Thuy-Khue Tran
13 September 2011
(Ảnh chụp tại Athens/ thủ đô Hy Lạp 2014)
“Research how gender equality leads to gender equity, then,
research a developing country that has taken steps to improve its gender
equality. Develop a strategic plan for how those steps could be applied in a
country with lower gender equality. Finally, use research to support ways
gender equity can impact the global economy.”
Universally, women have been sidelined in shaping their
societies and their own lives; inferior access to resources and opportunities
has capped women’s full potential. The global community is crying out for
political leaders, activists, educators, or just any courageous voice to give
momentum to the modern women’s movement — a fight to seize long barred
opportunities. It is time to heed its call and recognize that women remain as
the largest untapped pool of strength, ingenuity, and sagacity for growth and
development. Discussion upon strides made towards gender equality in a
developing country like Rwanda
and the possible application of such steps in Niger, a country ranked lower on
the human development index, reveal that gender equity positively impacts an
economy: narrowing gender gaps corresponds with greater economic
competition. This conclusion illustrates
and enhances gender equality as an economics issue, rather than purely a human
rights issue, because perhaps it is via this standpoint that gender equity —women’s
education, health and empowerment — will be realized. The study of such effects
is done so by first dissecting the distinctions and linkages between gender
equality and gender equity.
Although gender equality and gender equity are very
different concepts and are not interchangeable, they are interconnected given
that the attainment of gender equality leads to the development of gender
equity. In this regard, the definition
of gender spans farther than being a matter of different biological
characteristics. It instead “…refers to the economic, social and cultural
attributes and opportunities associated with being male or female” (Spierenburg
and Wels 85).
Cultural and societal norms dictate what attire, behavior, occupations,
ambitions and talents are appropriate for women. These expectations reflect the
invisible confines that women face daily. However, the social mechanisms that
construct gender expectations can also be used to deconstruct them to bring
gender equality and, ultimately, gender equity. Understanding gender equality
involves recognizing it as “…equal enjoyment by women and men of
socially-valued goods, opportunities, resources and rewards” but also involves
recognizing that it does not mean that men and women become the same (Dodhia,
Johnson and Secretariat 33). Having the same chances in life is the first step
to have women and men share equally power, influence, and all spheres of life.
Although achieving gender equality provides all with the same access and
rights, it does not ensure fairness. Equal is an objective term, a very black
and white concept that does not account for the different needs and experiences
of men and women. Gender equality fails to accommodate for these differences.
As exemplified in the case of paternity and maternity leave in the workplace,
both men and women can be entitled to equal leave time of five days. The
situation described is equal yet still unfair. Merely providing equal treatment
does not accommodate the considerable differences of both sexes which may
affect the result of equal treatment. In
contrast, gender equity fills in the gaps that gender equality leaves open.
Gender equity considers the distinctions between men and
women and provides a means to benefit from equality. Equity implies fairness in
the treatment of the two genders; it is a normative term that better
encompasses the nuances of what is necessary to level the playing field for all
(Grown and Valodia 8). Gender equity does not presume a hypothetical ideal but
instead compensates for women’s historical and social disadvantages so they can
benefit from the opportunities provided. To realize true equality to the utmost
degree, laws and policies, beyond stipulating equality, need to dissolve the
institutionalized lower status of women and to address the handicaps that limit
women as second class citizens. While
gender equality is essential, it is not sufficient to help women overcome
sex-based discrimination and prejudice. Gender equality leads to gender equity.
The former presents access to the full range of political, economic, civil,
social and cultural rights but it is gender equity that empowers women to use
these rights to fulfill their greatest potential. If there is political and
community commitment then cultural, traditional and religious attitudes are
amenable to change thus enabling women to rise to the levels of men and perhaps
even further. When a people are determined to improve the state of women’s
rights, they in turn increase the welfare of their country as a whole.
Regardless of its status as an impoverished developing
country, Rwanda
has made tremendous advancements to improve its gender equality through greater
access to political representation, healthcare, and education. The burgeoning
movement to improve gender equality reappeared back on Rwanda’s political
agenda when “…NGOs and women at the grass-roots level... met with
representatives of the Ministry of Gender and Women in Development and the
Forum of Women Parliamentarians to…[recommend] specifications to make the
constitution gender-sensitive and increase women’s representation in
government” (Ballington 158). The collaboration between community members and
officials with the resolve to better the wellbeing of their country enhanced
gender equality and human development.
From a proletariat effort grew the successful implementation of gender
responsive legislation. In 2003, parliament ratified the constitution: stating
a commitment to ensuring equal rights between Rwandans and between women and
men without prejudice to the principles of gender equality and instating a
progressive gender quota that calls for at least 30 percent of the positions in
parliament to be occupied by women (Olonisakin and Ikpe 110). Before, Rwandan
women were fully enfranchised and awarded the right to run for election—thus
granting gender equality in the context of having political power and
representation. However, this ideal of
equality by simply adding women’s rights proved to be inadequate and
ineffectual. The government and people of Rwanda acknowledged and corrected
this flaw by reserving 24 seats in parliament in women-only elections, that is,
only women can stand for election and only women can vote. Rwanda has
reached gender equity in parliamentary representation because of the additional
measures that counteract women specific obstacles. Today Rwandan women have the
highest representation in parliament in the world, gaining an additional 15
seats in openly competed elections and now occupying a total of 56.3 percent of
the seats (Ballington 158). Having women share the political responsibility and
influence is a massive gain towards equity in its most profound sense. Countries
that include and embrace women in decision-making processes rectify power
inequity and overall give its people more autonomy to manage their own lives.
Rwanda has made immense improvements to
combat a type of power inequity that often penetrates even the most personal
realms of a person’s life: self-ownership. Women who do not have control over
their sexual and reproductive life are imprisoned by their own bodies.
Self-ownership is intrinsically linked to realizing women’s highest potential;
unplanned pregnancies, sexual coercion, and transmitted diseases are the most
prevalent obstacles for women in developing countries. As a result, Rwanda has
established sweeping reforms on health and family planning services. In 1981,
the Rwandan government founded the National Office of Population which
integrated family planning services into all of the health-care facilities
which included offering“… contraceptive supply systems [and the] training [of]
health workers for family planning provision”(Angwafo and Chuhan-Pole 461).
Over time these services have created real change: from 1992 to 2007, the
contraceptive prevalence rates rose 20% while maternal and infant mortality
rates plummeted 22% (Angwafo and Chuhan-Pole 456). When political commitment
and action exists, legislation can bring noticeable improvements in all that
gender equity embodies (human health, rights and happiness). This approach
connects gender equity with freedom from sexual discrimination, satisfaction
from a safe sex life, and unbarred access to information and services related
to reproduction. Such rights are vitally necessary to nurture sustainable
development for women and nations alike because only healthy and safe
individuals can develop their ambitions, talents and interests to the fullest
extent. The future of a nation is inextricably linked to the fate of girls.
Rwanda continues to strive to provide the
opportunity of a brighter future for women and the nation through the gateway
of education. Education instills knowledge which, in turn, is power in areas of
social construct, politics and economics. Aware of this fact, the new Rwandan
constitution stipulates that state primary schools are free, with no one being
denied access, or deprived of them, because of their sex (Booth and Briggs 28). Girls must have the prospect of gaining the
same skill set and knowledge base as their counterparts to be considered as
equals. The government also set in place
additional mechanisms to further support gender equity like “…public sanctions
against parents who fail to send their children to school, social integration,
non-discriminatory guidance for career selection, access for girls to
nontraditional subjects, and scholarships” to lead to the equal enrollment of
girls and boys in primary school that Rwanda now boasts (Booth and Briggs
28). Policies that address the
systematic barriers to achieving equality prove to be effective. Overall, it is
access to education that is vital to the attainment of gender equity.
Unfortunately, there is no culture or country that is destitute of inequality.
Niger, a country in dire need of
development, can greatly benefit from the measures applied in Rwanda; the aforementioned steps in political
representation, family planning and education can aid Niger it in its
path to attain gender equality. In the case of government representation, women
run organizations should reach out to community leaders and elected officials
to voice their concerns, interests and suggestions regarding the legitimization
of women’s rights in the constitution. Currently in Niger, women only hold 12% of seats
in parliament—a far cry from equal representation (Skaine 128). Instating a
specific gender quota regarding the composition of parliament would enable
women to make decisions and take actions to achieve and maintain the welfare of
the environment in which they live in. Mobilization of campaigns encouraging
all to support the adoption of the gender sensitive legislation will bring the
strive for gender equity to light. Similar campaigns can be applied to
establish legislation for women to achieve and maintain their own reproductive
health, sexual health, and academic ventures. Through the process of advocacy,
coalition building, and message management, issues such as shortages of family
planning services and primary and secondary schools can be brought to the
attention of Niger’s
public and parliament. For Niger,
there is nowhere to go but up regarding self-ownership and access to education.
Nationally available family planning services and information, like in Rwanda, has the ability to produce meaningful
change by protecting the women of Niger from unsafe abortions,
reproductive related deaths, and sexual abuse. Free and unbiased access to
primary education empowers girls; it empowers girls to learn, work and reach
their full potential. The common ground for change to occur in Niger is for
women to voice their concerns, be heard by their government, and collaboration
between the two for gender equity.
Gender equity is coveted by developing countries to not
only to increase human development but also economic growth. The admittance of
one half of the world’s population to the halls of classrooms, the workplace
and industry will ensure economic growth that will endure. Gender equity allows
us to tap into all of society’s human capital—its pool of talents, knowledge,
personal attributes, and skills represented in the capability to perform labor
so as to yield economic value. Thus “…in many studies focusing on human
capital, the result is that the level of human capital affects the growth of
GDP”, that is, there is a strong positive correlation between the rise of human
capital and economic performance (Leeuwen 171). Specifically, studies in Indonesia and India evidence that “…[human
capital and productivity] growth in the first half of the twentieth century
[explain] about 56% of GDP growth” (Leeuwen 78). On a macro level, there is a
long run relation between the level of GDP and human capital due to the
accumulation of changes on the micro level. The human capital theory states
that investments in people, such as education and on-the-job training, increase
their competence in the labor market and thus generates a higher income for
households: producing direct prosperity for individual families and ultimately
prosperity for the global society. However, the increase of human capital and
economic growth only ensues with the attainment of gender equity. The evident
patterns of women’s inferior access to resources and opportunities causes the
great gender gaps and overall the low economic growth in many countries.
However, due to women’s lower status, investment in women will yield greater
results. It is because women tend to be less educated, and because marginal
returns on education decline, women’s marginal returns will be higher. So on aggregate, there should be more social
and economic gain from women’s education and development than men’s (Schultz
85). As shown, investment in particularly women is ‘smart’ economics. It is
gender equity—women’s full inclusion in government, healthcare and
education—that permits investment in human capital and without it, potential is
lost to the global economy and society as a whole.
As more than a marker for human development, gender equity
plays a role in economic prosperity, especially in settings with great gender
differentials and in the time of economic decline. As discussed, it is possible
to examine the steps made towards gender equality then gender equity in order
to once again apply them in aim to advance the global economy. It is clear that
the price of women’s discrimination is not just women’s discrimination—it is
inept governance, higher rates of poverty, poor health, institutionalized
inequity and much more. The problems that encumber women, encumber the world.
Now let us hear the voice of that world, let us learn from that voice and let
us ignore it no more.
Works Cited
Ballington J. 2006. Women in Parliament: Beyond Numbers. Sacramento: International
IDEA.
Booth J. and Philip Briggs. 2010. Rwanda. London: Bradt Travel
Guides.
Chuhan-Pole P. and Manka Angwafo. 2011.Yes Africa Can: Success Stories from a Dynamic Continent. London: World Bank
Publications.
Dodhia D., Johnson T., and Commonwealth Secretariat. 2005.
Mainstreaming Gender in Debt and Development Resource Management: a Handbook
for Debt Practitioners and Gender Advocates. London: Commonwealth Secretariat.
Grown C. and Imraan Valodia. 2010. Taxation and Gender
Equity: a Comparative Analysis of Direct and Indirect Taxes in Developing and
Developed Countries. Ontario:
IDRC.
Leeuwen B. 2007. Human Capital and Economic Growth in India, Indonesia,
and Japan:
a Quantitative Analysis, 1890-2000. Oisterwijk: Box Press Shop.
Olonisakin F. and Eka Ikpe. 2010. Women, Peace and
Security: Translating Policy into Practice. London: Taylor & Francis.
Schultz P. 2004.
Evidence of Returns to Schooling in Africa
from Household Surveys: Monitoring and Restructuring the Market for Education. New Haven: Economic Growth Center.
Skaine M. 2008. Women Political Leaders in Africa. Jefferson:
McFarland & Co.
Spierenbury M. and Harry Wels. 2006. Culture, Organization
and Management in South
Africa. New York: Nova Publishers.
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