Transcript Gender Equity: An Important Stake for Socio –Economic

Gender Equity : An Important
Stake for Socio –Economic
Development in National/
International Scenario
This theme is illustrated under
nine sub –heading/segments
Brief Review
 General perception
 Working women’s rights and Gender equality
 Application of ILO conviction in national level
 Gender mainstreaming
 Nepalese experiences and endeavors
 Glimpse of Madhesh
 Globalization
 Concluding notes

Brief Review
Problematic situation of the country needs
determinations, commitments / actions
from concerned stakes
 To ease the present situation deprivations/
discriminations need to be rooted out
 In this context gender equality most
favored & urgent agenda
 It is the foundation for socio –economic
development

General perception





Progress has been achieved, yet women
facing disadvantaged position in every sector
Unawareness to their rights, push women
back in society – pointed out in Beijing
Platform
For national action –responded by ILO
emphasizing to raise awareness
NGOs contributions for gender equity and
women’s empowerment in community
Care should be taken to promote women in
production sector…..for equality
General Perception
Women exceeding 50% of the total
population
 Literacy rate 43% of their population
 Economically active 48.5%
 Among economically active 91% agriculture
 Contribution in GDP not less than 50%

General Perception
Women are delivering their triple role.
 Ownership/ control over assets cut down.
 Self employment and SMEs.
 Women headed households increasing .
 Women are poorest among the poor.

Working women’s rights & their
equality
Discrimination is combination of all forms of
gender based violence – needs to be
addressed
 ILO research - female migrant domestic
workers face high risk at work place
 International agenda for development
demands –equitable socio-economic
development & freedom from poverty
 women are largest disadvantaged group
insisting gender equality on top priority in
international development schemes

Working women’s rights & their
equality





Right based approach demands eliminating all
discriminations
Awareness on Rights and its effectiveness is the
key area for operation
Trade unions play leading roles to safe guard in
right of both sexes for equal remuneration,
opportunities / treatments
Right to form, join trade unions without
discrimination is guaranteed by conventions
Disciplinary measures, interventions against
violence, collective agreements, awareness raising
are methods to combat violence
Application of ILO conviction in
National level
Gender mainstreaming helps to ensure
equal access for men & women
 Emphasis on Govt.’s positive duty to
prevent discrimination/promote equality
 Majority engage in agriculture than other
sectors

Application of ILO conviction in
National level
Women workers occupied mostly in farming
 Women endure unpaid and long hours works
 For protection against adverse condition IL
standards adopted right of association for
rural workers to raise voice
 This can benefit women only when they are
aware

Gender Mainstreaming
Gender mainstreaming identified as global
strategy for gender equality in 4th world
conference 1995
 Gender mainstreaming is not a goal but
means to gender equality
 Gender budgeting is one of the most
effective tool to promote the concept
 In developing economy this strategy brings
into light women’s unpaid works - stake for
development in form of cross cutting tool

Nepalese Experiences & Endevour
Nepal’s transitional phase with enormous
changes fueling peoples aspiration
 But the situation of violence/ political un
stability making the situation worse
 Women/children /deprived struggling
everywhere against discrimination

Nepalese Experiences & Endevour
Human rights /good governance instruments to advocate/promote voice of
concerns
 But not applied appropriately…lacking
strong mechanism
 Gender based discrimination – Rampant in
Nepal affecting all women
 Issue can be addressed by responsible
approaches with women’s participation in
development/ MP3W

Nepalese Experiences / Endeavors
Rights & empowerment complementary to
each other
 Rahat…. launched orientation on capacity
building of female workers on cabin
restaurants in 2006/07
 Sessions - for safe guarding professional
interest.. enabling them to deliver result
oriented outputs

Nepalese Experiences / Endeavor
During the research work for Ph.D. it was
discovered women workers are not only
suppressed, their legal social & economical
rights violated
 Realization professional interest can be
safe guarded to some extent –bringing
informal into formal one

Glimpse of Madhesh
Madhesh emerge with all sectoral
potentialities for development
 Various issues / problems are connected
with the Region
 The Region is featured by deficiency in
peace practice, progress and various
gender based violence

Glimpse of Madhesh



Despite women are upcoming in all
development sectors
Agriculture –prime sector, they are making
differences in SMEs/ self employment, micro
credit etc
Awareness for health, literacy / skill
promotion, security of migrant workers,
poverty reduction need to be launched by
GOs /NGOs
Globalization
Liberalization/ FDI rapid growth of
technology, IT, mobility of capital/ labor –
features – globalization – global village
 Female participation in paid employment –
increased considerably but not led to all
sectors
 Significant rise in women entrepreneurs –
both formal /informal economies

Globalization



Women’s primary responsibility, caring home/
family –important determinants of gender
based inequality –disadvantages in labor
market
Work –life balance –refers productive,
reproductive and community role for women
But the concept is not confined to women
only –it is life long learning for male/female –
sharing between male/ female responsibilities
in family households and work place
Concluding notes
Gender based discrimination –extensive in
Nepal resulting women in low profile
 They lag behind because of disparities –
but some differences came up with their
strong voices in social/ political spheres
…still long way to go

Concluding notes
Madhesh –an important stake from
national perspectives
 Powerful source of revenue but still not
seriously addressed & stepped to its
various agendas / issues
 Its indigenous inhabitants… ignored for
long, currently issues are highlighted.

Concluding note



Local language speaking groups of all
communities need to bring into
mainstreaming
Women of all communities/ parts…. are
important stakes for development….obviously
discrimination is serious threat to go
forward…. which needs to be rooted out –
Should be supplemented by notion of gender
equality enhancing women’s participation in
development
Thank You
Prof. Madhavi Singh Shah Ph.D.
Central Department of Economics,
Tribhuvan University, Nepal