This is business news on al-Raqeeb radio 101.9 FM by Kevin Daromar
According to OECD (or the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, which is an intergovernmental organisation with 38 member countries, founded in 1961 to stimulate economic progress and world trade):
Now let’s go back to defining women’s economic empowerment: first of all, Economic empowerment in general is the capacity of women and men to participate in, contribute to and benefit from growth processes in ways that recognise the value of their contributions, respect their dignity and make it possible to negotiate a fairer distribution of the benefits of growth.
Economic empowerment of women is to increase women’s access to economic resources and opportunities including jobs, financial services, property and other productive assets, skills development and market information.
Women’s economic empowerment is a prerequisite for sustainable development and for achieving the Millennium Development Goals (or MDGs). And economic empowerment is also a right. There is no quick fix: women’s economic empowerment takes sound public policies, a holistic approach and long-term commitment from all development actors. Donors can also increase their investment.
Now what do we do to achieve this:
Investing in women and girls
None of the MDGs will be achieved unless there is greater equality between women and men and increased empowerment of women and girls. It is time to back political promises with the investments and resources needed. Increased investments in four key areas will have catalytic and multiplier effects.
These concrete actions lay out how to accelerate progress towards this MDG:
- Ensure that financial assets are in the hands of women
Women’s economic participation and their ownership and control of productive assets speeds up development, helps overcome poverty, reduces inequalities and improves children’s nutrition, health, and school attendance. Women typically invest a higher proportion of their earnings in their families and communities than men. But they need access to the full range of credit, banking and financial services and facilities essential to more fully develop their assets, their land and their businesses.
- Keep girls in school
With even a few years of primary education, women have better economic prospects, fewer and healthier children, and better chances of sending their own children to school. If girls’ education continues to secondary level, they will be better equipped to make informed choices about their lives.
- Improve reproductive health, access to family planning
Funding for family planning has been declining since the mid-1990s and progress on maternal health has stalled. Today, one girl in seven marries before the age of 15. Almost 10% of girls become mothers by the age of 16, with the highest rates in sub-Saharan Africa and Asia. Pregnancy and childbirth are the biggest causes of death among adolescent girls, and poor girls are three times more likely than better-off girls to give birth during adolescence. The potential benefits of funding for family planning are enormous:
Lower fertility rates reduce poverty.
- Support women’s leadership
Women are agents of change in their families, communities and countries. Increasing the voice and participation of women in politics is essential for advancing issues of importance to women on national agendas, with benefits for both women and men.
Actions that will make the difference:
To achieve the MDGs, it is essential to put women and girls front and centre and move beyond empty promises. It’s time to act − not just talk − to:
- Make public financial management systems work for women.
- Confront and overcome the cultural and social norms that hold back women and girls.
- Put voluntary family planning back on the development agenda.
- Gather evidence about what works.
- Collect and use dender-disaggregated data.
- Accurately track the proportion and coverage of aid focused on achieving gender equality and women’s empowerment.