presents the perspectives of 27 distinguished researchers and practitioners in economics, political science, sociology, psychology, anthropology, and demography, all of whom are grappling in different ways with the challenge of measuring empowerment. The authors draw from their research and experiences at different levels, from households to communities to nations, in various regions of the world.'Measuring Empowerment' is an invaluable resource for planners, practitioners, evaluators, and students indeed for all who are interested in approaches to poverty reduction that address issues of inequitable power relations.Note on cover: The picture of the woman in burqa is from the front page of a leading newspaper in India, the day after elections in the state of Mahashtra. The woman holds up her finger, marked by indelible ink to show that she has just voted and exercised her right and freedom to choose the leaders of her state of almost 100 million people.
Through the Women Leaders and Gender Parity Programme, the World Economic Forum is committed to engaging high-level leaders that have pledged personal and organizational commitments towards gender parity in exclusive and trusted multistakeholder communities. These communities focus on closing the economic gender gap through best practice exchange, collaboration and innovation. The programme monitors the progress of countries through benchmarking tools that measure global and regional gender gaps.Global Gender Gap ReportCorporate Gender Gap ReportRepository of Successful PracticesGlobal Agenda Council on Women’s EmpowermentGender Parity Task ForcesArticles from Forum:Blog
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 FOUNDATION(K-SAF)'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 FOUNDATION(K-SAF)'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.
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...
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.
At a Peterson Institute event held June 24, 2013, Minouche Shafik, IMF's Deputy Managing Director, participated in a discussion on "Women as a Driver of Economic Growth."
Women and The Economic Forum (WEF) Bali Jumat (6/9). Inggrid Kansil : Kualitas Pemberdayaan Wanita di Indonesia Sudah Sejajar dengan Pemberdayaan Wanita di N...
The African Development Bank (AfDB)’s Special Envoy on Gender, Geraldine Fraser-Moleketi, attended the Intergovernmental Agency for Development...
KROTOASA FOUNDATION(K-SAF)'s insight:
The African Development Bank (AfDB)’s Special Envoy on Gender, Geraldine Fraser-Moleketi, attended the Intergovernmental Agency for Development (IGAD)’s conference on the launch of Gender Milestones in Djibouti on 7-9 October 2013, where she reiterated that the AfDB’s is committed to addressing gender equality mainstreaming across its Regional Member Countries (RMCs).
Speaking on behalf of AfDB President, Donald Kaberuka, she indicated that the sentiments have changed regarding Africa, having been dubbed “Africa: The Hopeless Continent” in 2000 to “Africa Rising: The Hopeful Continent” in 2011 by the London-based magazine The Economist. With regard to gender equality she highlighted that things have positively changed also. Africa has done fairly well given that 7 of the 25 countries with the highest women’s representation in parliament are from Africa. Hence, Africa is rising, and African Women are rising too.
Fraser-Moleketi pointed out that in its new 10-year strategy the AfDB places a renewed emphasis on gender equality and mainstreaming as a prerequisite for Africa’s economic transformation. To this effect, the institution is finalizing a Gender Strategy 2014-2017.
This strategy allows the Bank to re-examine its engagement with RMCs on gender and to deal with the persistent factors that hinder the achievement of women’s rights and women’s empowerment globally. This Strategy therefore prioritizes three areas of work: legal status and property rights of women, economic empowerment of women, and knowledge management and capacity Building.
Another area of special focus is the Fragile States. Noting the existence of the linkages between fragility and gender, Fraser-Moleketi said that the AfDB is therefore working to introduce more gender-sensitive interventions that are tailored to the realities of the distinct fragile states where it operates.
In conclusion the Special Envoy indicated that the AfDB stands ready to support IGAD on realizing its gender milestones in its member countries and thus hailed the meeting as a step in the right direction.
OVER the past two decades, development policy has become increasingly people centered. Although poverty concerns have long been on the development agenda, the implementation of development policies has not always directly addressed poverty ...
KROTOASA FOUNDATION(K-SAF)'s insight:
More recently, along with macroeconomic reform and growth, there has been growing recognition of the need to address basic human needs and to adopt more participatory approaches to achieve development goals. These changes have been both the stimulus for and the result of the growth and development of nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) that work directly at the grassroots level with low-income people like small-scale farmers and micro-entrepreneurs. Governments and donors have begun to rely increasingly on NGOs in developed and developing countries as partners in the development process. Many NGOs have demonstrated an interest not only in improving people's economic status and well-being but also in empowering the people themselves to obtain improvements in their lives.
Promoting empowerment is of particular interest to some NGOs working with poor women. Although four decades of development (1950-90) have yielded important benefits to women, significant gender gaps still remain. Improvements in women's well-being are reflected in the behavior of four key indicators between 1970 and 1990, as shown in Table 1: (1) life expectancy among women increased significantly in all regions; (2) girls' enrollment in primary school increased in most regions; (3) total fertility rates declined; and (4) women's access to contraception increased. On the other hand, worldwide, twice as many women as men are still illiterate; girls represent the ...
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