25 January 2005 1

Addressing Gender Inequality:an International prospective

Pierella Paci Regional Gender Coordinator

Europe and Central Asia RegionThe World Bank

25 January 2005 2

Outline

• What is gender?

• Why governments should be concerned with gender equality?

• Gender inequality exists everywhere

• And the transition countries of ECA are not an exception

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What is gender?• Refers to the socially & culturally defined roles of

males and females – what males and females are supposed to do

• Contrasted with sex, which refers to the biological differences between males and females

• Gender equality is the extent to which females and males have different rights, resources and power– Male privilege and prerogatives dominate, but there are

cases in which females are better off than males, also gender problems involving males that arise from gender roles (e.g., violence)

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Why should governments be concerned about gender?

1. Gender inequality reduces economic growth, amperes poverty reduction – important objectives of many governments – and is associated with worse governance

2. Gender inequality exists throughout the world, that is, it remains a problem

3. This is despite many countries having made commitments to promote gender equality that remain unfulfilled

4. And despite the evidence that good good policiespolicies can make a difference

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1. Gender equality helps to:

increase economic growth

lower poverty & improve the quality of life

improve governance (maybe)

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Links between gender equality and economic growth

Lower population growth, more efficient replacement

Gender Increased labor Economic equality productivity growth

More efficient allocation of resources

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Links with productivity/efficient allocation of resources in the current generation

Unequal allocation of resources based on gender lowers productivity and efficiency

Example: gender equality in farm inputs could increase output by 4 to 20 percent

Women’s use of productive resources is as efficient or more efficient than men’s

Ex: micro-credit to women has been shown to have twice the impact on household income as micro-credit to men

More equal capacity leads to higher economic growth (see next slide)

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Links with the productivity of the next generation

Women invest their incomes in their children, men in themselves

Ex: In Brazil, income in the hands of mothers has four times the positive impact on children’s nutrition (height-for-age) as income in the hands of fathers.

Better educated mothers invest more heavily in their children’s learning

Ex: In India, children of literate mothers spend two more hours a day studying than children of illiterate mothers.

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(Additional) links with poverty

• Job discrimination and/or cultural or legal barriers to better paid forms of work put women at risk of poverty

• Within households, unequal access to resources may result in greater female than male poverty

• Violence against women is pervasive, dangerous and costly

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Countries with more equal participation and rights are less corrupt

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

4.0 4.5 5.0 5.5 6.0 6.5 7.0Index of women's economic and social rights

Cor

rupt

ion

Inde

x

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2. Inequality remains pervasive

• Gender disparities are found in all regions and countries

• Are especially large in:

– Low income countries– Low income households

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Gender gaps in education are often largest in low-income countries

Male/Female Enrollment Ratios, 6-14 years old

Morocco

Pakistan

India

Tanzania

Kazakstan

Brazil

Indonesia

EgyptTurkey

0.0

0.5

1.0

1.5

2.0

2.5

3.0

0 2 4 6 8 10

Selected Developing Countries

Rich Poor

Source: Filmer (1999)

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Time poverty:Women work longer hours than men

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

CAR Coted'Ivoire

Tanzania Botswana Zambia Kenya Nigeria BurkinaFaso

Uganda

Women

Men

Hours of Work per Day, by Gender, in Selected African Countries

Source: Various, cited in Blackden and Bhanu (1999)

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Inequality in legal, social and economic rights exists in all regions

1

2

3

4

East Asia EasternEurope andCentral Asia

LatinAmericaand the

Carribean

MiddleEast/North

Africa

South Asia Sub-SaharanAfrica

OECD

Inde

x of

gen

der e

qual

ity (1

-4)

High Equality

Low Equality

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Women are under-represented in parliaments

0

5

10

15

20

25

Wo

men

's s

har

e o

f p

arli

amen

tary

sea

ts,

1995

(p

erce

nt)

East Asia/ Pacific

Europe/ Central Asia

Latin America/

Caribbean

Middle East/ North Africa

South Asia

Sub-Saharan Africa

OECD

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Gender violence exists around the world(% of women who have experienced violence)

14

22 21

29

5

30

97 8 8 10

2

12

0

10

20

30

40

50

Moldova Russia Ukraine Romania Georgia Ecuador Paraguay

Lifetime Past 12 Months

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Women earn less than men – even when they have similar education and work experience

What women earn for

every $1 men earn:

Developed countries 0.77 •

Developing countries 0.73

Adam Smith (1763): A woman shall be paid three quarters of a man’s wage.

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3. Countries’ commitments

• Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1979

• Fourth World Conference on Women Platform for Action, 1995 (Beijing)

• Millennium Development Goals, 2000– Goal 3: Promote gender equality & empower

women

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4. Well designed public policies can make a difference

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Pension income for Chilean workers with incomplete primary education

(female/male ratio in parenthesis)

(0.89)

(0.43)

(0.35)

(0.29)

(0.60)

0 20 40 60 80 100 120

Female own pension (retire age 60)

Female own pension adjusted by MPG

Female own pension (retire age 65)

Female own or survivor's pension

Female own+survivor's pension

Male own pension

Pesos (thousands)

Gender equality in pension benefits

25 January 2005 21

Ecuador Judicial Reform Project

• Established legal service centers for poor women

• Result: Child support cases settled in 3-8 weeks rather than in 1-3 years

25 January 2005 22

5. Example of best practice interventions in the labor

market

25 January 2005 23

EU LEGAL FRAMEWORK

PRIMARY LEGISLATIONPRIMARY LEGISLATION• Treaty of Rome, 1957

– Principle of Equal Pay• Treaty of Amsterdam, 1997

– Eliminating Gender Inequality

SECONDARY LEGISLATION SECONDARY LEGISLATION • establishing principle of equal treatment as regards:

– access to employment;– vocational training and promotion;– working conditions; and– matters of social security.

25 January 2005 24

Directive 76/207/EEC, 1976 Equal Access to Employment, Vocational

Training and Promotion, and Working Conditions:

• abolishment of all discriminatory provisions in laws, regulations, administrative procedures, collective agreements, individual contracts etc.;• application of the principle of equal treatment with regards to vocational training, and working conditions;• elimination of discrimination on grounds of sex either directly or indirectly, in particular by reference to marital and family status.

25 January 2005 25

Employment rates - male and female2002

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90 Women

Men

Source: Eurostat, Jan 2004

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Share of Skilled Women and Men in Employment, 2002 (in%)

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

EU-15 NMS

Source: Eurostat, 2004

men

women

25 January 2005 27

Vertical Segregation - Share of employees in managerial occupation, by

sex, 2002

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

EU-15 NMS-10

Source: Eurostat, 2004

%

female

male

25 January 2005 28

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Directive 92/85/EC, 1992 –

Maternity Protection• an assessment of specific safety risks at work;

• prohibition of dismissal from the beginning of pregnancy until the end of maternity leave;

• ensuring employment rights plus pay and respective allowances during maternity leave;

• shifting the burden of proof.

25 January 2005 30

Directive 96/34/EC, 1996

Framework Agreement on Parental Leave

• granting male and female workers an individual right to parental leave;• enabling parents to take care of their child for at least 3 months until a given age up to eight years;• granting the leave on a non-transferable basis;• protecting workers against dismissal on the grounds of taking a parental leave;• ensuring the right to return to the same job under the same conditions.

25 January 2005 31

Share of employees with children aged 0-5 (2002, in %)

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

18

EU-15 ACC

Source: Eurostat, 2004

female

male

25 January 2005 32

Maternity/Parental Leave Arrangements Traps for Women's Employment?

•Extended leaves;

•Wage effect;

•Career;

•Institutional structure.

Protective measures raise the cost of hiring women.

Ignoring the negative effect of protective standards may prove harmful for women, particularly in countries experiencing structural reforms/transformation.

25 January 2005 33

Directive 97/81/EC, 1997

Non-discrimination against part-time workers

• clear definition;

• non-discrimination of part-time workers with respect to employment conditions;

• facilitation of access to part-time work at all levels of the enterprise, including skilled and managerial positions...

25 January 2005 34

Share of part-time employees, 2002 (in%)

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

EU-15 ACC

male

female

25 January 2005 35

25 January 2005 36

Re-organization of working time Flexibility - A new form of precariousness?

• Implications of “flexible” working arrangements?

• Experiences of such working arrangements in other countries?

• In what circumstances could flexibility and equal opportunities serve/reinforce each other?

• All possible effects should be borne in mind.

25 January 2005 37

25 January 2005 38

Directive 97/80/EC, 1997

Burden of Proof in cases of Discrimination based on sex

• clear definition(s) of direct/indirect discrimination;

• application to all civil and administrative procedures;

• introducing rule of evidence, burden of proof…

New standard - major shift in legal theory and practice! Very difficult adoption and

implementation - classic rule of evidence...

25 January 2005 39

Key Elements of Policy Relevance• Importance of differences in m/f labor market participation and career structures;• Differences in m/f wage structures and gender(ed) effects of pay and promotion policies;• horizontal segregation in general and concentration of women in low paying sectors and occupations..

25 January 2005 40

CHALLENGES OF EU ACCESSION• Overlapping of two significant, continuing processes - transition and accession;

• level of economic, social and political reforms prior to entry into EU;

• different phases of accession to EU;

• creation of many losers in domestic politics;

• paid employment as primary axis of social change...

25 January 2005 41

LABOUR MRKT. OPPORTUNITIES

WELFARE SYSTEM

LABOUR MARKETSTRUCTURE

INTERNATIONAL CONTEXT

POLITICAL and ECONOMIC CONTEXT

TRADITION, SOCIAL/SOCIETAL CONTEXT

LABOUR MRKT.

OPPORTUNITIES

25 January 2005 42

CHALLENGES OF THE EU ACCESSION

• No explicit legal provisions prior to the process of accession;

• No mechanisms on equal treatment (quasi quotas);

• Low legal culture and weak institutional infrastructure;

• Focusing on legal harmonization;

• Lack on information and case laws;

• Implementation deficit - weakness.

25 January 2005 43

CHALLENGES OF EU ACCESSIONPolicy Performance - Slovenian case

• Act on Parental Care and Family Incomes (2001) - not translated - introducing non-transferable PATERNAL LEAVE

•Labor Relations Act (2002)

•Equal Opportunities for Women and Men (2002)

25 January 2005 44

Labor Relations Act• Prohibition on discrimination - Art. 6

• Job advertisements, Art. 25

• Sexual harassment, Art. 45

• Extraordinary cancellation by an employee, Art. 112

• Principle of equal pay, Art. 133

25 January 2005 45

Labour Relations Act - Process/Actors

• Preparation of materials - law experts

• Exchange of legal practices - Phare Programme “Harmonizing Regulations, Employment and Social Reforms

• Foreign Experts (UK and France) - 1996

• ESS - April 1997/proceeding in July

• Ministerial proceedings

• 1997 - 1st Proposal in the Parliament

• 1999 - 1st proceeding in the Parliament

25 January 2005 46

Labor Relations Act - Process/Actors

• 3 rounds of harmonization between social partners;

• change of ministers;

• Sept 2000 - certain unadjusted solutions;

• 2001 - 3rd round of harmonization

• 7 Nov 2001 - Statement on harmonization by ESS

25 January 2005 47

Labor Relations Act - Process/Actors

NO CONTENDING TO THE EQUAL OPP. PROVISIONS, BASED ON EU OR OTHER INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY’S DIRECTIVE/S

25 January 2005 48

Policy Performance

Number of active measures needed:

• clear governmental commitments;

• modification of EU structural indicators and benchmarks to reflect the specific characteristics of CEE labor markets;

• shifting attention to the implementation/enforcement of legislation;

• equality plans creation - inclusion into collective bargaining;

• encouraging employers to facilitate reconciliation

25 January 2005 49

Policy Performance• Government should support NGOs and develop measures for preventing, detecting and eliminating discrimination;

• TUs should monitor the working environment and raise awareness of discriminated-against;

• creating measures for inclusion on non-discriminatory basis; clear HR policies

• continuing monitoring (system creation)

• Companies most friendly to women

25 January 2005 50

Policy Performance• Long-lasting and complex nature of shift from the principle of equal rights to the principle of eq. opportunities/treatment;

• active and intense resolution by all actors in society;

• EU as an important international reference frame and impulse;

• proper legislation - incl. wider policy environment, state of labor markets, national trends and case laws into consideration

25 January 2005 51

Policy Performance• Careful and well-prepared analytical approach to legislation procedure;

• inclusion of all actors - TUs, experts, NGOs, employers, government, case laws, exchange of best-practice;

• careful adoption of other countries’ solutions!

• Proper training and media coverage

25 January 2005 52