gender and equality

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Dr. Carolina Matos Lecturer in Sociology City University London E-mail: [email protected] Considering the relationship of citizenship to gender equity

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Page 1: Gender and equality

Dr. Carolina MatosLecturer in SociologyCity University London E-mail: [email protected]

Considering the relationship of citizenship to gender equity

Page 2: Gender and equality

Core issues Gender inequality in the 21st century: facts and figures World Development Report 2012 and Voice and Agency October 2014

(The World Bank) Persistent patterns of inequality and challenges to gender equity Equality and gender: why does it matter? Criticisms to a universal definition of citizenship Defining discrimination The gender and equality debate in the UN UK’s DFID and World Bank positions The role of politics and the state in advancing gender equality UK government and the gender pay gap: what the future holds Seminar questions and conclusions

Page 3: Gender and equality

Gender inequality in the 21st century * According to Womenkind Worldwide, women make up just 17% of

parliamentarians (Unicef, the State of the World’s Children, 2007) Gender-based violence is a problem across the globe. More than 700

million women are subject to physical or sexual violence, with regional rates of such violence ranging from 21% in North America to 43% in South Asia (in Voice and Agency, World Bank 2014)

* At least 1 in 3 women around the world has been beaten, coerced into sex or abused

Gender inequality is a problem for developing and developed countries alike:

* The 2014 PwC’s second Women in Work Index underlined that the UK lags behind most European countries on gender pay equality, occupying the 18th position out of 27 OECD countries for female participation and pay.

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Gender discrimination worldwide: some facts

Facts and figures adapted from Oxfam (Institute of Development Studies):

* Women work 67% of the world’s working hours * Two out of three of the world’s illiterate people are women * Globally women make up just 10% of representatives in national

governments Gender discrimination in social institutions occurs in both developed as

well as developing countries The Atlas of Gender and Development – How Social Norms Affect

Gender Equality in non-OECD countries (2010) provides some differences between regions, with very high gender discrimination as in South Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa and the Middle East, and lower levels in East Asia and Pacific and Latin America.

Page 5: Gender and equality

What do we mean by gender equality?* “Gender refers to the social, behavioural and cultural attributes,

expectations and norms associated with being a woman or man. Gender equality refers to how these aspects determine how women and men relate to each other...”

Equality of opportunities versus equality of outcomes: “Those who defend framing gender equality as equality of opportunity

argue that it allows one to distinguish between inequalities that arise from circumstances beyond the control of individuals and those that stem form differences in preferences and choices…..Those who argue for equality of outcome argue that differences in preferences and attitudes are largely “learned”… – they are the result of culture and environment that lead men and women to internalize social norms and expectations. Persistent differences in power and status between men and women can become internalized in…behaviours…that perpetuate the inequalities.”

* The World Bank – World Development Report 2012

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Voice and Agency* Developing from the previous World Development report, this

document also underlines enormous progress that has occurred in the last two decades

The previous report highlighted how more countries guarantee women and men equal rights under the law, including in property ownership, inheritance and marriage

Gender gaps in primary school have narrowed, and globally, more women attend university than men and now women are living longer than men in every region of the world

The Voice and Agency report aims to focus more on what is seen as a key driver of persistent gaps: limited agency.

“Agency is about the ability to make effective choices and to transform those choices into desired outcomes.” (pg. 12)

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Persistent patterns of gender inequality* Gender disparities have persisted throughout the world, and include: 1) Unequal access to economic opportunities – Women are more likely than

men to work as unpaid family labourers and in the informal sector, also work in smaller firms as entrepreneurs

2) Disparities in girl’s schooling – The lower enrolment for girls in primary and secondary education is a still a problem in Sub-Saharan countries and parts of South Asia.

3) Excess deaths of girls and women – Females are more likely to die in many low and middle-income countries than in the richer countries

4) Differences in voice in households and society – In many countries women have less say over decisions and less control over resources. They also participate less in formal politics and are underrepresented in the upper ranks of all sectors of society, including in business, academic, and governments.

* in World Development Report, 2012

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Voice and Agency* “It’s particularly encouraging to see that progress has been made in

some of the poorest countries in sub Saharan Africa and South Asia where girls enrolment rates compared to boys was lowest 15 years ago. There’s still a lot more to be done in secondary education where girls are still less likely to enrol in school than boys in some regions – for example sub-Saharan Africa and South and West Asia…..There has also been progress on legislation. Seventy five countries have enacted domestic violence legislation since the adoption of CEDAW in 1979…International commitments to gender equality are also increasing The World Bank documents nearly $39bn of gender informed lending in fiscal year 2014 and OECD countries contributed nearly $26bn in aid towards gender equality.”

(Lucia Hanmer, lead economist, Gender Group, World Bank).

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“Women need to be treated as equals”

Paul Healey, Head of Profession Social Development of the UK’s Department of International Development, has argued also over the importance of agency.

“If society does not treat women as equal – they won’t be” (19/09/2014)

Criticisms of the concept in development studies

Page 10: Gender and equality

Challenges to gender equality: understanding progress and barriers

Gender equality matters. Why?: Promotes economic growth Because it enhances productivity and improves development outcomes

for the next generation It can also make institutions more representative of a range of voices

(World Development Report, 2012) Despite being a worldwide problem, gender inequality manifests itself

more persistently in poor societies with strong anti-female bias (Sen, 1999, 194-195).

Sen (1999) sees a correlation between high levels of education for women and employment with the reduction of fertility rates.

I.e. Countries with basic gender inequality – India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, China, Iran, West Asia and North Africa – often have higher female mortality of infants and children (Sen, 1999).

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Equality and democracy: why does it matter?* Historical perspectives: Western concept of citizenship originated in the fifth century BC in Athens,

with the exclusion of women remaining unchallenged until the late 18th century (Einhorn, 2013, 29)

Political equality started to emerge in the 17th century as a challenge to hereditary monarchs

The 19th century saw battles for universal suffrage and against the property qualifications of citizenship

Similarly to the struggles of the African-American civil rights movements in the US in the 1960’s, voting rights were only conceded to women with a lot of reluctance in the first half of the 20th century (Philips, 1999)

Democracies thus are accused of holding a thin promise of political equality and popular participation, but, as many scholars note, no country in the world has managed to live up fully to its ideals (i.e. Blaug and Schwarzmantel, 2000)

* Philips (1999)

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Feminist theory and citizenship Ideas on the “inferiority” of women and their place in society - the

distinction between the private and the public worlds (mind-body) During the 1980s and early 1990s, feminist political theorists criticised

the theorists of citizenship, especially the notion of the “universal citizen”, seen as exclusively male (Einhorn, 2013, 30).

Criticisms to universal definitions of citizenship: According to scholars like Philips (2010) and Young (1990) , the

problem with looking for a core humanity behind all the differences of class, gender and so forth leads to equating equality with sameness, leaving untouched inequalities in power.

Iris Marion Young in Justice and Difference has argued for the need to “acknowledge our differences but also to highlight our similarities as human beings who behave justly to members of all races.” (in Matos, 2012, 147)

Page 13: Gender and equality

Equality and democracy: why does it matter?*

From J. S. Mill to Habermas: Relationship between democracy, equality and social inclusion: The quality of democratic decision-making depends on sustained

conditions of dialogue, deliberation and talk There has also been a rejection of an understanding of political equality

as merely the right to vote Notable, the underrepresentation of women and ethnic minorities

threatens the democratic vitality of democratic decision-making. Thus democratic struggle is above all about expanding the space for

the inclusion of a wider citizen body, avoiding exclusions based on property, gender, race or ethnicity

* Philips (1999) and Matos (2012)

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Women’s rights and the relationship between economic and political equality

Philips (1999, 16) sees an important relationship between political and economic equality

The author views the pursuit of economic equality as having been abandoned, whilst there has been a growth in concerns with political and civil rights and of egalitarianism

Here political equality is understood not only as the right to participate in politics, but includes a deeper notion of equal intrinsic worth; Thus political equality is understood in a broader sense, as encompassing social or cultural equality.

However, it can be argued that the pursuit of wider economic equality has returned to global agenda

Page 15: Gender and equality

The gender and equity debate in the UN: historical perspectives

The United Nations has been instrumental in the recognition of the importance of women’s rights and gender equality globally

Late 1960’s and 1970’s – The UN’s Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) produced two important documents, the Declaration on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (DEDAW, 1967) and the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW, 1979)

Documents set new standards with which to measure progress in how governments engaged with women and gave them a template to follow.

However, a recent report presented by the UN’s Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon in March 2015 underlined that it will take 81 years for full gender parity to be reached in the economy, and 50 for equality in parliamentary representation.

Page 16: Gender and equality

Advancements and frustrations: the UN debates

The executive-director of UN Women, Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, pointed out a disappointing gap between the norms and the implementation of Beijing’s Platform for Action, signed by 189 countries in 1995.

There seems to have been little progress in the elimination of discriminatory laws and the approval of legislation against violence directed to women and girls.

Women are still seen as having the worse jobs, and the gender income gap is seen as being present in all countries throughout the world

I.e. In Brazil, which together with other countries in Latin America has been signalled out by organisations such as the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC – UN 2004) for having advanced equality, a women’s salary in 2013 was 40.5% less than the man’s

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The UN and women’s rights*

The UN inscribed equality between men and women into its founding texts, creating a separate human rights body exclusively for women

After being founded in 1945, the UN advocated that women be given full political suffrage worldwide.

In 1952, the General Assembly adopted the Convention on Political Rights for Women, in order to implement the principle of equality of rights contained in the Charter of the United Nations.

A View from the South - From 1956 to 1963, the new member states admitted to the UN were developing countries. Women who represented the developing countries also struggled against the colonial rule.

Equality for women became transposed into the debates on development. * (Jain, 2005)

Page 18: Gender and equality

Advancing women’s rights and recognition of gender discrimination worldwide*

In 1950, the CSW began working with other agencies to collect data about employed women and to strategize about how to improve work opportunities and create policies that would result in equal pay

The commission’s research over two decades outlined the problems that women around the world faced, mainly inequality and discrimination in education and employment.

In 1967, the UN General Assembly adopted the Declaration on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (DEDAW).

Discrimination was perceived to be based on “difference”, as is the case of religious or ethnic minorities, stigmatized groups or those for reasons of class differentiation are deprived of opportunities for advancement.

Page 19: Gender and equality

Definition of gender discrimination

Discrimination was seen as the key barrier to enhancing women’s status. *(Jain, 2005)

Reeves and Baden (2000, 7), from the Institute of Development Studies, have defined discrimination as being “the systematic, unfavourable treatment of individuals on the basis of their gender, which denies them rights, opportunities or resources.”

Page 20: Gender and equality

Equality versus discrimination Some analysts see equality and non-discrimination as formulations

of the same principle. Achievement of equality thus meant the removal of discriminatory treatment of women vis-à-vis men

As Reeves and Baden (2007) further note, women’s lack of representation and voice in decision making bodies in the community perpetuates discrimination.

The role of the state in advancing gender equality: As Norris (1993) has argued, the role of political parties in advancing

gender equality cannot be ignored. I.e. Feminists who entered the Italian parties, such as the Democratic

Left, were active in forcing the implementation of party initiatives favouring women’s concerns. This happened also with British Labour Party and the German Social Democratic party during the 1980s.

Page 21: Gender and equality

Gender politics and electoral systems: women in politics worldwide (in Norris, 1993; Matos, 2012)

As Lovenduski (in Norris, 1993) argues, during the 1960s and 1970s many second wave feminists were cynical about political institutions. During the 1980s, support for getting more women into politics grew. Feminists started to become active members of political parties.

Paradox: women have started to occupy positions of high office throughout the world (i.e. Hillary Clinton, Angela Merkel, Dilma Rousseff), but discriminatory towards the “ordinary women” persists

Rise of female leadership in Latin America: Panama elected a woman president in 2003, Mireya Moscoso (1999-2004), and soon afterwards Chile and Argentina followed by electing the former president Michelle Bachelet (2006-2010) and Cristina Kirchner (2007), wife of previous president Nestor Kirchner (2003-2007) and Dilma Rousseff.

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Gender politics and electoral systems: women in politics worldwide (in Norris, 1993; Matos, 2012)

Women’s issues were brought to the political agenda, and these have included demands for policies to secure sex equality in employment, equality in childcare, reproductive rights and family policies.

One of their main aims has been to secure changes in attitudes. As the authors note, demands for women’s representation have been successful in Scandinavia.

In Norway, the challenge to attitudes was particularly successful. I.e. At least 40% of the members of every Norwegian government since 1986 have been women.

Progress in the UK - The UK 2015 elections made more women MPs than ever, after 190 women were elected. Over 30% of all MPs are women, up from 23% (there were 148 out of a total of 650).

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The role of the state and political parties in boosting gender equality

In a time when globalization has been seen as reducing the power of nation-states, it is still evident across the world, historically as well as now, that the state and governments have an important role to play here in securing that women can exercise their citizenship rights

Seen as one of the countries in Europe with the lowest female political representation, the UK in the 2015 elections made some significant gains. Compared to 2010, or even 1997, there are now a series of influential women party leaders, i.e. Harriet Harman (Labour Party), Caroline Lucas (Greens) and Nicola Sturgeon (Scottish National Party)

Both Central and Eastern Europe, and Western countries, after the II World War implemented top-down and bottom-up policies, respectively, aimed at achieving gender-equal citizenship rights and integrating women in the marketplace (Einhorn, 2013, 32).

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The countries where gender equality has advanced - Gender equality Index: World Economic Forum

The Global Gender Gap Index 2012 According to the report, out of the 111 countries covered in 2006-2012,

88% have improved in their performance, while 12% have widening gaps.

In some countries, progress is occurring slow, regardless of whether they are starting out near the top or the bottom of the rankings, and independent of their income.

Countries such as Iceland, Bolivia, Switzerland, Saudi Arabia, Lesotho, Yemen and others have made much progress relative to their own situation in 2006

Latin America has also made some progress: surveys have shown that women’s economic participation increased significantly in the 1990s, as did political participation, but women still face higher levels of unemployment than men.

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The Global Gender Gap Index 2012 Iceland 1 Finland 2 Norway 3 Sweden 4 Ireland 5 New Zealand 6 Denmark 7 Phillipines 8 Nicaragua 9 Switzerland 10 Netherlands 11Belgium 12Germany 13

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How to achieve wider gender equality* The need to tackle persistent patterns of inequalities and

discrimination: * Income growth by itself does not deliver greater gender equality by

itself. Where gender gaps have closed, it is because of how markets and have functioned and evolved (i.e. opening new employment opportunities for women)

* Gender gaps persist where girls and women face other disadvantages, such as in poorer countries. These disparities are larger when poverty combines with other forms of exclusion, such as ethnicity and class

* Markets, institutions and households can combine to limit progress. Gender gaps in productivity are driven by deep-seated gender differences in time use, in rights of ownership, etc.

* Globalization can help, connecting women to markets and economic opportunities (* World Development Report 2012 – The World Bank)

Page 27: Gender and equality

UK government and the gender pay gap

Sky News – Pay Women Morehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DUITlP

XFL9Q

Page 28: Gender and equality

Conclusions and questions for thought Women have come a long way since gaining political rights and the

vote, but various forms of discrimination and traditional attitudes persist worldwide

As well as international bodies, the state has (and had) a role in legislating in favour of gender equality

Gender quotas in political parties have helped women advance, but there are limits

Female bosses and a few women in high office does not directly translate either in more opportunities for women in the workplace

Gender equality is not only important for citizenship and social justice, but for economic growth

What are the barriers still for wider gender inequality? How can women change social institutions and attitudes?

Page 29: Gender and equality

Selected bibliography Einhorn, B. (2013) “Citizenship” in Evans, M. et al (eds.) Gender – the key concepts,

London: Routledge Jain, D. (2005) Women, development and the UN – a 60 year quest for equality and

justice, Bloomington: Indiana University Press Lovenduski, J. and Norris, P. (1993) Gender and party politics, London: Sage

Publications Mill, J. S (1997) The Subjection of Women, Dover Publications Philips, A. (1999) Which equalities matter?, London: Polity Press Wollstonecraft, M. (1996) The Vindication of the Rights of Women, Dover Publications Young, I. (1990) Justice and the Politics of Difference, Princeton Press Reports The Atlas of Gender and Development – How Social Norms Affect Gender Equality in

non-OECD countries (2010) The Global Gender Gap Index and World Development Report 2012 – The World Bank Voice and Agency 2014 (World Bank)