Improving Gender Inequities through Development

By Ronda Bernstein on 04/29/2011 @ 11:00 AM

The Elliott School of International Affairs at George Washington University held a roundtable discussion and lecture on which investments to developing countries work to improve the lives of women and girls. The panel, which was moderated by the director of the Global Gender Initiative, included speakers from the World Bank, Fonkoze USA, USAID, Plan International USA and the International Council for Research on Women. The purpose was to identify investments that have known success so that investors know where they should direct their money and NGOs know what to push for.

Several items were identified as having huge benefits on the lives of women and girls. However, as it was pointed out, nothing exists in a vacuum and other improvements are also needed in tandem for long-term success. The top items mentioned were job creation, infrastructure improvements, education, changes in asset ownership and family planning. The panel and their stories showed how intertwined all of these items are.

One of the most popular topics, job creation, is typically centered around helping women create their own businesses. However, we were reminded that not all women are destined to be entrepreneurs and those women also need jobs to support their families. To that end, when the World Bank constructed a new market in Bangladesh, they included mandates requested by women's organizations. These included requiring that at least thirty-percent of the jobs at the market will be for women at the same pay rate as men and that these women are hired from a local labor society so that their rights are protected. This applies at the management level as well. It was also required that a certain number of market spaces be set aside for women to sell their wares.

Infrastructure is directly tied to women, their quality of life and that of their children, particularly roads, transportation, water and sanitation. Using the market in Bangladesh as an example, if women do not have transportation, they cannot get to the market so it doesn't matter how many jobs or market stalls are available to them. Private transportation in these regions tends to be dominated by men. Therefore, more investment is needed in public transportation. But, women need to feel safe using this transportation so the engineers and planners need to have women in mind when creating the systems.

Education of girls has long been identified as a key to improving the lives of girls. Plan International USA told the story of an eleven-year old girl who was attending a school they opened in Haiti. She was the first in her family to go to school and the first to read and write. Now she wants to be a doctor. In her essay to attend a program in Washington, she stated that she hoped the school would never close so that other girls are not left out because without it, the closest school was a four-hour walk away. But, as Plan International USA points out, just by building the school does not mean the girls will be allowed to attend. As with many other issues, a mindset change is needed in the community. Whether it's to know the value of educating girls or understanding why child marriage is wrong, organizations must get community "buy-in" as part of the programs.

USAID explained that asset ownership is important so that women have a way to provide for themselves and their children if something happens to their marriage. It also prevents women from being trapped in abusive relationships. Women need land for farming and for raising animals. If they have title to the land, they can use it for collateral for loans. In some countries, ownership is not based on legal title but perceived ownership and rights. The legal system also has to be willing to support a woman's claim to title in case of disputes.

With the advent of family planning in many of these countries, women are now able to control the number of children they are having which lowers the child mortality rate and the likelihood of death from childbirth. In 1970, only 10% of women had access to family planning and the average household had 6-7 children. Now that 66% of the women in developing countries have access, the number of children has decreased to 2-3. Access to family planning also relates to condom use and the decrease in the spread of HIV/AIDS. Unfortunately these numbers are clustered in a few countries and more needs to be done to be sure women can get family planning that want it. Related to this decrease in children, however, is a need to change the disappointment of having a girl baby which is done, again, by educating these countries in the value of a girl.

So while investing in any of these areas will be successful in its own right, making strides in all areas is vital for overall and long-term improvement in the lives of women and girls in developing countries.

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