A Framework for Mainstreaming Gender in Policies and Actions

1. A Framework for Mainstreaming Gender in Policies and Actions Isabelle Bleas World Bank Institute ibleas@worldbank.org Moscow November 29-30, 2005

2. Does equity and gender equality matter for development ?

3. Engendering Development – through Gender Equality in Rights, Resources and Voice • WB Policy Research Report, E.U. : gender equality is explicitly recognized as essential to achieving poverty reduction. Strong correlation btw. Income & low(er) G inequality • Cross-country and country-specific evidence: G inequality hinders economic growth and has a heavy cost on families and nations. • Cost on people’s lives and decrease of well being • Cost on productivity, efficiency and economic progress • Weaker governance

4. Gender discrimination explains inequality • Brazil: G discrimination explains 5% of inequality • Tunisia: F-headed households are less poor than M-headed households. Due to deliberate policy of empowering women and making school compulsory for boys and girls… so same opportunities

5. Gender equality increases education, health, and thus productivity of the next generation • In India, children of literate mothers spend two more hours/day studying than children of illiterate mothers (Behrman et al., 1999). • In Guatemala and Nigeria, educated mothers are more likely to adopt health-seeking behaviors, such as immunization (Pebley, et al. 1996; Gage, et al, 1997) • In Brazil, income in the hands of mothers has four times the impact on children’s height-for-age as income in the hands of fathers (Thomas, 1990)

6. If women and men had more equal schooling, incomes would have grown faster 4 3 Average annual growth in per capita GNP, 1960-1992 (percent) 2 Predicted 1 Actual 0 Sub-Saharan Africa South Asia Middle East/ North Africa Klasen, 2002

7. Where women and men have more equal rights, governments are less corrupt 10 9 8 7 6 Index of corruption 5 4 3 2 1 0 4 4.5 5 5.5 6 6.5 7 Women's economic and social rights

8. Equity is vital to achieve economic growth • Pro-Poor Growth: Evidence that growth and equality are effective in reducing poverty • Studies highlighting several broad policy options to help poor households take advantage of nonagricultural and urban employment opportunities. They include improving the investment climate; expanding access to secondary education; enhancing access of girls to all levels of education; designing labor market regulations to create more formal employment for poor workers; strengthening property rights to improve land access; and improving access to infrastructure.

9. WDR 2006 “Equity and Development” • When a large share of the population is excluded from the main opportunities in development (education, investment, property rights; they don’t even have the same political influence and the ability to influence their governments), then “A lot of human productive potential of society goes to waste” Francisco Ferreira, co-director of the WDR

10. WDR 2006 main messages • High levels of economic and political inequality lead to economic institutions and social systems that systematically favor the elite – those with more influence. • It undermines a country’s potential for growth and its ability to reduce poverty. • Inequitable institutions impose economic costs • Equity is a fundamental part of the package needed to achieve empowerment and a better investment climate. It is also essential to achieving the Millennium Development Goals

11. Is there Gender Equality ?

12. Gender equality has tended to increase over time, except in political participation Middle Income Countries Low Income Countries High Income Countries 1.2 1.0 0.8 0.6 Female/male ratio 0.4 0.2 0.0 1970 1980 1990 1995 1970 1980 1990 1995 1970 1980 1990 1995 Life expectancy Primary enrollment Secondary enrollment Parliamentary representation

13. Women are vastly underrepresented in parliaments 25 20 15 Women's share of parliamentary seats, 1995 (percent) 10 5 0 East Asia/ Europe/ Latin Middle East/ Sub-Saharan OECD South Pacific Central Asia America/ North Africa Africa Asia Caribbean

14. CGA Russian Federation • Country Gender Assessment (2004-2005) shows differential access to economic and productive resources, and to political participation. • Declining ratio of women business administrators; of professional advancement • Increasing stress on both M and F, and violence

15. Gender issues in the Region 1. • While world-wide women have suffered from gender inequality, in the ECA region both men and women have paid a price • Some measure of equality in schools, but significant barriers in economic opportunities, political participation, access to, and control over resources: • 1985: 25% women in Parliament • 1990: dropped to 7% • 1990-2004: seats declined from 36 to 5% Armenia, 29 to 6% Albania

16. Gender issues in the Region 2. Gender gap in employment opportunities: • With the privatization of state owned industries, women are finding it harder to find formal employment. • Barriers in access to land and credit In some countries, women have benefited from micro-credit programs (Tajikistan National Social Investment Fund) • The privatization of state-owned land has placed most property in the hands of men. • The gender gap is particularly evident in the rural areas. World Bank study “Gender in Transition”, by Pierella Paci

17. Gender issues in the Region 3. • Loss of special benefits for women, increasing their risk of poverty • Violence & human trafficking: 25% worldwide (175,000 persons). • Lax law enforcementand corruption have contributed to the growth of trafficking World Bank Study "Gender in transition", by Pierella Paci

18. Policy approaches to promoting gender equality and development

19. A framework to promote G equality • A three-part strategy: • Reform Institutions (legal, economic) to provide equal rights and opportunities • Foster economic development to strengthen incentives for more equal resources • Take measures to redress inequalities in command over resources and political participation

20. A framework to promote G equality • A three-part strategy: • Reform Institutions (legal, economic) to provide equal rights and opportunities • Foster economic development to strengthen incentives for more equal resources • Take measures to redress inequalities in command over resources and political participation

21. Reforming Institutions • Institutions consist of formal and informal rules which influence the level of transaction costs, which in turn highly influence the rate of growth. Effective institutions reduce transaction costs and encourage socially productive activities and vice versa. • We can ask of these institutions: Are they gendered? If they are not, then transactions costs will be institutionally different for men and women • And there will be inefficiency

22. Family Law Protection against violence Land Rights (property, ownership) Labor Law Political rights But reform is not enough: capacity and commitment to implement legal reforms Law: part of broader institutional environment And further problem: in many countries, responsibility for gender policy usually rests with marginalized cabinet positions Establishing Equal Rights and Protection under the Law

23. A framework to promote G equality • A three-part strategy: • Reform Institutions (legal, economic) to provide equal rights and opportunities • Foster economic development to strengthen incentives for more equal resources • Take measures to redress inequalities in command over resources and political participation

24. Fostering Economic Development • Increase in productivity • Creation of new work opportunities • Reduction of gender disparities • Incomes raise • Poverty decreases

25. Ability to respond to incentives • Control of land – land and other ownership rights • Control of capital – do men and women have equal control of household and other assets? • Control of labor: do women (and especially young women) fully control their labor?

26. A framework to promote G equality • A three-part strategy: • Reform Institutions (legal, economic) to provide equal rights and opportunities • Foster economic development to strengthen incentives for more equal resources • Take measures to redress inequalities in command over resources and political participation

27. Conditions necessary for competitive markets • To have sufficient, equal access to information in order to operate effectively in the public sphere of markets • To have sufficient, equal freedomto act on this information • This includes equal control of resources, and access to resources

28. There is a critical role for active measures that • Increase access to resources and services • Reduce the costs to women of their household roles • Establish gender-appropriate social protection • Strengthen political voice and participation

29. Participating in the Labor Force • Availability of low-cost, out-of-home child care facilitates/increases participation in labor force and raises household income • A recent study in Russian Federation (Lokshin 2000) finds that subsidizing out-of-home care can be more effective than other approaches (wage subsidies) in attracting mothers in labor market

30. Potable water within 400m Woodlots within 30 mins walk Investments in water and fuel infrastructure significantly reduce time on collection activities Potential Average Annual Time Savings 600 400 Annual time savings (hours per household) 200 0 Lusaka Rural Kaya Mbale Kasama* Dedougou* (Zambia) (Burkina Faso) (Uganda) (Zambia) (Burkina Faso) Note: *Kasama and Dedougou are already within the 400m target.

31. Providing Gender-appropriate Social Protection • Means attention to both Men and Women • In most of the world, women more vulnerable • Emerging trend arguing for more attention to male-specific issues • But still need for women-specific pension schemes. Look at Chile –next slide-

32. Male own pension Female own+ survivor's pension Female own or survivor's pension Female own pension (retire age 65) Female own pension adjusted by MPG Female own pension (retire age 60) Design matters for gender equality in pension benefits Pension income for average workers with incomplete primary education (female/male ratio in parenthesis) (0.89) (0.60) Female pension benefits as a proportion of male benefits (0.43) (0.35) (0.29) 0 20 40 60 80 100 120 Pesos (thousands)

33. Overall Implications • Gender is an important analytical category at both the micro and macro levels • Implications: • Gender needs to be systematically integrated into the analysis of economic problems • Gender must be integrated into the policy process • At the planning level • At the budgetary decision level • At the implementation level • At the evaluation level

34. Taking gender considerations into account in policy and program design can promote gender equality …… and enhance policy effectiveness.

35. Can we help? • Russia TA pilot on mainstreaming Gender in the delivery of social services