Women's Economic Empowerment, Gender Equality, Women in Politics, Indigenous Women and Children

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.

Too few women are being promoted to senior government posts or given decision-making roles in the public sector, according to a new OECD report.

The report shows that women number just 16 out of 200 heads of state and government. On average, only one in five of lawmakers around the world are women, and in OECD countries women make up less than a third of all public-sector decision makers.

The report also reveals big differences between countries. While Nordic nations do better than eastern and southern European nations at promoting women in the public sector, some emerging countries like South Africa and Costa Rica are among the best at breaking gender barriers. Rwanda ranks first among all countries in terms of the number of women elected to parliament.

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.

Half of the economic growth in OECD countriesin the past 50 years is due to increased educational attainment, particularly among women

For many developing countries, poorer education and subsequent labour market outcomes for women and girls are related to the prevalence of early marriage and other discriminatory social institutions

If participation rates for women were to reach those of men by 2030, there would be a 12% increase in GDP

Women earn on average 16% less than men in OECD countries. The wage gap has closed nearly four percentage points between 2000 and 2005, but progress has been limited since

The number of female-owned enterprises has been growing at a faster pace than male-owned ones. However, women are still a minority among business owners

Men more than women prefer to be self-employed. Among the unemployed more men than women actively seek to become self-employed