GCL Event-Gender equality and female empowerment 1st November 2011

1. THE ECONOMICS OF GENDER
• Content
EQUALITY AND FEMALE
EMPOWERMENT
Case Studies from India and Malawi
by
ISHITA MUKHOPADHYAY
PROFESSOR,UNIVERSITY OF CALCUTTA,INDIA
Global Community Links
November 1, 2011
Edinburgh

2. Problem of Gender Equality
• Wide consensus regarding existence of
Gender Inequality with respect to access to
education, health and work opportunities
• Nature and Perception of the problem
changed during the last two decades
• Policy prescriptions to bring women in the
Central position of leadership in terms of
political representation was thought of
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3. What is Economics of Gender Equality
?
• “Economic Growth and Human Development do not
always coincide”…..Human Development Report 2010
• Correlation between Economic Growth of a country
and attainment of MDG goals is practically zero
• Inequality in Health, Education and Income is
negatively related to Human development Index
• Patriarchy reinforces Gender inequality through
unequal access to Basic Resources
• Gender Inequality is visible through unequal
attainment in terms of Health, Education and Income
of men and women
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4. Gender Inequality: a barrier to Human
Development
• MDG 3: Dimensions are Reproductive
Health(Maternal Mortality Ratio, Adoloscent Fertility Rates),
Empowerment( Parliamentary Representation), Labour
Market(Female Labour Force Participation)
• There is variation of Gender Inequality in the
world. Malawi is one of the high gender
inequality countries. Reproductive health,
Educational attainment, political empowerment
are the reasons.
• Poverty is adding to the disparity between men
and women
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5. Relationship between Poverty and
Gender Inequality
• Poverty reinforces gender inequality
• Poor nations suffer from gender inequalities
• Policies have to address both poverty and gender
inequality
• Political empowerment of women brings women into
leadership and ability to influence policy decisions so
that poverty can be addressed
• Multidimensional measure of poverty measures
inequality in access to health, education and living
statndards
• Attaining MDG 3 is one of the ways to address other
goals of MDGs
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6. Female empowerment and poverty
• Female political empowerment makes women
enter into decision making
• Questions:
– Does this imply an intervention into feminised
poverty?
– Does this mean better access of women to health
and education facilities?
– What are the perceptions of women in leadership
towards economic inequality between men and
women?
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7. Evidence from Malawi and India
• Malawi: Least Developed Country Category
• Malawi: In Southern and Central rural, attainment of JCE, by
adult males or females appears to have no impact on household
welfare. In Northern rural, as well as in the urban areas of
Malawi, completion of JCE by adult females has a positive and
significant impact on household welfare of the order of 19.6%
and 32%, respectively. The same variable for adult males is trivial
in magnitude and not statistically significant in both
regions(Results of IHS 1997-98).
• Malawi: By sex of household head, 42 percent of female-headed
households feels much worse compared to 36 percent of male-
headed households. Only 1 percent of female-headed households
feels much better compared to 3 percent of the male- headed
households(Results of IHS 2004-05).
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8. Evidence from Malawi and India
• Malawi Case Studies (DelPhe Research):
– 50-50 Campaign has achieved formation of
women’s caucus, enactment of Domestic Violence
Bill, penetrating male barriers.
– Lack of training, advocacy, lobbying,
communication and assertive skills
– Socio-stereotypes still hold men as leaders
– Lack of Gender budgeting trainings
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9. Evidence from Malawi and India
• India: Medium Developed Country
• India: In 1992, India had 73rd Amendment to
the constitution which provided for one-third
of seats to Rural Local Governments
(Panchayats)
• India is still debating one-third reservation for
wome in Parliaments
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10. Evidence from Malawi and India
• India: Findings from Case Studies
– Many female headed parliamentary constituencies are not
having gender aware development policies
– Women representatives are often not aware of developmental
schemes
– Performance of women representatives vary from region to
region, and depends on the agenda of the political party to
which the representative belongs
– Microfinance and Self-Help Groups have worked as an
instrument to reduce poverty and women representatives
actively give leadership for implementation og the schemes
– Gender Budget Training not adequate
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11. • “Regular meeting of mothers and health • “DM visited a GP pradhan on Sunday without
workers are organized to discuses about health informing and demanded to know what has she
related matters, thus awareness regarding health worked so far and how she is managing the GP. So
had been increased.” the woman who is apparently illiterate said that
today is a holiday, even your own secretary wont
• “After introducing midday meal in every primary come to work today, then how dare you ask me to
school the rate of drop out has decreased, but obey orders? I am a Pradhan of this Panchayat.
we hope that one day there won’t be a single Please go back to your office and summon me on
drop out even if children will go to school only a working day.
for the food incentive. Since they are going
everyday in school just for the sake of food they • In an open discussion a Panchayat pradhan from
were at least studying for some time, which was said she cant work as she is not educated, just
impossible to imagine before introduction of the literate, to which many jumped into the field to
midday meal”. encourage her with examples that its about
wisdom gained from life not degrees that matter.
And women Panchayat of other GPs have worked
beautifully in spite of being not so educated.
• EVIDENCE FROM
• INDIA
• ( some quotes )

12. • ‘We are closer in sympathy and experience’
• ‘We are more friendly to the community,
we look after, we listen, we are open, so the
people come to us.’
• ‘Find it easier to approach a woman than a
man, whom they might view as
intimidating’
• ‘People are very ignorant of the role of an
MP; they bring all kinds of problems. They
are presented and expect them to be
solved; buying coffins, paying school fees for
their children, giving them business loans’
• ‘If they name a child for you, you are
expected to pay the school fees’
EVIDENCE FROM
MALAWI
( some quotes )

13. PROBLEMS REMAIN
• ECONOMIC INEQUALITY, POVERTY IS THE ROOT
OF OUR PROBLEM
• WORLD IS NOT DIVIDED AS FAR AS GENDER –
POVERTY TRAP IS CONCERNED
• UNITY WILL BE THE SOURCE OF OUR STRUGGLE
TOWARDS ENDING POVERTY, ACHIEVING
GENDER EQUALITY
• POLITICAL EMPOWERMENT OF WOMEN IS ONE
OF THE WAYS TO ACHIEVE THIS, BUT NOT THE
ONLY ONE
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