Gender, Poverty & Employment in Tanzania
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Transcript Gender, Poverty & Employment in Tanzania
Gender, Poverty &
Employment in
Tanzania
Key points from recent analytical studies
Waheeda Shariff (Carpe Diem Ink)
Technical Support from ILO
Inputs from the Gender Macro Policy Working Group
Data available to us…
Availability of data during the first phase
of PRS implementation has increased
substantially
A number of studies have been carried
out in the last 3-4 years that have
informed us on the gender situation
These include (but are not limited to):
The HBS 2000/1, the ILFS 2000/1, the
PHDR 2002 & 2003, and the FHH study
Labor Force Participation
Significant increase in male participation
rates from 73% to 81%
Marginal increase in women in the
workforce from 71% to 73%
Unemployment
During the 1990’s,
unemployment has
increased substantially,
particularly in urban
areas
Women form a much
higher proportion of the
unemployed
Unemployment is
especially high amongst
young people
PHDR 1990/1 2000/1
2002
Urban
DSM
22%
26%
Urban
other
6%
10%
Rural
2%
2%
Female Employment by
Industry (SIDA and ILFS)
Industry
1993
2000/1
Mining
4%
47.3%
Electricity
19.9%
85%
Construction
5.4%
22%
Trade
41.7%
48.9%
Transport
8.7%
66%
Finance
25.7%
17%
Services
30%
46.7%
Female Economic Activity
HBS
2000/1
Urban
1990/1
Urban
2000/1
Rural
1990/1
Rural
2000/1
Agricultur
e
47%
28%
87%
74%
Other
2.4%
6%
0.5%
1%
Unpaid
helper
5.5%
15.1%
6%
8.7%
SE with
12%
employees
2.8%
1%
0.7%
Self
employed
13%
0.2%
2.2%
0.1%
Earning Capacity
Women form 66% of unpaid family
helpers
They are 2/3 of those engaged in
household duties
They are less likely than men to be selfemployees (with or without employees)
Women earn less than men in spite of
similar education levels
Employment & Poverty
Households with formal sector incomes
tend to be less poor
Households engaged in agriculture tend
to be more poor (70% of HH heads are
engaged in agriculture)
Households whose heads have some
formal education tend to be less poor
Employment & Poverty (cnt)
Women engaged in agriculture in rural areas
are amongst the poorest
There is a significant shift to self-employment
and very small trading activities by women
Women are over-represented in low skill, low
pay jobs, particularly in agriculture and
elementary occupations
Women form ¾ of those too old to work and 2/3
of those too sick to work
Employment & Poverty (cnt)
Patterns of occupational distribution
between genders is partly due to:
culturally determined sexual division of
labor
Education levels & access
Lack of opportunity for women
Lack of representation in decisionmaking bodies
Education
41% of rural women are illiterate,
compared to 23.9% of rural men
The percentage of women with no
education has declined marginally
Enrollment (for both men and women) in
adult literacy classes has dropped
significantly
Education (cnt)
Primary school enrollment for boys and girls
has equalized, but
Girls performance rates are significantly lower
than boys (21.4% for girls, 36.2% for boys)
Girls are less likely to remain in school after the
age of 13
Girls have lower performance in science
subjects and do not pursue careers in these
fields
Education (cnt)
School environments support gender
stereotypes in subject choices for girls
School facilities are lacking in terms of distance
and facilities (particularly for girls)
At tertiary level, only 6% of students in
technical/vocational training institutions are
women
Women comprise lower enrollments at
universities
Education (cnt)
At tertiary level, higher proportions of
women receive training in humanities,
arts and education
They also form a higher proportion of
those who receive training but are
unemployed
Low numbers of women receive training
in finance, engineering, etc
Health
There is a significant decrease in
numbers of births attended by trained
professionals (8% decline)
Female HIV/AIDS incidence has risen
from 5.9% to 13.3%
The greatest increase in HIV/AIDS
prevalence is with young women
Health (cnt)
Children in rural areas are twice as likely to be
stunted (a sign of chronic under-nutrition)
This is mainly sue to inappropriate feeding
practices, low rates of breastfeeding and low
frequency of breastfeeding
The gendered division of labor at household
level and patriarchal allocation of household
resources contribute to this
Health (cnt)
Teenage pregnancies increase from the
age of 15
Girls enrollment at secondary level fall
quickly in relation to child-bearing
frequency
Only 19% of births to uneducated
mothers are attended by trained
professionals (compared to 80% for
educated women)
Female Headed Households
The proportion of FHH has increased
from 17.6% to 22.9%
FHH are common in urban areas
FHH are no more poor than MHH, but
are more vulnerable to poverty
They have less land, less formal
education, higher dependency ratios,
less experience with credit, and rely on
casual labor
Laws and legislation
Tanzania is a patriarchal society where
men dominate in politics and the
economy
Customary law still prevails, especially in
rural areas
Women’s access to productive resources
is limited
Laws & legislation (cnt)
Employment laws do not provide
adequate safeguards for women
employees
Some employment laws are not gender
sensitive in language
There is no provision for women to be
represented in decision-making bodies
(e.g. education boards, labor tribunals,
trade unions)
Politics and Access to
Information
Women are underrepresented at all
levels of politics
Women generally have less access to
information than men, given literacy
levels
Information on women’s rights,
government policies and laws affecting
them do not reach enough women
So What Do We Do Now?
-
Information
More information must be made
available to women, especially in rural
areas
This is being done by civil society to a
certain extent
What is required are mass information
campaigns on basic rights (health,
education, land, inheritance)
Information (cnt)
Information must be provided in
appropriate language and format in order
to reach the target audience
All media channels should be used,
especially radio, which has the widest
outreach
Information should not be targeted at
women only, as men also need to
understand the issues and impacts
Information (cnt)
Working relationships between
government and development partners,
civil society and the media should be
implemented to reach mass audiences
Partnerships with the private sector have
a lot of potential and should also be
utilized to maximize this
Employment Opportunities
More employment opportunities must be
created for the poor, particularly women
Employment in agriculture should be
enhanced through direct investment
An enabling environment for the informal
sector must also be created
SACCOs and micro-credit must be made
available to women
Health
ARV should be provided to young
women as a priority
Cost-sharing for basic health services
should be suspended until an effective
system can be put in place that does not
disadvantage the poor
Education
Learning needs of young women should
be addressed in gender-biased
curriculums
School committees should be geared up
to deal with gender issues
Secondary schools for girls should be
increased, and proper facilities be put in
place to cater for girls as a priority
Education (cnt)
The focus of education needs to shift
from quantity to quality in order to
address performance issues
Programs need to be put on place that
capture girls who have dropped
out/missed school
Laws, legislation & politics
The effects of the new Land Act need to
be closely monitored
Trade unions should be supported to
review employment practices for gender
bias
Women’s representation on decisionmaking bodies should be increased in
order to represent their concerns (at both
national and local levels)