Gender concerns in sustainable development

UDAY YADAVJAYANTH BALAJI3RD YR-B

GENDER CONCERNS IN SUSTAINABLE

DEVELOPMENT

Gender is not another word for women. Gender is about both women and men, their social ly defi ned roles, responsibi l i t ies, and the power and other relat ions between them. Like race, ethnicity, and class, being male or female shapes individuals’ opportunit ies to part ic ipate in the economy and society.

Looking at gender in the sustainable development sectors means assessing males’ and females’ diff erent needs for and uses of the infrastructure, services and other benefi ts of each sector, as wel l as the diff erent barr iers to their access, mobi l i ty, and economic opportunit ies.

WHAT IS GENDER?

It is inappropriate to try and address problems, to identify the appropriate strategies, or to implement the solutions if only half of the people concerned are involved in the process.

Gender equity is an essential building block in sustainable development. Indeed, none of the three “pillars” of sustainable development (Environmental protection, Economic well-being and Social equity) can be achieved without solving the prevail ing problem of gender inequity.

Gender equality promotes development. Gender disparities are barriers to development imposing heavy costs on society in terms of reduced growth and lower poverty reduction.

Conversely, addressing gender diff erences and reducing gender disparities through sustainable development projects and policies can also improve development eff ectiveness and sustainability.

Gender analysis is carried out in projects as an integral part of social analysis. Gender analysis asks questions about the diff erences between men's and women's activities, roles, and resources in order to identify their needs, constraints, and opportunities. Thus, gender analysis can help identify which sustainable development activities are needed by both men and women and how gender roles might aff ect project outcomes.

WHY FOCUS ON GENDER AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT?

Understanding the impact of gender on projects and programs of the World Bank is a central component of social analysis. And social analysis is pivotal to the Bank’s operational principles as guided by the social development strategy:

Inclusive institutions that promote equal access to opportunities, enabling everyone to contribute to social and economic progress and share in the rewards;

Cohesive societies that enable women and men to work together to address common needs, overcome constraints, consider diverse interests and resolve diff erences peacefully.

Accountable institutions that are transparent and respond to the public interest in an eff ective, effi cient, and fair way

Costs of Ignoring Gender and Infrastructure Issues

In most cases, poor infrastructure and lack of access constitute signifi cant barriers that limit the economic empowerment and productivity as well as access to health, education and other services by the poor, particularly women. Women are more negatively impacted due to socio-cultural and economic factors, particularly time constraints caused by their heavy domestic workloads carrying fuel, water and other goods as well as the health impacts of indoor air pollution from the use of biofuels.

GENDER DIMENSIONS OF INFRASTRUCTURE

Global statistics place women behind men in relation to health, education, nutrition levels, political participation, legal rights, equal pay for equal work, amongst many other aspects of life.

Gender inequity remains pervasive in all countries of the world. This is both of public concern but also tied to individual behaviour.

Generally, the obstacles to women's full participation in sustainable development and in public life can be grouped into three categories:

• Constitutional factors, including legal and administrative areas, • Cultural, social, psychological and behavioural factors, • Economic factors, including access to and ownership of resources.

THE CURRENT SITUATION

Violence and discrimination: continues unabated in many parts of the world. Thousands of “honour killings” take place every year, mainly in Western Asia, North Africa and South Asia. Thousands of women are also subjected to genital mutilation. Some 25,000 women are burned to death each year in India as a result of dowry disputes.

HUMAN RIGHTS

Rape and physical abuse: is also on the increase, but many cases go unreported because of the shame and stigma attached. In the USA, one women is battered every 15 seconds, usually by her intimate partner. Every year two million girls, between 5 and 15 years old, are introduced into the commercial sex market. Over 100 million girls suff er genital mutilation every year, resulting in at least 2 million deaths.

Selective abortion: elimination of female foetuses and infanticide of little girls continues.

This is particularly true in parts of Asia where parents can now have pregnancies scanned. The results being that in parts of the world, men can out number women 5-1.

Literacy: The disparity between the sexes fel l by half between 1970 and 1990, from 54% to 74%. However, of the 880 mil l ion who are st i l l i l l i terate 2/3rds are women and 1 out of every 3 adult women st i l l cannot read or write.

Enrolment: Gir ls ' enrolment in primary and secondary school has increased from 38% to 68% between 1970 and 1990. But gir ls account for 60% of the 130 mil l ion chi ldren without access to primary education. Levels of education are lower in rural areas. Even in industr ial ised countries we fi nd diff erential treatment in the kinds of subjects that gir ls are able to study; they continue to be underrepresented in the scientifi c fi elds.

EDUCATION

Women make essent ia l contr ibut ions to economic development, household income, and otherwise in the wor ld of work.

Research has shown that wi th independent income of women improves gender re lat ions as much as i t he lps ensure surv iva l in cases of male migrat ion, separat ion or widowhood.

However , women go unrecognised, under-pa id , face poor condi t ions and face l imi ted opportuni t ies for improvement. They are a lso shoulder ing the double burden of work hours outs ide and ins ide the home.

Women remain the inv is ib le workforce in g lobal product ion chains , where they dominate as house-workers and temporary labour. Up to 90% of house-workers are women. Two incomes are often v i ta l to pul l a fami ly out o f poverty.

GENDER AND WORK

LET’S NOT BE BIASED,LET’S BRING

THE CHANGE.

THANK YOU