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Shifting wealth, shifting gender relations?
Gender inequality and social cohesion in a
converging world
Karen Barnes, Nejma Bouchama
and Estelle Loiseau
21 January 2011
2
Rationale for this research
Despite growth and structural changes of the past two decades, women continue
to lose out in terms of wealth and well-being as compared to men across much of
the world
WHY?
Discriminatory social institutions drive gender inequalities in hidden and
unexplored ways, even in countries that have experienced fast growth or growing
income levels
SO WHAT?
Structures and practices that discriminate against women have a negative impact
on social cohesion and are an obstacle to sustainable and inclusive development
3
Discrimination against women leads to poor development outcomes
In the 21 countries that have the highest level of discrimination
against women as measured by SIGI, primary school completion is on average 15% lower, nearly twice as many children suffer from malnutrition and maternal mortality rates are twice as high
Three key factors are over-looked and under-researched:
•Women’s limited access to and control over resources
•Women’s lack of decision-making power
•Widespread violence against women
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Measuring discrimination against women
Social Institutions Variables
• Early marriage
• Polygamy
• Parental authority
• Inheritance
• Freedom of movement
• Freedom of dress
• Female genital mutilation
• Violence against women
• Access to land
• Access to bank loans
• Access to property
Ownership Rights Civil Liberties Physical Integrity Family Code
• Missing women
Son Preference
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• Highest inequality: sub-Saharan Africa; Middle East and North Africa; South Asia
• Lowest inequality: Latin America; Europe and Central Asia
• Region with both high and low performers: East Asia and Pacific
SIGI: The Social Institutions and Gender Index
6
Shifting wealth, shifting gender relations?
• Changing dynamics of inequality
• Structural changes in labour markets
• New trade patterns
• Technological advances
• Increased migration flows
Faster growth and rising incomes (for some)…but what does this
mean for development, gender equality and social cohesion?
7
Average SIGI score
Average SIGI score according to country classification in the four-speed world
0.01
0.110.13
0.17
0.00
0.02
0.04
0.06
0.08
0.10
0.12
0.14
0.16
0.18
0.20
Affluent Converging Struggling Poor
Ave
rage
SIG
I va
lue
Four-speed world classification
Source: Author‟s calculations based on World Bank World Development Indicators (2009), OECD Gender and Institutions Database (2009)
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Converging countries and discrimination against women
Low-income Lower-middle income Upper-middle income
Bangladesh (90)
Chad (97)
Ethiopia (89)
Mali (99)
Sierra Leone (100)
Zambia (85)
13 other countries
China (83)
Egypt (82)
India (96)
Iran (95)
Nigeria (86)
Pakistan (94)
Sudan (102)
24 other countries
22 countries
9
Two things to keep in mind
Growth doesn’t tell the whole
story…
… and averages hide more than
what they tell us about society
10
Maternal mortality ratios
0
200
400
600
800
1000
1200
1400
BGD CHN EGY ETH IND IRN MLI NGA PAK SDN SLE TCD ZMB
Mat
ern
al m
ort
alit
y ra
te
Maternal mortality rate (MMR)
Average MMR for converging countries
Source: Author‟s calculations based on World Bank World Development Indicators (2009)
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Births attended by skilled staff
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
BGD CHN IND MLI SDN% d
eliv
eri
es
atte
nd
ed
by
skill
ed
st
aff
% deliveries attended by skilled staff
average % deliveries attended by skilled staff for convergers
Source: Author‟s calculations based on World Bank World Development Indicators (2009)
12
0
100
200
300
400
500
600
700
800
BGD CHN EGY ETH IND IRN MLI NGA PAK SDN SLE TCD ZMB
Ave
rage
he
alth
exp
end
itur
e p
er
capi
taHealth expenditure per capita
Average health expenditure, upper-middle income convergers
Average health expenditure, lower-middle income convergers
Average health expenditure, low income convergers
Health expenditure per capita
Source: Author‟s calculations based on World Bank World Development Indicators (2009)
13
Physical integrity and maternal mortality
Source: Author‟s calculations based on World Bank World Development Indicators (2009), OECD Gender and Institutions Database (2009)
In the ten countries where
women‟s physical integrity
is least protected (Mali,
Somalia, Sudan, Egypt,
Sierra Leone, Ethiopia,
Liberia, Guinea-Bissau,
Eritrea, Guinea), maternal
mortality ratios are on
average twice as high as
elsewhere.
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Education
Significant increase in enrolment and completion rates in primary
education…
…But, for every 100 boys out of school:
270 girls are out of school in Yemen, 316 in Iraq and 416 in
India and 257 in Benin (UNESCO, 2007)...
...And progress is not as significant at the secondary level.
15
Ratio of female/male enrolment in primary education
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
BGD EGY ETH IND MLI NGA PAK SDN SLE TCD ZMB CHN
F/M
pri
mar
y e
nro
lme
nt
rati
o
Ratio F/M primary enrolment
average ratio F/M primary enrolment for convergers
Source: Author‟s calculations based on World Bank World Development Indicators (2009)
16
Ratio of female/male enrolment in secondary education
Source: Author‟s calculations based on World Bank World Development Indicators (2009),
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
BGD CHN ETH IND IRN MLI NGA PAK SDN SLE TCD ZMBRat
io F
/M s
eco
nd
ary
en
rolm
en
tratio F/M secondary enrolment
average ratio F/M secondary enrolment for convergers
17
Literacy
Female literacy in high-SIGI countries is strikingly below average female
literacy in other converging countries.
0
20
40
60
80
100
BGD CHN ETH NGA PAK SDN SLE TCD ZMB
Female literacy in high-SIGI countries
Average female literacy in other convergers
Source: Author‟s calculations based on World Bank World Development Indicators (2009)
18
Early marriage and primary school completion rates
In the countries where
more than half of girls
aged 15-19 years are
married (DRC, Niger,
Afghanistan, Congo
and Mali), on average
fewer than half of
primary school aged
children are in school
Source: Author‟s calculations based on World Bank World Development Indicators (2009), OECD Gender and Institutions Database (2009)
19
Female labour force participation
20
Changing employment patterns
• Feminisation of “bad jobs”: while there has been an increase
in the quantity of job opportunities, women lose out on the
quality of jobs available
• Women are most often segregated in sectors with low pay,
long working hours and informal working arrangements,
without access to benefits or social protection
• Women carry out a disproportionate amount of unpaid care
and domestic work
• Women are over-represented in agriculture and services
• A significant proportion of contributing family workers are
women for some converging countries
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Ratio of female share/male share in employment status
by region
22
Contributing family workers by gender for selected converging countries
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
BGD COL BRA EGY ETH IRN ZAF VNM
Female contributing family workers Male contributing family workers
23
Employment by sector, 2008
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
F M F M F M F M F M F M F M
East Asia South-east Asia and the
Pacific
South Asia
LAC Middle East
North Africa
Sub-saharan Africa
Shar
e in
to
tal e
mp
loym
en
t
Selected regions
Services
Industry
Agriculture
Source: ILO 2009
24
Female agricultural employment
Source: Author‟s calculations based on World Bank World Development Indicators (2009), OECD Gender and Institutions Database (2009)
0
0.5
1
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
BGD EGY ETH PAK
Emp
loye
es,
fe
mal
e,
agri
cult
ure
Employees, female, agriculture (% of female employment)
Average employees, female, agriculture (% of female employment) for
other convergers
Access to land
25
Percentage of female parliamentarians
0
5
10
15
20
25
BGD CHN EGY ETH IND IRN MLI NGA PAK SDN SLE TCD ZMB
Pe
rce
nta
ge o
f fe
mal
e
par
liam
en
tari
ans
2009 Average for other convergers
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Change in % of women in parliament in low income converging countries
5.69
15.08
3.00
6.72
0.00
2.00
4.00
6.00
8.00
10.00
12.00
14.00
16.00
1990s 2000s
% w
om
en
in
pa
rlia
me
nt
Other
converging
countries
High SIGI
converging
countries
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Son preference
In many countries, particularly China and India, there is strong evidence of „missing
women‟ as a result of son preference due to female infanticide, sex-selective abortions
and neglect of the well-being of girl children.
This phenomenon has direct consequences on social cohesion as it:
• Perpetuates discriminatory practices against women and girls if men are not
able to find wives, early marriage, forced marriage, bride-knapping etc.
• The perception that investing in boys will yield a greater return than similar
investments in girls who will eventually marry and leave the family is reflected
in the allocation of household resources
• Could increase likelihood of conflict as the number of single, young men
increases
• In China, recent research has found that the shifting demographic reality is
already changing household saving behaviour, and may be a factor driving
global imbalances
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Linking women’s access to resources and social cohesion
Problem Impact on women and girls Policy options Implications for
social cohesion
Limited land
and
property
rights
Limits women’s agricultural
productivity and food
security
Lack of collateral prevents
women from accessing
bank loans or financial
services
Land-titling projects
and resettlement
schemes
More access to and
control over
resources :
Women more
active in the formal
economy
Improves women’s
socioeconomic
status
Increases their
sense of belonging
Increases social
mobility
Limited
access to
financial
resources
Restricts women’s
entrepreneurship Training and
networks to support
women’s
entrepreneurship
Limited
inheritance
rights
Widowed girls and women
may be left homeless
Increased vulnerability of
young girls
Legislative reform to
protect women and
girls’ right to inherit
29
Linking women’s decision-making power and social cohesion
Problem Impact on women and girls Policy options Implications for social
cohesion
Limited
decision-
making
power in the
household
Increased likelihood of losing
out in intra-household
allocation of resources
Increased likelihood of high
fertility rates and unsafe sex
Cash transfers
directly to women
and girls
Awareness-raising
campaigns
targeting men
Increasing women’s
decision-making
power:
Promotes their sense
of inclusion and
participation in civic
life
Increases their
bargaining power in
the home
Improves health and
welfare of children
Low
representa-
tion in local
government
Limits women’s community
engagement
Quotas and
affirmative action
Proportional
representation
Constitutional
reform
Low
representa-
tion in
national
government
Limits women’s voice and
participation
May decrease likelihood of
gender-sensitive service
delivery and resource
allocations
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Linking security for women and social cohesion
Problem Impact on women and girls Policy options Implications for
social cohesion
Physical
and
sexual
violence
Physical and psychological
health problems
Compromises the education of
girls when violence occurs in
schools
Lowers earnings and
productivity when women are
unable to work
Restricts women’s freedom of
movement
Publicity and media
campaigns
Strengthen data
collection on VAW
Adopt and enforce
national laws
against VAW
Prohibit and
criminalise marital
rape
More security for
women:
Avoids the erosion
of social capital
due to stigma and
isolation
Enables women to
participate in social,
political and
economic life
Increases their
sense of trust in
society
Prevents the
perpetuation of a
culture of violence
FGM Short and long term risks to
physical, sexual and
psychological health
Increased risk of mortality
during pregnancy and
childbirth and of HIV/Aids
Public awareness
campaigns
Community led
initiatives to
abandon FGM
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Key findings
• Hidden gender inequalities are being driven by these discriminatory institutions: negative consequences for human development and the economic and political participation of women
• Gender can be a useful lens to see the social costs and inequalities that are being exacerbated by shifting wealth
• Quality of jobs and access to decent work for women needs to be at forefront of policy responses to adapt to changing labour markets
Next step:
Country case studies to determine which factors (early marriage, violence, land rights, etc) are most relevant and what policies have been effective in transforming discrimination against women