Gender Equality has never been more relevant for development. This summarises the World Bank Development Report on Gender Equality and Development. The World Bank launched the World Development Report 2012 on Gender Equality and Development in Johannesburg on 10 October 2011. The report clearly shows how gender equality is necessary for sustainable development through research in different parts of the world. Although progress has been made over the last two decades to improve the lives of women and girls in terms of literacy, access to resources, life expectancy and maternal mortality many countries are still struggling to make significant progress on gender equality. There is a clear linkage between policy making and gender equality. Until governments realise that gender equality is smart economics (inequality is costly and short-changes the next generation), it will always be a struggle to generate political will for gender equality. It has been proven that gender equality reduces gender-based violence and that inequality has a cost linked to unrepresentative policies which will grow bigger in the globalised world.

Elimination of the gaps in gender equality can be achieved through prioritising a reduction of gender gaps in human capital (especially those on female mortality and education); closing gender gaps in economic opportunities, earnings and productivity; limiting gender differences in voice and agency within society and limiting the reproduction of gender inequality across generations. An example is how the provision of clean water and sanitation versus increased health spending has proven to reduce female mortality. Addressing the root causes of gender inequality is key in smart policy making. Treating symptoms of inequality will only result in a vicious cycle of continuous inequality for decades to come.

There is a need to move beyond symbolism, beyond numbers, and have tangible impact on women and girls worldwide. Issues such as decent work for women, rural development and land reform, economic empowerment and access to education for girls have to be addressed with a gender lens in national policy perspectives. Although there has been an increase in the percentages of women working, there is still a wide gap in women in executive positions and in political decision making. Social norms, race, class, spatial segregation, economic structures and unemployment have been some of the causes of derailed progress towards gender equality. Policy development should encourage women’s access to resources such as finance, security, education and land. Financial regulations in the developing world limit women’s access to finance for business development due to the plethora of requirements such as collateral and proof of residence or income. Also, such financing usually lacks business development education, resulting in many small enterprises crumbling.

The social system is a major factor in achieving gender equality. Apart from cultural norms, broken family structures partly contribute towards inequality. Statistics show that in South Africa, for example, only 35% of children below the age of 17 live with both biological parents whilst 40% live with their mothers only. This has partially shown in some cases to increase gender bias reproduced over generations. There is a need to look at women’s time constraints in participating in the development process. This can be partly achieved through access and improved child care facilities, infrastructure improvement and a reduction of housework for women.

However, all hope is not lost as there are possible ways of achieving sustainable reform in gender equality. These include coalition building (including men’s involvement), leveraging the private sector to build the case of gender equality, increased funding for gender equality, especially in the poorest countries, production of gender disaggregated data for clear monitoring and interventions, experimentation and systematic evaluation and public/private/civil society/development agency partnerships. Reproduction of gender inequality can be avoided through building human and social capital, support of school to work transition and building aspirations and agency for girls and boys. Ultimately all these ways for sustainable reform should translate into positive change for all women – from the grassroots to decision-making levels. Lastly, although gender equality is about both men and women, no credible reform towards gender equality can be achieved without deeply involving the women themselves: “Nothing for them without them”. This means identifying women who can effectively push the gender equality agenda forward whilst transforming the lives of the many faceless or voiceless women in development.

You can read the full World Bank report on Gender Equality and Development This entry was posted in Uncategorized and tagged gender by Sifiso Dube. Bookmark the permalink.