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)