GENDER MAINSTRAIMING FOR
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
Deepa Gokulsing
Department of Social Studies, UoM
and
Verena Tandrayen-Ragoobur
Department of Economics & Statistics, UoM
05 September 2008
1
Paper Outline

Introduction

Objectives

Economic Dimension of Gender Inequality

Social Dimension of Gender Inequality

Policy Recommendations

Conclusion
2
Gender Mainstreaming

Concept introduced in the UN Third World
Conference on Women in Nairobi, 1985. Further
developed in the UN Fourth World Conference on
Women in Beijing,1995.

Strategy where gender is integrated in all
government policies, plans, programmes and
projects.

Transform the existing development agenda using a
gender perspective.
3
Bangladeshi women take
part in a protest demanding
equal rights in Dhaka.
Women police officers in
India formed a national
forum to fight sexual
harassment and
discrimination from their
male colleagues.
4
Gender has many dimensions..
Sustainable
Development
Health and
Wellbeing
Educational
Attainment
Political
Empowerment
Economic
Participation
5
Sustainable Development

Emphasis is on environmental sustainability

But sustainable development is more than that – it
is multidimensional

Encompass economic, social, political, cultural and
environmental dimensions.

Gender issues and gender inequality are important
6
Gender mainstreaming for sustainable development






It is needed to achieve the goal of gender
equality and to remove the imbalances between
men and women
People at the heart of policy-making
Lead to better government
Make full use of human resources
Make gender equality issues visible in the
mainstream of society
Consider the diversity among men and women
7
Objectives

Analyse the impact of gender inequality on the
economic growth of Sub Saharan Africa

Examine the effect of gender inequality on the
Mauritian economy

Investigate the social dimension of gender
inequality in terms of education, health,
governance and sustainable production

Propose some relevant policies in general
8
Gender Inequality, Sustainable Development & SSA

Gender inequality is very significant in poor
countries and among the poor within countries.

Africa is seen as the poorest continent on the
globe

In Africa: promoting gender equality and
empowering women (MDG 3) is one of the
most important of the eight MDGs.
9
Economic Dimension of Gender Inequality

The target to achieve this MDG is to eliminate gender
disparity in primary and secondary enrolment by 2005,
and at all levels by 2015.

We model gender inequality by using a measure of
education. This is an initial step. We intend to use
other measures in terms of life expectancy, % of
women in government at ministerial level and ratio of
female to male earned income.
10
Economic Dimension of Gender Inequality
The Theory

Direct Effect: Lower female education
means lower human capital and growth.
Feminisation of Poverty

Indirect Effects:
On mother’s health
 On the child’s health and education, and fertility rates.
 Better-informed mothers – lower child mortality rates
and malnutrition (Knowles et al. 2002; Klasen 2003).
 Rise in educated women – feminisation of the labour
force - lowers fertility rates and dependency ratios
 Lower dependency ratios imply higher income.
11

Economic Dimension of Gender Inequality
The Evidence



Several empirical studies have focused specifically on
the role of gender inequality in education as a
determinant of income or growth.
Recent work includes Esteve-Volart (2000), Klasen
(1999, 2002), Knowles (2002), and Klasen and
Lamanna (2003).
Conclusions from these studies support the existence
of a negative effect from gender inequality in education
to income or economic growth.
12
Economic Dimension of Gender Inequality
Data and Methodology

Data - World Bank Development Indicators (2007)

A sample of 47 SSA countries

Time Frame: 1960 – 2005

Panel Data Analysis – FE estimation

Mauritius - Time Series Analysis 1960-2005

Measure of Gender Inequality - the difference between
absolute equality (ratio of 1) and the actual ratio of girls to
boys in primary and secondary education (%).
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Economic Dimension of Gender Inequality
Table 1: Preliminary Results – SSA
GDP Growth/
Coefficients
Absolute t-stats
Variables
Foreign Aid/GDP
0.066**
(1.84)
Population
0.984***
(3.30)
Exports/ GDP
0.147***
(4.10)
Imports/ GDP
-0.058
(1.62)
FDI/GDP
0.031
(0.45)
Dom Inv/ GDP
0.136***
(2.62)
Gender Inequality
-0.070*
(1.65)
R2=0.21
No of Obs.
282
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Economic Dimension of Gender Inequality
Table 2: Preliminary Results – Mauritius
GDP Growth/
Coefficients
Absolute t-stats
Variables
Foreign Aid/GDP
0.145**
(2.25)
Population
-0.014
(0.07)
Exports/ GDP
0.004
(0.31)
Climate Change
-0.134*
(1.96)
FDI/GDP
0.067
(1.52)
Dom Inv/ GDP
0.052**
(2.13)
Gender Inequality
-0.228*
(6.05)
R2=0.94
No of Obs.
26
15
Social Dimension of
Gender Inequality
Education

Enrolments is the lowest in SSA.

Some 115 million still do not attend primary
school and 60% of these are girls (Greig et al,
2007)

2 out of every 3 rural Ghanaians can not send
their children to school (UNDP 2003:115).
17
Education in Mauritius






Access to free education in 1977
Girls perform better than boys
But men are still qualified overall than women
Differences remain in the types of subjects
studied by males and females
Men are more likely to be in the prestigious
subjects that offer the best career prospects.
Women are enrolled in subjects like humanities
rather than engineering.
18
Table 3: Enrolment by faculty, mode of study & gender at the
UOM, 2007/2008
Faculty
FOA
FOE
FLM
FOS
FSSH
M
F
M
F
M
F
M
F
M
F
FT
97
199
1167
549
557
1007
323
368
256
839
PT
38
25
215
101
375
354
144
156
195
340
(Source: TEC, 2008, Participation in Tertiary Education 2007)
19
Education

Bunwaree (1997:viii) points out: “Mauritius has an
official policy of equality of educational opportunity for boys
and girls, but this policy does not get translated into reality.
Equality of opportunity does not mean only access to schools.
Outcomes to schooling too are important in measuring
equality”

Females should not only be given the opportunity
to access tertiary education but benefit from
opportunities for higher education on an equitable
basis.
20
 Health

Women live longer than men due to genetic
factors but also to different behavioural, lifestyle
and working patterns.

Globally, female life expectancy is about 6%
higher than for men.

Since women tend to be poorer, they are more
prone than men to self-declared ill-health,
reduced work capacity due to illness and mental
disorders related to stress (WHO,2006).
21
 Health

Feminist sociologists have analysed the ways in
which inequalities can seriously affect women
(Macionis & Plummer, 2005: 558)

Employment combined with family care
responsibilities means that women find themselves
doing two jobs.

Evidence also show that women with small children
experience more stress at work compared to women
without such responsibilities.
22
 Health
Work-related
stress is also due to lack of job
security, family-adverse working conditions, low
social support, limited possibilities for training and
career advancement and inadequate social security
pensions.
Intensified
when women are also exposed to
physical and mental hazards due to violence and
abuse at home and psychological and sexual
harassment at work.
 Health


Lack of access to medicines and prevention measures
remain a barrier to improved health outcomes.
Increasing child mortality. No access to water and
sanitation
SSA: HIV/AIDS taking particularly a heavy toll. Women
are mostly affected.
 2007: Estimated 1.9 million people newly infected with
HIV in SSA.
Mauritius: Women increasingly being affected by the
problem of HIV/AIDS and drugs.
 Feminisation of HIV/AIDS – 522 women reported
cases and 2547 men out of 3069 in 2007
24
25
Table 4 : HIV/AIDS reported cases of men and women
in Mauritius
Year
Male
Female
Total
1987
-
1
1
1992
10
5
15
1997
2002
19
59
5
39
24
98
2004
2005
2006
2007
464
815
455
408
61
106
87
74
525
921
542
482
(Data obtained from AIDS Unit)
26
Governance
But women in powerful
positions are still an exception…
Chile: M. Bachelet
Germany: A. Merkel
Finland: T. Halonen
Liberia: E. Johnson Sirleaf
Out of 193 heads of state, only 23 are women! 27
 Governance





Although women make up half of the world’s
population, they remain vastly under-represented in
governance forums.
Governance gender gap.
In most countries, there is a clear absence of women
involved in decision-making processes at local,
regional and national levels.
Number of barriers which women confront in getting
involved in politics.
“When women do participate in governance, there is
a greater chance that policies will reflect more closely
the needs of all citizens.” (OECD, 2008)
28
 Governance
Sub-Saharan Africa
 2000: 12 % women in parliament
 2004: 13% women in parliament
(Source: www.worldbank.org/genderstats)
Mauritius
 Before 2005: female legislative representation been one of
the lowest in the African continent and SADC.
 Latest election in July 2005: the percentage of women MPs
reached was 17.1%. A sharp increase in the number of
women from 4 to 12 in the 70-member legislature. (Yoon &
Bunwaree: 2008)
29
 Sustainable Production

Neo liberalism calls for limited state intervention,
privatisation, the demise of the welfare state – has
been in the forefront of economic polices in many
parts of the developing world in the guise of
IMF/World Bank Structural Adjustment Programs
(SAPs).

Feminisation of the labour market v/s feminisation
of poverty
30
 Sustainable Production

SSA: informal sector mainly dominated by women –
84% of women’s non-agricultural employment is
informal compared to 63% of men’s

Women tend to dominate in low-skill, labour-intensive
jobs in textiles, clothing, household goods, etc.
Exploitation of women. Livelihoods being threatened.

Mauritius: Manufacturing Sector (EPZ products):
employment of 40,737 women compared to 23,625
men in March 2006 (CSO, March 2007)
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 Recommendations
Integrate gender issues in designing, planning and
implementing policies and also legal framework
Economy:
 Incentives to increase female presence in the labour
force.
 Remunerate women’s work on an equal basis
 Family-friendly practices, greater access to childcare
facilities
 Investing in women’s education, health care and access
to jobs are key to poverty reduction
32
 Recommendations
Government can increase female access to
credit. Micro-credit loans as an effective tool to
help prospective women business owners.
Education:
 Increase in female to male enrolment ratio in all
levels of education.
 Guidance and counseling services provided to
girls on job prospects.
 Traditional areas of female work (teaching,
nursing, etc) be upgraded.

33
 Recommendations
Health Care
 Govts need to adopt a gender perspective based on the
physical differences of men and women.
 Gender-specific diseases and reproduction needs are
key considerations in health policy.
 Involving men and women in HIV/AIDS
interventions, polices and programmes.
 Addressing gender issues associated with ageing
populations and the disabled.
 Occupational and safety practices taking into account
gender-specific factors
34
 Recommendations
Governance
 Governance with gender lenses
 Quota system used in many countries to raise the
number of women in parliament
 Greater transparency and more open participation in
political processes key to empower women in
government.
 Special training and information programmes to explain
the complex legal processes
 Schemes assisting working parents with time constraints
as well as mentoring and networks help to give new
roles in political life.
35
 Recommendations
Sustainable Production

Govts can promote sustainable corporate production
through support to reporting systems and international
instruments – frameworks that cover the environmental,
social and corporate governance issues.

Production in line with environmental, safety and worker
rights dimensions.
36
Conclusion







Gender matters in development.
Addressing gender inequalities is a real challenge.
Changing the mindset of people.
Building an inclusive society, geared towards social justice
and gender equality
Making women’s work more visible.
Respond to the needs of both men and women in an
equitable manner.
Encourage them to participate fully and actively in decision
making processes.
37
Conclusion



Institutionalised frameworks put in place and
vision be translated into the reality – Mtius:
National Gender Policy Framework-to what
extent??
Kabeer (2003): GMS depends on the partnership
between government and other key stakeholders
(civil society and private sector)
Sustaining gendered, innovative and transformative
action is essential in development process.
38
“Women are central to the entire development
process. They are also at the vanguard of social
transformation.”
“The emancipation of women is an important
part of building markets at the bottom of the
pyramid. Empowered, organised, networked
and active women are changing the social
fabric of society.”
(Prahalad, (2005: 108, 109): The Fortune at the Bottom of
the Pyramid)
39
Thank You!
40