Leaders of progress

Achieving equality between men and women is more than an end in itself. It is a compulsory prerequisite for liquidating poverty, securing stable progress, and building a civil society. This is precisely why International Women’s Day 2008 was dedicated to the topic “Investing in Women and Girls.”

According to the World Bank, women make up 64 percent of 867 million illiterate adults. Sixty percent of girls between six and eleven do not go to school. As a result, because women in Africa have limited access to education and employment, per capita income is dropping by 0.8 percent a year. Statistics compiled by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) show that this region loses $42-47 billion annually because of female employment restrictions, and another $16-30 billion because of gender inequality in the educational system.

Investing in women and girls pays off many times over in terms of higher efficiency and stable economic growth. Educated women have more business opportunities and participate more actively in public life.

Restricting women’s access to bank loans, land resources, health care, high technology, the gap between men and women in terms of education and employment opportunities, and the marginalization of women in the decision-making process not only affect their own and their family’s lives, but also have a negative impact on the development of human capital and the scope of women’s employment.

After the latest parliamentary elections, the proportion of women in the Ukrainian parliament reached 8.2 percent. The number of women representing the interests of their electorates on village and district (raion) councils constitutes some 40 percent, compared to less than 10 percent on regional (oblast) councils. In addition, men occupy 92 percent of all administrative posts.

Women perform two-thirds of the total number of working hours in the world, yet they earn only one-tenth of the world’s income and own only one percent of property. In Ukraine, women are also paid less for their jobs than men: they earn 68.6 percent of a man’s average salary.

Women are the leaders of the movement for the eradication of poverty, yet they are inadequately involved in this process, especially in such fields as trade, infrastructure, and funding. This is often caused by gender stereotypes, lack of opportunities, and institutional and legal restrictions that discriminate against women’s rights.

In Ukraine, stereotypes foster the overall misconception of the gender problem. A recent poll shows that every second Ukrainian (50 percent) confirms the existence of gender inequality, whereas 62 percent of the respondents are absolutely sure that women’s rights are being restricted. For example, it is believed that women have a hard time obtaining managerial posts (47 percent); a mere two percent of Ukrainians believe that men have the same problem.

An analysis of the international situation shows that most women have lower-paid jobs and a lower social status. They have to work part- time or under employment contracts that limit their possibility of fully enjoying the social protection system. While doing the same kinds of jobs, women are paid 20 to 30 percent less than men.

According to the statistics of the OECD Development Assistance Committee, in order to resolve this situation, in the 2005-06 period $8.5 billion out of $26 billion in international technological assistance was allocated to develop sectors and fields of endeavor that concretely encourage gender equality. To ensure that these efforts are effective, it is also necessary to carry out an analysis of state budgets with an eye to the gender aspect. This does not mean setting up a separate budget for women or targeting it only at increasing appropriations for women’s programs. On the contrary, this kind of analysis will help governments determine the amount of funds required for reaching priority tasks and the redistribution of resources in order to fulfill their obligations to secure gender equality and make headway in resolving women’s problems.

Over the past decade more than 50 countries, including Australia, Bolivia, Egypt, Mexico, Nepal, Senegal, Spain, and Tanzania, have supported initiatives to revise their budgets with an eye to the gender aspect.

Will Ukraine be able soon to join this league of champion countries that are realistically fighting for equal rights for men and women?

Francis Martin O’DONNELL, resident coordinator of the UN system in Ukraine.