It’s (literally) about time: men as part of the solution to closing the care gap

12 December 2018 Development Matters Gender Equality, Gender, SIGI, Women

By Ruti Levtov, PhD, Director of Research, Evaluation, and Learning at Promundo-US

This blog is part of a special series marking the launch of the updated
2019 Social Institutions and Gender Index (SIGI)

Photo: Sarine Arslanian / Shutterstock.com

Two hundred and ten years: That’s how long it will take to close the gender gap in time spent on care if we continue on our current trajectory, according to recent analysis by the International Labour Organization (ILO). In no country in the world do men and women spend an equal amount of time on care responsibilities, an inequality that restricts women’s participation and growth in the labour force, in political leadership and in other public spheres. It also limits the space for men to express their full humanity as nurturers, caregivers and equal partners at home. To achieve global development goals, to fulfill human rights and to enable all of us to live full lives, we need to urgently address this inequality.

It won’t be an easy road – the barriers are many to recognising, reducing and – as is the focus of this blog – redistributing care. While redistributing unpaid care responsibilities between individuals and the state is essential, we know that gender stereotypes held by individuals, communities, workplaces and governments continue to presume that women’s most important contributions are at home, and men’s are in the workplace. At Promundo, we are focusing on how we can deconstruct these stereotypes. Continue reading →

Measuring beyond outcomes: Understanding gender inequality

7 December 20187 December 2018 Development Matters Gender data, Equality, Gender, SIGI, Women

By Papa A. Seck (@PABSeck), Chief Statistician, UN Women

This blog is part of a special series marking the launch of the updated
2019 Social Institutions and Gender Index (SIGI)

Over her lifetime, a girl born today in Germany is expected to earn just about half the income of a boy born on the same day. In France and Sweden, she fares slightly better at about 70%. In Turkey, she can expect to earn no more than a quarter.¹ Globally, it is estimated that 35% of women have experienced either physical and/or sexual intimate partner violence or sexual violence by a non-partner at some point in their lives. This is the most egregious violation of women’s rights and it is pervasive in all countries around the world, developed and developing alike. Such violence has often tragic consequences. A recent study by UNODC found that a shocking six women are killed every hour by a family member.² An estimated 650 million women and girls in the world today were married before age 18, and at least 200 million women and girls alive today have undergone female genital mutilation in the 30 countries with representative data on its prevalence. Women around the world do 2.6 times the unpaid care and domestic work that men do, simply because that task is delegated to them by our societies. Continue reading →

What it will take to unleash real feminism

4 December 2018 Development Matters Gender, policy, Social Protection Equality, Gender, girls, SIGI, Social Protection, Women

By Bathylle Missika, Head – Networks, Partnerships and Gender Division, OECD Development Centre

This blog is part of a special series marking the launch of the updated
2019 Social Institutions and Gender Index (SIGI)

Gender equality frequently makes headlines. Even before the #metoo movements, political leaders started to place gender equality at the top of their agendas. Beyond OECD countries, the G20, the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals as well as the African Union’s 2063 Agenda made achieving gender equality a priority.

Yet, translating these political commitments into durable changes for women and girls is far more difficult. Progress has been limited. When it comes to universal access to reproductive health, for example, which has been on the global policy radar since the Millennium Development Goals, 12% of women who do not want children still do not have access to contraception; that rate doubles to 24% in Sub-Saharan Africa. Similarly, eliminating girl child marriage is at centre of various regional and international conventions, such as the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women and the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa; yet each year, 12 million girls are married before the age of 18. That is 23 girls every minute.

So if political will is real and genuine, why are we still falling short? Continue reading →

Paving the Way Towards Progress that Counts

27 November 20184 December 2018 Development Matters Gender, policy data, Equality, Gender, girls, SIGI, Social Protection, Women

By Katja Iversen, President/CEO, Women Deliver

This blog is part of a special series marking the launch of the updated
2019 Social Institutions and Gender Index (SIGI)

How can we power development that leaves no one behind?

As we edge towards 2030 – with long ways to go to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) – there may be no more pressing question.

As a champion for gender equality, I have long known that girls and women are powerful agents of change and drivers of development. I see it every day, where even in the most impoverished communities and circumstances women get up, get dressed, and go out to fight for better lives for themselves, their children and their families. And because of that, Women Deliver focuses, relentlessly, on pushing decision makers to place girls and women at the centre of development agendas and approaches.

Continue reading →

Three reasons why local feminist movements offer solutions for gender equality and peace

27 March 2018 Development Matters Gender, Social Protection Equality, Gender, GFD, Global Forum on Development, peace and security, Women

By Maria Butler, Director of Global Programmes, Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF) ¹

Learn more about this timely topic on the upcoming
OECD Global Forum on Development
Register today to attend

pray the devil back to hell — *A group of Liberian women fight for peace. Taken from the documentary film “Pray the Devil Back to Hell”, directed by Gini Reticker*

The OECD policy paper Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment in Fragile and Conflict-affected Situations (October 2017) demands a “fundamental shift in perspective on gender.” It challenges the donor community to understand gender and conflict more holistically, more deeply and more politically with a strong focus on women as agents of change. It is a must-read for all policy makers and donors alike. However, an important aspect missed in this paper is the importance of feminist movements and how to leverage local feminist movements for change. Women are working at the frontlines of peace, development, humanitarian aid and human rights. Here are three reasons why feminist movements are central to fostering more peaceful and secure societies.

First, there is proof. One of the most compelling research findings on political violence is that societies with more equality between men and women tend to be more peaceful. Research on violence against women in 70 countries also reveals that the most important and consistent factor driving policy change is feminist activism. Furthermore, when women are included in peace processes, the probability of an agreement lasting at least 15 years increases 35% (Global Study 2015). Continue reading →

Unpaid care and domestic work – a global challenge with local solutions

14 March 201814 March 2018 Development Matters Gender, policy, SDGs Gender, GFD, Jobs, Labour, SDGs, Women, women's empowerment

By Clare Bishop, Senior Consultant for the OECD Policy Dialogue on Women’s Economic Empowerment

Learn more about this timely topic on the upcoming
OECD Global Forum on Development
Register today to attend

The pervasive issue of unpaid care and domestic work in the global fight against gender inequality presents itself in many different contexts and guises. Yet, the one constant thread is the impact of unpaid care and domestic work on time availability. The disproportionate workload borne by women –that hinders their full engagement as economic actors in paid employment, their participation in education and training, and their overall quality of life – is widely recognised. Solutions are diverse. They include technological ones to improve water supplies and save time and labour. They embrace policies and practical ways of providing childcare facilities and paternal leave. And they call for addressing cultural norms underlying the unequal gender division of labour for unpaid work.

Continue reading →

Seizing Opportunities to Sustain Peace: A Road Map

13 March 2018 Development Matters Gender, Security Gender, GFD, peace and security, Peacebuilding, Women

By Sarah Douglas, Deputy Chief, Peace and Security, UN Women, and Tatyana Jiteneva, Policy Specialist, Peace and Security, UN Women

Learn more about this timely topic on the upcoming
OECD Global Forum on Development
Register today to attend

From social media platforms to the streets of major cities worldwide, women organising for equality and justice has increasingly been grabbing attention and headlines. In the field of peace and security, women’s participation has long been recognised as a critical factor for stability and recovery. It is key at a time the world is grappling with a multitude of crises that threaten decades of development, undermine people’s confidence in multilateralism and worsen risks associated with disasters.

Time and again, women’s peacemaking and peacebuilding efforts have proven to be sustainable and effective. The 2015 Global Study on Security Council Resolution 1325 (2000) compiled overwhelming evidence showing improved outcomes in all areas of peace and security when women are present.¹ The newly released United Nations/World Bank Pathways for Peace: Inclusive Approaches to Preventing Violent Conflict underscores the cost-effectiveness and resilience of women organising for peace, particularly in the context of State actors with low capacity and where resources for recovery and development are scarce.²
Continue reading →

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