MIDDLE EAST: Gender equality Facilitates Development, Productivity

The relationship between gender equality and economic advancement is continuing to strengthen, and can greatly affect the productivity of companies and countries alike. The issue was raised yesterday at the World Bank's press conference in anticipation of the release of its World Development Report on Gender and Equality and Development. The report, which will be formally released on Monday, was discussed via video conference and linked Washington with Kuwait, Beirut, Cairo, Gaza and the West Bank.

It's an important issue because gender equality is smart economically with regard to raising productivity," said Sudhir Shetty, Co-Director of the team preparing the report. Evidence from the report showed that removing barriers restricting women from certain sectors increased output in them by 28 percent. While economic development can be encouraged by greater equality, equality cannot be brought about by economic development alone, Shetty added. The report covers issues affecting equality and development globally, including excess mortality of girls and women, unequal access to economic opportunities, differences in voice between the genders and disparities in girls' educational opportunities. It found that despite increased wealth in many countries, some gender gaps still persist both within the MENA region and globally.

Key issues in the MENA region include unequal access to economic opportunities between women and men, and disparities concerning 'differences in voice' between the genders, said Shetty. He added that female labor force participation rates are only 26 percent, half of the global average, in the MENA region. The unemployment among young women in the region is also very high. Furthermore, disparities concerning 'differences in voice' between the genders were found, with regard to both home life and within greater society. This affected their influence both within their households but also in terms of social and political influence and participation. Allowing women more voice will encourage more representative political institutions, he added. The proportion of women on the boards of large firms in the MENA region reflects this further, with rates at just 10 percent. The issue of excess deaths of girls and women was less applicable to the MENA region except in Yemen and Djibouti.

The main message is that these patterns matter," said Shetty, adding that equality is, in itself, a goal of development. That's not to say that all findings were negative, as Shetty, added, "One of our main findings is that many disadvantages that girls and women have been facing have diminished in the developed world. The most apparent changes have been an increase in enrolment in education and a reduction in the number of children women are having. With regard to the MENA region, the rate of female enrolment in education has sped past the rate of male enrolment, with more women currently enrolled in universities in the region, Shetty added. This is a vital part of improving opportunity and equality for women which has, fortunately, received considerable attention and action in recent years. According to Shetty, the increase in female school enrolment in Morocco took 11 years to reach its current level, whereas the same changes took 40 years in the US. With regard to fertility, findings indicate that rates have greatly reduced, "The average number of children in a family in Iran was 7 in 1979, now it's less than 2,"said Shetty.

However, the report raised questions of the consequences of crossing the cultural boundaries that see women more disempowered. Shetty pointed out that the welfare of children is often increased when mothers have more control over resources within the home. He added, "We don't want to be misunderstood; of course culture is important, which is why we paid so much attention to social norms. The solution lies in governmental initiative, he said. The key question he put forward, however, was, "How do we design collective measures?" This is an especially complex process because the problems are entrenched and facilitate the disadvantages women have through both formal legal issues and family codes which can, Shetti adds, see women having to acquire permission from male relatives before commencing work. In Morocco and Tunisia, family codes have already been reformed and allowed women more freedom to access work opportunities. Jordan's New Opportunities for Women (NOW) organization, which offers skills training and subsidies for young women, has also been a great success and resulted in an increase in female employment. Shetty stressed that, in terms of the MENA region, the issue of inequality in access to work between the genders is an issue that policy needs to focus on. The report focuses on areas in which international communities can work with national policy makers to make things happen, he added. There will also be a companion report focusing specifically on the MENA region, said Tara Vishwanath, a lead economist in the MENA region who is currently heading the poverty and gender teams in the region. She will be travelling to the region to continue the report.