By Meenakshi Kumar

Presented at the International Meeting in Geneva

Women are the engines of an economy, but their contribution is completely ignored. Only the efforts of women who are part of paid employment is counted for their economic participation, but what about the hardworking women who care for family members without getting paid.

The invisibility of women workers is appalling because their work is essential to the survival of society and provides a huge and unnoticed subsidy to the “formal” economy. It is also inefficient and unjust, adding significantly to the relational inequalities that are so entrenched in our society. It disempowers even paid women workers as what women do is undervalued or rather not even put in the category of work; hence household chores form part of the responsibility of even paid women workers putting a double burden on them thereby reducing their efficiency. This contributes to large gender gaps in wages. And it allows policymakers to forget about the conditions of hundreds of millions of workers on whom the entire economy depends.

It is a lack of monetary income which is a source of weakness and vulnerability in women. Lack of financial independence also leads to continued violence against women making them commit suicide.

India accounts for 37 per cent of women’s suicides globally. The Lancet Public Health Journal has reported that single, divorced and widowed women are less likely to commit suicide because marriage offers no protection against it. According to Lancet, arranged and early marriages and motherhood, low social status, and lack of economic independence also lead young women (between ages of 15 to 39) to commit suicide.

Even in the largest companies, less than one tenth of the employees are women. Being forced to be homemakers with rising household incomes, they are cut off from the outside world and get depressed, especially with abusive husbands and unable to stand up to continuous mental torture — women commit suicide.

The lack of childcare is a major constraint on women’s economic participation, given the division of labour within households. Adequate, affordable and reliable childcare is an issue for women working in all sectors. Care services for disabled, ill and elderly is also important to women’s participation. Requiring employers to bear the costs of childcare could be seen as introducing new barriers to equal opportunities, as it can result in women being seen to be more expensive workers than men.

Although many countries have undertaken efforts towards childcare activities, the conclusion of the 2005 review done by the UN Millennium Project was that “not one country provides the investment in care services that is required to fully meet the needs of women and their children.

So, what happens is not a decline in women’s work participation, but a shift from recognised work to unpaid work.  This is a dispiriting shift because it is also typically associated with women’s and girls’ loss of agency and bargaining power within the family. It is also typically not voluntary: most of the women surveyed responded that they did such work because there was no one else in the household available to do it.

Measures to enhance women’s participation in labour market

Support for labour market re-entry – Women taking a break from employment due to family compulsions should be facilitated to have access back to it at the same level and with the same remuneration had she not to take a break. And the employers plea that the employees absence from work results in reduced efficiency, in any way, then there can be skill up gradation by the employer by making women employees undergo short training programmes so that they catch up with the workforce, This will also provide savings to companies on recruitment.;hence more efficient use of talent in the workforce.

Developing skill acquisition and training – both pre-employment and while employed, to increase women’s access to more rewarding areas of employment. This requires measures related to training and retraining, but also complementary approaches to enable women to find and keep jobs in which they can use the skills gained.

Assistance with family responsibilities by encouraging and complementing employer measures to enable workers to handle family responsibilities, such as childcare and paternity leave to encourage men.

Entrepreneurship training for women – Digital technology can be a great enabler for increasing women’s capability and capacity. The digital technology offers great opportunity to leverage time resources and women can be trained in digital capability to make its use in their own comfortable space by leveraging available time; hence coping with the competing demands of work and family responsibilities.

Promoting women entrepreneurs- Women entrepreneurs find it difficult to raise funds. They should be encouraged and given easier access to loans. Skill training has to be given to rural women to increase their capacity to earn incomes. Otherwise, a lot of talent will be lost which could contribute to the economic growth of the country and enhance the welfare of the people.

National governments role is important as they can take action in a wide range of areas.

1. a) They can bring employment legislation into conformity with international norms on non-   discrimination, equal pay, workers with family responsibilities, and maternity leave.
2. b) Support innovative approaches to making childcare available and affordable for working parents;
3. c) Advocate family-friendly practices by employers.
4. d) Information campaigns, and guidance on good practices with respect to leave, hours, flexibility, and advocate the use of provisions for family responsibility by men as well as
5. e) Incorporate gender perspectives to the development or review of social security and pensions programs; and improve the quality, dissemination and use of data on women’s economic participation and
6. f) Facilitate policies that address the constraints faced by women due to child and family care responsibilities that are a major constraint for women.
7. g) Increased education and training for women in non-traditional subjects.

To conclude I would like to add that in the era of globalization, the role of women at home and work has taken a multifaceted dimension. The economies should recognise the contribution made by women with full appreciation.

A very encouraging step taken by NSSO (National Sample Survey Office) in India is that household chores will be considered as part of economy boosting work.

The post Unpaid Work – SDG 5 appeared first on International Alliance of Women.

Deutscher Frauenring, DFR, for decades kept carrying on this project. In the years 1982 to 1985 I was travelling in Togo with Brigitte Pross, then a Vice-President of IAW. I soon became the main responsible  for the project CJDA, the Youth Centre at Danyi Atigba which first had as its mission to promote young people who looked for work in the cities. Stopping  the rural exodus was a priority with UNESCO and, more or less by chance, I got gift bonuses amounting to 6000 Deutschmark. This fund completed funds obtained from the German Development Ministry, BMZ, earmarked for the training of carpenters and for the salaries of two instructors. The buildings, planned and overseen by a German architect whose wife worked nearby for the German Development Service, DED, is the result of all these efforts. Our priority remained the training of seamstresses and the first eight machines were collected by my collaborators and sent to Togo on the sea route. This is the history of the CJDA in short. DFR up to now remained the only sponsor. Julia represented the DFR at the Centennial celebrations of EEPT, Evangelical Presbyterian Church in Togo, District of Danyi Atigba.

Togo’s women are famous for their clothes made of imported cotton fabrics –the preferences vary  from year to year.  Men’s gowns are also tailored from these fabrics. Festive clothes use fabrics in the traditional “royal” colours gold, red, green, blue.

Much has changed since Julia was in Atigba in 2011 as our intern. On the other hand she met friends from that time, for example. la Reine-Mère In the traditional hierarchy of a village she is the « first lady».

Officially men govern the village.

FODA, an administration unit for the promotion of the village facilities like the CJDA and the health clinic, did not convene during the discord about who should be  the next village chief after the death of the old one.

Technical progress Julia documented in her report is the electrification of the village and running water. The CJDA needs the e-current for the overlock machine acquired one year ago, the fridge to cool beverages, the TV set with DVD player for educational purposes and for the guests of the motel.

To reduce the cost, water from the cistern () is used in the sanitary facilities which belong to them–with a total of 8 guestrooms.

Income from the motel helps to balance the budget. This is also true for the fees paid by the apprentices

Julia had a full program including speeches in the hall of the the CJDA’s main building.  For example, the Director was in action as one of the speakers at the festivities which started in the morning with a festive service in the EEPT. A light meal followed in a nearby school, with more speeches and plenty of guests. An extraordinary meeting of our partners with Julia, a thorough visit of the CJDA and a stop to chat with the apprentices and to encourage them, as well as visiting the local Health clinic with its village pharmacy which is also on our list of donations. Togo’s health system lacks the means to provide enough medicine, we help with generics.

The wish to have many children persists, above all with male inhabitants. Women who rear them, have to cope with everyday chores and earn money, often cultivating a patch of land, could do with fewer children.

To change their lot we recommend to work in Atigba and elsewhere, with the picture box

The future belongs to those who get up early

At this time of the year downpours are frequent, in Atigba, in Lomé, nearly everywhere in Togo

The post The Village Project of DFR in Togo, Règion des Plateaux, in the First Place Helps Women appeared first on International Alliance of Women.

The 2030 agenda recognizes the crucial importance of gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls in sustainable development (goal5) as essential for achieving all the interconnected goals ant targets.

One way of doing that is by using infrastructure as a driver for change to improve women’s lives by reducing the demands of household and care work, increase the productivity of their enterprises and enable them to move into better jobs or more profitable markets.

Infrastructure consists of high cost investments that if done well can raise economic growth, productivity and land values and contribute to poverty reduction.

Women’s economic empowerment is about economic equality such as closing the gender pay gap, increasing job opportunities etc. But it is also about breaking down barriers that hold women back: from discrimination laws to unfair share of home and family care.

Empirical evidence on women’s time allocation shows clearly that women bear the brunt of domestic tasks processing food crops, providing water and firewood and caring for children.

How can infrastructure enable women’s economic empowerment? Infrastructure provisions can reduce the time women spend on domestic tasks and free up time for productive economic activity.

For example, mobility improvements in transportation infrastructure can have significant effects on women’s physical mobility leading to higher paid jobs for women and new opportunities for business expansion.

Moreover the construction of new transport, ICT and energy facilities can create new job opportunities as for example jobs for women in the transport sector taking on roles as bus drivers, ticket collectors and taxi drivers or in the construction business which increasingly involves women as constructors, semi-skilled and skilled workers, supervisor engineers.  However, in this context women have to break through gender barriers and enter traditionally male dominated sectors.

Unsafe market spaces, transport and public spaces expose women workers and traders to gender based violence and limit their economic opportunities. The perceived and the actual risk of gender based violence have a significant impact on women’s economic participation. Road, rail and port projects can do their part to narrow the gender gap by featuring well lit roads, women only carriages and resting and waiting areas.

It is important to note that infrastructure investment by itself does not result in inclusive growth. The quality and cost of access to services are critical to the potential of these investments to impact low income and marginalized groups whose members are disproportionately women.

We also have to note that most infrastructure is gender blind thus empowering men and reinforcing women’ s role as one which is primarily with household tasks.

In order to engender infrastructure projects women need to be part of the decision making in all phases of these projects. Giving them a voice will help to reduce gender inequality.

Women are usually at the household nexus of water, food and energy and they often know first hand about the challenges and potential solutions in these areas.  So, women are the most convincing advocates for the solutions they need so they should be at the forefront of decision making in sustainable development.  A precondition for engendering infrastructure projects is to amplify women’s collective voice to demand access and use infrastructure and services.

The process of demanding improvements in infrastructure by low income women especially in urban areas can by itself be empowering. This is a key strategy and precondition for engendering infrastructure which can have potentially transformative impacts. At the global level we have a number of women led community driven demands by networks of urban poor that have been very successful in negotiating collectively with municipal authorities for improved infrastructure. They have also transformed women’s involvement in municipal government processes.

We should also monitor the gender outcomes of infrastructure projects and build a database for successful gender approaches that can be replicated or scaled up. We should also elaborate and adopt outcome indicators such as income change for female workers etc.

Unfortunately, most infrastructure is seen to help women deliver outcomes that benefit their family, community and state rather than address their own individual needs. In other words, gender remains framed within an economic empowerment approach where women’s work matters not for women themselves but for their ability to participate in markets. This is a pro market approach that we should reject in favour of an approach that is based on the human rights of women.

So, an important precondition for engendering infrastructure projects and facilitating access to and use of them by women is the adoption of a strategy aiming at challenging social norms that are based on gender stereotypes and influence women’s ability to access and use infrastructural resources at all levels.

Another obstacle to engendering infrastructure projects is the fact that this sector is usually run by people that have technical expertise and are unfamiliar and not sensitive to gender equality or the tools used by gender equality specialists. States should undertake efforts to reconcile the two approaches.

Another constrain to effective mainstreaming has to do with traditional practices like child marriage that perpetuate disparities and violate human rights. Very often the practices of child marriage continue in many countries because there is no capacity of the state to deal with it by employing social workers and elaborating policies to deal with gender based discrimination as well as proceed with structural changes to end this harmful practice. The states should also try to demystify all myths and cultural beliefs surrounding traditional practices.

Finally, the most important question to be asked is whether it is possible to use infrastructure as driver for change as long as neoliberal policies dominate in parts of the world. When subsidies are cut from poor and marginalized groups in rural and urban areas, when funding for social services and social infrastructure especially education and health services are cut, then we should question whether neoliberal approaches to development policies can bring about change. We should also question, whether infrastructure provisions that free up time of women in the developing world for labour force participation in the formal sector is a step forward in empowering these women.

Numerous evidence based on research demonstrates how markets themselves seem to be structured to perpetuate and exploit economic inequality. This model relies heavily on women’s wage labour, especially low wage work in service and manufacturing. The reality that underlines this new model is depressed wage levels, decreased job security, declining living standards, steep rise in the number of hours worked for wages, exacerbation of the double shift and rising poverty increasingly concentrated on female headed households.

How can this process represent empowerment for women? Governments, the private sector, women’s NGOs and feminist groups should work for a new development model that prioritizes people over profits. Equal societies do better on just about every available metric: health, crime rates, education etc.

Recommendations:

Governments should:

• Implement infrastructure projects to reduce the time women spend on domestic tasks and free up time for productive economic activity.
• Implement infrastructure projects that create new job opportunities and that protect women workers and traders from gender based violence.
• Engender infrastructure projects by having women participate in the decision making process in all phases of them.
• Monitor gender outcomes of infrastructure projects and adopt and implement relevant indicators.
• Elaborate infrastructure projects that look after women’s unique needs and experiences.
• Implement strategies aiming at challenging social norms that are based on gender stereotypes and influence women’s access and use of infrastructural resources.

Finally Governments, the Private sector, Women’s NGOs and Feminist groups should work for developmental policies that prioritize people over profits.

The post Sustainable infrastructure, a powerful driver for gender equality- IAW Statement CSW63 appeared first on International Alliance of Women.

Like each year hundreds of official state-representatives from around the world and some delegates from Non-State-Actors , including IAW, flocked together for this important assembly. This time Mr. Alain Berset, president of Switzerland, congratulated WHO for its 70th birthday in his opening address and pleaded for an intense global engagement for health for all. “Universal Health Coverage” UHC is a highly ambitious goal of the WHO 13^th programme of work from 2019-2023:

“Ensuring healthy lives and promoting well-being for all at all ages” means

1 billion more people benefit from UHC,

1 billion more people are better protected from health-emergencies

1 billion more people are enjoying better health and well-being.

“Leaving no one behind” by targeting the UCH was often mentioned by the state delegates, but representatives of low income-countries explained their difficulties about implementation due to their lack of finances.

Healthcare being global cannot stop at national boundaries. Therefore many official speakers criticized a recent WHO decision which denied to Taiwan its former status as an observer at WHO.

The opening session of WHA was also overshadowed by the recent outbreak of the ebola disease in DR Congo. Many states voiced their concern but also expressed their gratitude that this time WHO was very prompt providing its professional help and necessary resources.

Unlike last year when I could join Seema Uplekar and Soon-Young Yoon this time I was the only representative of IAW. Thanks to an intensive mail-exchange with Gudrun Haupter and Seema we were in contact with each other at all times. At short notice I could get to know Mary Balikungeri, an IAW member from Rwanda, being in Geneva for the moment. Together we attended a conference about diabetes and obesity. We both want to stay in touch with each other. One morning I happened to see Esther Suter, an IAW Board Member. She was heading for a meeting at the UN.

After some unsuccessful and frustrating attempts to either attend meetings in fully crowded rooms or to follow rather meaningless panel-discussions I realized that I just had to try to make the most of the situation. So unexpectedly I attended a highly interesting meeting about WHO aligning its own health-goals with the UN agenda 2030.

This means more than ever an intersectional approach to global problems combining several of the 17 SDGs. The directors of three UN agencies (World Organization of Meteorology,

UN Environment and WHO) were talking about “Health, environment and climate change”.

As a specific topic they chose air-pollution. “Breathing a healthy air” became an overall slogan at WHA71. Both optimistic and pessimistic views on the future climate situation were voiced.

Dr. Tedros then brought in a typical medical way of looking at problems. His point was saying that we must give up the idea of repairing damages done by climate-impacts. Rather we should in advance invest in prevention. With good climate conditions we are also preventing diseases, mainly the ones caused by air-pollution. We must protect the vulnerable people. Especially women in development countries cooking in smoky kitchens are very much endangered by the effects of air-pollution. In the following general discussion I pointed out that improving this bad situation should be a priority issue.

WHO is organising  a global conference on air pollution and health at UN headquarters in Geneva 30 October- 1 November 2018.

How can we best promote the goals of IAW the advocacy for women’s health rights at WHA? As mentioned before the new IAW project “Water and pads for school-girls” fits in perfectly into our collaboration plan with WHO. In fact, it soon turned out to be also a door-opener at WHA!

Often I was sitting in the cafeteria or staying in line for entering a conference-room and got in touch with people. Soon a conversation about health – human rights – women’s rights would start. Then I could elegantly hand out the paper with our IAW statement related to the water and pads project.

The answers were all excited and positive. These people said great thanks to IAW taking up such an important but often neglected issue. Spontaneously some of them would offer their help. We exchanged mail-addresses. The ones who had their laptops with them searched right away for the IAW website in the internet. I was really surprised about this unexpected interest.

Because also speakers of other NSA’s like me from IAW had to wait for a long time until it was their turn for their official appearance we had chances to exchange our ideas. Like me most of them wanted to deliver a statement on “WHO Global Strategy for Women’s, Children’s and Adolescents Health (2016-2030)”.

In the meantime the representatives from many nations officially expressed their agreement with WHO until the delegate of USA had the floor. This woman strictly vetoed everything connected with family planning most explicitly abortion. We NSAs were shocked.
The conference was continued the following day. This time the Holy Seat (Vatican) strongly opposed the WHO strategy on family planning and ended by exclaiming one should never have a data-base on abortions, a crime!

Finally together with some other NSAs, I could deliver our IAW-statement.

Of course I pleaded for a better menstrual health management for school-girls and generally the full sexual and reproductive women’s rights.

Looking back at WHA 71 I think that besides presenting our IAW statement in public and on the WHO-website, the great point was the chance of networking with so many people who like IAW are engaged in defending women’s health rights.

Read the statement:     WHA71_2018_IAW_NSA_Statement_A_12.3_A. .

The post #HealthForAll   Universal Health Coverage appeared first on International Alliance of Women.

Human activities that harm marine life are degrading the ocean, undermining coastal communities’ livelihoods, and having a negative impact on human health. Every year more than 8 million tonnes of plastic are dumped into the ocean. Pollution of oceans includes toxic chemicals from industries (including oil, lead, and mercury), land run-off (including fertilizers, petroleum, and pesticides), wastewater, oil spills, and littering. Pollution of oceans has a negative impact on human health, through contaminated water supplies and food chains through affected marine life. The call for action promotes waste prevention and minimalization, as well as, implementation of long-term strategies to reduce the use of plastics and microplastics.

Our ocean is losing its marine life at a rapid rate. Due to overfishing for human consumption, the population of several species, like Atlantic Bluefin Tuna, have declined so much that their survival is at risk. The call for action commits to enhance sustainable fisheries management, including to restore fish stocks and end destructive fishing practices.

Our ocean plays a crucial role in the water cycle and the climate system and acts as a climate regulator. Climate change has negative impacts on the ocean, including a rise in ocean temperatures, ocean acidification, deoxygenation, sea level rise, the decrease in polar ice coverage, coastal erosion, and extreme weather events. Species are in danger, unable to adapt fast enough to ocean warming and acidification. The call for action recognizes the Paris Agreement and calls to develop and implement effective adaptation and mitigation measures to address harmful impacts of climate change on the ocean. At the UNFCCC COP 23, Fiji Presidency launched The Ocean Pathway strategy to ensure the ocean is an integral part of the UNFCCC process by 2020.

The call for action recognizes the importance of gender equality and the critical role of women and youth in the conservation and sustainable use of oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development.

Women are leaders in the sustainable use and management of marine and coastal resources. Women in small-scale fisheries are in charge of fish processing and small-scale fish trading; valuable to coastal communities’ livelihoods and food security. Small-scale fisheries’ access to marine resources in compromised due to infrastructure gaps, and competition with large-scale fishing operations, and other sectors, including tourism, aquaculture, agriculture, and energy. Small-scale fisheries also suffer high post-harvest losses due to low investment, low-level technology, and contamination from land-based pollution. The call for action strengthens capacity-building and technical assistance to small-scale and artisanal fisheries in developing countries. Although not stated in the call for action, capacity building has to target women specifically, to address the structural, legal management and cultural barriers that prevent women from full access to fisheries and resources.

The post Our Ocean, Our Future: Call for Action appeared first on International Alliance of Women.

ZAW’s mission is to empower women to take charge of their lives through promotion of Gender Equity and Equality, Environmental Sustainability and Social Justice so that the right to a healthy life is enjoyed by the present and future generation.

ZAW has over 3000 individual and community-based organisation members in 7 provinces of Zambia namely Eastern, Central, Lusaka, Southern, Western, Northwestern and Copperbelt, who constitute its General Assembly.It has a 7 member Board that is led by a woman in the role of Chairperson and has a staff base of 8 led by a woman in the role of Executive Director. ZAW has its Books of Accounts audited annually by external Auditors and follows well laid down guidelines of its Finance and Administration Manual and is governed by a Constitution.

ZAW has in the past 5 years been instrumental in advocating for Women Participation in Agricultural Decision-making, Environmental Sustainability and Women Land rights. For example, in partnership with Zambia Land Alliance, Non-Governmental Organization Coordinating Council (NGOCC) and Action Aid, ZAW implemented a project which aimed at advocating for women empowerment with productive resources including land as well as build capacities of women in conservation farming and sustainable land management.  ZAW has also been implementing awareness raising activities on environmental policies and climate change, training in sustainable natural resources management, and advocating for gender equality in cooperatives as an entry point for women to participate in decision-making in the agricultural sector. Notable among these interventions is the “Enhancing the Democratic Voice of Women Farmers in Zambia” Project funded by the Royal Norwegian Embassy through the NGOCC basket fund; a project that has resulted in women taking up leadership positions in cooperatives and shift from the use of chemical to organic manure. Others include the “10,000 gardens” project by Slow Food International; and “the Women Caucus on Climate Smart Agriculture” funded by the African Women Development Fund. ZAW is currently among other interventions implementing a project “Enhancing Food Security through Sustainable Use and Management of Natural Resources” in three districts namely Choma, Petauke and Ndola funded by the European Union through the Non-Governmental Organisations Coordinating Council (NGOCC) whose objective is to empower rural women to own land and access farmer input support by 2018.

ZAW is in the process of rebranding under its Leadership and Governance Project funded by the African Women Development Fund. This project will see ZAW create a Website, develop a 5 year Strategic Plan, change its logo, hold an Annual General Meeting and revise its Policies and Constitution. A Coach has been assigned to conduct leadership training for individual leaders as well as the Board and Management training

The post News from Zambia Alliance of Women appeared first on International Alliance of Women.

Commons Photo Credit: Source

General Comment

Many provisions are fine, but the framework is very narrow. Where are the SDGs and sustainable economic concepts? It does not argue strongly enough that women’s economic empowerment also contributes to achieving other targets. Neither does it make strong enough linkages with other sectors, notably education, health, political and cultural rights.

The post Draft Agreed Conclusions for CSW 61- comments by IAW appeared first on International Alliance of Women.

She explains that  60% of Nigerians are living in extreme poverty, lacking water and economic livelihoods; 70% of this demographic are women and girls and over 2 million Nigerians have been forced to flee their homes.

In Northern Nigeria the Boko Haram terrorist group have been responsible for  the destruction of property and lands and crop cultivation, with many farmers having to flee their homes. People remain unwilling to return home due to the fear of violence.  Coupled with the high rates of poverty in the region, this has resulted in food insecurity and low food production.

Buki Adenekan writes that, ‘the effects of both ongoing violence and ecological destruction in the region have revealed gendered dimensions. Women have been deeply affected by the violent crisis in northern Nigeria and constitute a large portion of displaced persons (53%) across the region.’

She maintains that, ‘despite the patriarchal nature of societies across northern Nigeria, women in the region have played an active role in the campaign and fight against Boko Haram. They have positioned themselves at the forefront of protests against the insurgent group, especially in Abuja and Borno, where they have played an important role as vocal agents of change through political action and protests.’

Women have been placed in situations where they have no choice but to demonstrate their capacity for adaption in times of severe insecurity. When their husbands, brothers and fathers are killed they are forced to adopt leadership roles in the family and community and make difficult, painful decisions after burying their relations.

Sadly, many women, especially those who have returned from the captivity of Boko Haram, are stigmatised and their children – born as a result of their forced marriage to insurgents – are unwelcome in their home communities. In addition, many of these former captives are suffering from psychological distress resulting from the physical, sexual and mental abuse they experienced in captivity.

However, women as victims and survivors of violence is only one side of the story. They are also active participants in war, and it is important to understand the roles women play in the violence itself. Women in Boko Haram are capable of being conscious political-religious activists as well. They have been instrumental in Boko Haram tactics, which have been effective in advancing strikes across the region. Women are rarely suspected and can easily get away with concealing weapons in their clothing. This cooperation may be a way of escaping some of the sexual abuse experienced in captivity.

Adenekan concludes that, ‘women’s voices are being heard as protesters and proponents of peace against the conflict, but there is an absence of advocacy for female returnees from Boko Haram and a lack of livelihood opportunities for the internally-displaced who are living in camps. The faces and voices of returnees have been blurred by the societal stigma associated with the terrorist group. This could place women in more vulnerable situations and induce local grievances amongst them, leading to more violence.’

She maintains that, ‘it is important for the international community, the Nigerian government and relevant stakeholders to decisively focus on women as valuable agents of change and social mobilisers, with the ability to curb the impacts of violence and also environmental degradation. Women’s plights in displacement must be analysed and addressed with urgency, and women must be included in strategising, designing and implementation of interventions.’

https://www.opendemocracy.net/buki-adenekan/gendered-realities-of-peace-and-security-in-northern-nigeria

The post The gendered realities of peace and security in northern Nigeria appeared first on International Alliance of Women.

IAW Written Statement to CSW61 2017

Inclusive and sustainable growth around the world is the overarching vision of the 2030 development agenda.  Gender Equality and Women’s Economic Empowerment are central to this vision but progress has been far too slow.

What is the reason for this lack of progress? The early twenty first century’s global context with rising inequalities, poverty, hunger, climate change all of which are the result of prevailing economic models and paradigms pose unprecedented challenges for the realization of women’s rights and undermine further the sustainability of communities and societies. Dominant development patterns are based on gender inequalities, and have proved unsustainable as regards many issues including economic growth and work.

The underlying causes and consequences of unsustainability are deeply interwined and rooted in the dominant economic models. These involve economic liberalization, the concentration of the productive and financial activity to short term profits, and the privatization of public goods and services, all at the expense of state regulation and redistribution. The fruits of economic growth have also been unequally divided. Over the past three decades economic disparities between and within countries and regions have increased.

What has been the impact of these development patterns on women and work? Women have entered the labor market in large numbers. Free trade and the rapid expansion of market together with the expansion of many corporations supply chains in developing countries have undoubtedly created unprecedented opportunities for women to access paid work. However this has to often been on unequal and highly exploitative terms.

Gender based discrimination and segregation in the labor market, as well as the weak regulation of those markets have served to confine women to jobs that are low paid and of poor quality in terms of working conditions and access to social protection.

They reinforce the status of women as secondary workers within their households.

Women also suffer from lack of access to education, training, recruitment, and equal remuneration and have limited bargaining in decision-making power. Women have also unequal access to productive resources and are over-represented in informal work. The reality that underlies this new model is depressed wage levels, decreased job security, declining living standards, a steep rise in the number of hours worked for wages, exacerbation of the double shift, and rising poverty increasingly concentrated in female headed households.

The vast amount of women’s work that is either rewarded poorly or not rewarded at all is being used to subsidize the world’s economy and fuel unequal and unsustainable growth. Women’s exploitation in the labor market is further compounded by their disproportional share of unpaid care responsibilities which is mainly due to stereotypical gender roles. This burden of care responsibilities often excludes women from paid employment completely or confines them to part time positions which are not as well paid. The result is that women’s unpaid household and care work subsidizes the economy for free.

A lot of discrimination against women is supported by cultural norms, tradition, and religion. Women are powerless to change these norms. Governments should be expected to put resources towards mobilizing to change attitudes and norms. An example of the impact of the stereotypes on women and girls has to do with their education which contributes to higher economic growth. However the impact of stereotypical gender roles on downgrading women’s educational achievements and skills is evident when they try to access the labor market. For the majority of women, significant gains in education have not translated into quality jobs.

Violence which is the result of unequal power relations between women and men and stereotypes against women, has negative repercussions against women in the world of work. It also leads to lower productivity, increased absenteeism, and high turnover. In some cultures the threat of violence has been a reason for limiting women in the home’s sphere.

Recognition is growing world wide that our economic system needs profound reforms. There is also increasing understanding that economic growth alone is not going to lead to gender equality, alleviate poverty and reduce inequality for all.  Macroeconomic policies are all too often geared towards creating the conditions for growth without much attention to bringing societies closer to achieving gender equality and social justice. Gender analysis should also be used as a tool for changing the system, looking at what is valued and how this guides investment priorities, shapes business and economics.

Gender inequality at work can only be eliminated by addressing the discrimination that women experience in the labor market due to their reproductive function, in particular sectoral and occupational segregation, gaps in wages, working hours, and access to social protection. Governments should take measures to promote the equal sharing of unpaid care work between women and men and between family and society.

We should work for a new development model that is not based solely on economic growth but prioritizes people over profits. This new development model should be based on a reorganization of the relations between the production, the finance, and the reproduction sphere with the aim to create a sustainable and gender equal economy which should serve the needs of reproduction, that is care.

Recommendations: 

Addressing root causes and taking a transformational approach to the issue of women’s economic inequality
Governments should:

• ŸEnsure that human rights are the ethical framework for macroeconomic policies and review their impact on women. Ask trade unions, CSO’s and women’s organizations to participate in their elaboration including their implementation and evaluation.
• Implement agreed human and labor standards in national legislations and policies that guarantee and promote women’s access to decent and safe employment in the formal or informal sector (living wage, secure contracts, access to social protection, women’s right to organize and access to remedy, equal pay for work of equal value, equal opportunities and non-discrimination in the work place).
• Eliminate all laws that discriminate against women at work.
• Implement binding international and national regulations, policies and mechanisms concerning human rights standards that require the private sector’s full compliance with them.
• Recognize and value the contribution of unpaid care work to the economy and invest in infrastructures, time saving technologies and quality public services such as child care, care for the elderly and healthcare.
• Institute family friendly policies that enable women and men to balance work with their caring responsibilities.
•  Take measures to challenge discriminatory social norms and gender stereotyping that underpin inequality in women’s work.
• Promote women’s entrepreneurship including by providing them with training and financial support.
• Promote women’s leadership, voice and agency including through engaging with trade unions, civil society, and feminist organizations in economic policy making processes and spaces at all levels.
• Promote women’s access to formal financial institutions and saving mechanisms.
• Design progressive tax regimes and institute gender responsive budgeting that enhance women’s economic rights and access to public services while redressing discrimination and inequality.
• Promote women’s access to education that does not discriminate on the basis of gender and take measures to translate women’s educational achievements and skills in qualified work.
• Promote laws and policies to prevent and protect women against harassment and other forms of violence in the world of work. Establish complaints and monitoring mechanisms to protect women workers. Recognize social dialogue as a means to address such issues.
• Integrate the needs and rights of women refugees, migrant workers, rural and indigenous women and women with special needs in employment policies and social and health services.
• Increase support and funding for feminist and women’s rights organizations.

The post Women’s economic empowerment in the changing world of work appeared first on International Alliance of Women.