Documenti di Didattica
Documenti di Professioni
Documenti di Cultura
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
FOR WOMEN
EMPOWERMENT
SUBMITTED TO DR. SHIVANI MOHAN
(FACULTY OF ECONOMICS)
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ACKNOWLEDMENT
I have taken efforts in this project. However, it would not have been possible without the kind
support and help of many individuals. I would like to extend my sincere thanks to all of them.
I am highly indebted to my economics teacher, Dr. Shivani Mohan for her guidance and
constant supervision as well as for providing necessary information regarding the project &
also for her support in completing the project.
I would like to express my gratitude towards my parents & my friends for their kind cooperation and encouragement which help me in completion of this project.
I would like to express my special gratitude and thanks to seniors for giving me such
attention and time.
My thanks and appreciations also go to my colleagues in developing the project and people
who have willingly helped me out with their abilities.
Thanking them all !
Deeksha Tripathi.
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SR.N
O
CONTENT
PAGE
1.
INTRODUCTION
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
13-15
10-12
16-18
8.
CONCLUSION
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9.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
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INDRODUCTION
Economic empowerment is the capacity of women and men to participate in, contribute to
and benefit from growth processes in ways that recognize the value of their contributions,
respect their dignity and make it possible to negotiate a fairer distribution of the benefits of
growth. Economic empowerment increases womens access to economic resources and
opportunities including jobs, financial services, property and other productive assets, skills
development and market information.
Economic empowerment of women increases their access to economic resources and
opportunities. This access is often hindered by discrimination and persistent gender
inequalities. Womens economic participation and empowerment bring direct benefits to
women but also have a strong impact on poverty and growth, and are essential for achieving
the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
Women's economic empowerment is a prerequisite for sustainable development and
for achieving the Millennium Development Goals. And economic empowerment is also a
right. There is no quick fix: women's economic empowerment takes sound public policies, a
holistic approach and long-term commitment from all development actors. Donors can also
increase their investment.
Womens economic empowerment increases the wealth and well-being of the entire
population. Women are, however, less likely than men to have access to credit, resources, and
education. Women are also more likely than men to be in vulnerable jobs in the informal
sector, to be underemployed or without a job, in addition to carrying out unpaid work in
households.
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B. Hypothesis
C. Research Methodology
The research method used is absolutely doctrinal in nature based on available
materials and other sources and relevant information available. A comprehensive
study is made in order to arrive at analytical & critical support of the arguments. This
project has been done after a thorough research based upon intrinsic and extrinsic
aspect of the assigned topic.
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in women, and when they work to eliminate inequalities, developing countries are less likely
to be plagued by poverty. Entire nations can also better their chance of becoming stronger
players in the global marketplace.2
Investing in womens economic empowerment sets a direct path towards gender equality,
poverty eradication and inclusive economic growth. Women make enormous contributions to
economies, whether in businesses, on farms, as entrepreneurs or employees, or by doing
unpaid care work at home. But they also remain disproportionately affected by poverty,
discrimination and exploitation. Gender discrimination means that women often end up in
insecure, low-wage jobs, and constitute a small minority of those in senior positions. It
curtails access to economic assets such as land and loans. It limits participation in shaping
economic and social policies. And, because women perform the bulk of household work, they
often have little time left to pursue economic opportunities.3
2 http://www.icrw.org/what-we-do/economic-empowerment
3http://www2.unwomen.org/~/media/headquarters/attachments/sections/library/publications/2013/12/
un%20women_ee-thematic-brief_us-web%20pdf.ashx?v=3&d=20141013T121456
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4 As seen in Eyben, R and others (2008), Conceptualising empowerment and the implications for propoor growth, Institute of Development Studies at the University of Sussex, Brighton as cited in
https://www.oecd.org/dac/gender-development/47561694.pdf
5 As seen in Sweden, Ministry for Foreign Affairs (2010), On equal footing: policy for gender
equality and the rights and role of women in Swedens international development cooperation 2010
2015, MfA, Stockholm as sited in https://www.oecd.org/dac/gender-development/47561694.pdf
6 As seen in OECD (2010), Accelerating progress towards the MDGs through pro-poor growth:
policy messages from the DAC Network on Poverty Reduction, OECD, Paris as sited in
https://www.oecd.org/dac/gender-development/47561694.pdf
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Where women's participation in the labor force grew fastest, the economy
experienced the largest reduction in poverty rates.
When women farmers can access the resources they need, their production increases,
making it less likely that their families are hungry and malnourished.
When women own property and earn money from it, they may have more bargaining
power at home. This in turn can help reduce their vulnerability to domestic violence and
HIV infection.
When more women work, economies grow. If womens paid employment rates were
raised to the same level as mens, the USA gross domestic product would be an estimated
9 per cent higher, the Euro zones would climb by 13 per cent and Japans would be
boosted by 16 per cent. In 15 major developing economies, per capita income would rise
by 14 per cent by 2020, 20 per cent by 2030.
An analysis of Fortune 500 companies found that those with the greatest
representation of women in management positions delivered a total return to shareholders
that was 34 per cent higher than for companies with the lowest representation.
7 As seen in Extracted from World Bank President Zoellicks speech at the MDG3 conference,
Copenhagen, 25 March, 2010as sited in https://www.oecd.org/dac/gender-development/47561694.pdf
8 http://www.icrw.org/what-we-do/economic-empowerment
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Evidence from a range of countries shows that increasing the share of household
income controlled by women, either through their own earnings or cash transfers, changes
spending in ways that benefit children.9
If facilities were closer and easier to reach, parents would likely be bringing boys and girls
more often, and they would then be equally treated. Some also argue that, mechanically,
improvements in water and sanitation conditions, as well as the better control of infection,
may also be more beneficial to girls than to boys, because boys are more susceptible to
congenital deformation, and their disadvantage compared to girls, is lower for infectious
diseases.
As households become richer, they will also be less likely to face choices at the margin of
subsistence. Thus, by reducing the vulnerability of poor households to risk, economic
development, even without specifically targeting women, disproportionately improves their
well-being.
Economic Development, fertility, and maternal mortality
Other than pre-birth and in early childhood, women are most likely to be missing relative to
men in childbearing years. This, of course, is not the result of active discrimination, but due
to the fact that women carry children and give birth, and that in itself is a dangerous activity.
Other than directly affecting the welfare of women (and not men) in a significant way,
maternal mortality is potentially a source of lower parental investment in childhood: if
parents expect girls to be much more likely to die as young women than boys, they may be
more inclined to invest in boys.
Giving women hope by expanding their opportunities
The fact that women have fewer opportunities in the labour market may contribute to their
unequal treatment in the household. Parents have lower aspirations for their daughters than
for their sons, and teenagers themselves have lower aspirations. Many parents believed that
educating girls is not necessary, since girls are only expected to marry and take care of their
households. If part of the motivation for educating children is to enhance their employment
opportunities, then improving the opportunities available to women in the labour market
would provide a strong catalyst for the treatment of women to change for the better.
Economic development leads to a change in the nature of work that is more conducive to
womens work. The entry of India into the world economy provides another example of
economic development leading to improved gender equality, even reversing the fortunes of
boys and girls as the traditional segregation of schooling options turned against boys.
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When India liberalized its economy in the 1990s, and its software and service industries grew,
the economic returns to education in English increased dramatically. The new sectors, such as
outsourced telemarketing, also provided labour market opportunities for women who had
traditionally been shut out of the labour market, leading to a rapid increase in English-based
education for both boys and girls. Among the lower castes, the increase was much faster for
girls than for boys: the proportion of lower-caste girls instructed in English almost caught up
to that of upper-caste girls, but for the boys, the increase was not any faster compared to other
castes. All these examples show that gender-blind policies that improve the economic welfare
of households can improve gender equality, and that diversifying the economy and increasing
womens options in the labour market can cause households to adjust their behaviour, moving
them towards gender equality.
Economic Development and womens rights
Empirically, there is a strong correlation between economic development and womens legal
rights, in areas as diverse as property rights, access to land, access to bank loans, violence
against women, abortion policy, etc. Is there a reason to design policies specifically targeted
towards improving the condition of women? Or is it sufficient for improving womens
condition to fight poverty and to create the conditions for economic growth in poor countries?
In a word, will economic development be enough? Womens rights positively affects their
empowerment. More the rights better the empowerment.
But will economic development be enough?
There is evidence that growth will not be enough to overcome discrimination in the home and
in a number of domains. Sex ratios remain skewed in favour of boys. The gap between girls
and boys is closing for primary and secondary schooling, but for tertiary education, the ratio
of females to males has not improved overall, even though participation has risen for both
boys and girls. In the labour market, even in developed countries, women who are equally
qualified continue to earn less than men at all levels of qualification. The persistent difference
in sex ratios at birth illustrates the fact that economic development, and the availability of
new technologies, can have perverse effects on gender equality if it decreases the cost of
discriminating against girls. In the long-run, there is no trade off between helping women
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more and helping everyone, because increasing the share of resources going to women will
increase the amount of resources so much that everyone will be better off.10
correlations are often misleading. In this instance, there are two fundamental problems with
the interpretation of the results. First, a womans education, earnings, or political participation
may be correlated with unobserved dimensions of her ability, family, or community
background. To the extent that these unobserved factors directly determine child health, the
correlation does not indicate the causal effect of raising a womans education, earnings, or
political participation. It is important to recognize that the very fact that women are typically
less likely to get an education, earn an income, and participate in political decisions is likely
to make this bias stronger for women than for men. Education can have a range of benefits
within the households: if more educated women command higher outside wages, and it is
easier for them to get a job, then investing more in educating women, rather than in men, may
indeed have a more positive impact on child health than when the investments are spread
evenly if women bargaining power in the household leads to better outcomes for children. In
addition, if women are the primary caregivers for young children, then more education may
help them provide better care.
Therefore, many believe that a special effort is needed to educate girls, and that educating
girls would have tremendous spill over effects. Unfortunately, the evidence for this is not as
strong as is commonly believed.
If women were powerless, then the money would be immediately appropriated by their
spouses, and we would see no impact of distributing the money to women rather than to men.
Conversely, if households were harmonious entities where everyone had the same preferences
and desires, then the nominal ownership of money would not matter within the household. It
would all go to a common pool and channeled towards the best uses for the families.
When women are decision makers within the household, how much they bring to the table
can have an important impact on ultimate choices. Empirically, a large literature has tested
whether income in the hands of women of a household has a different impact on intrahousehold allocation than income in the hands of the men. The evidence suggests that,
compared to income or assets in the hands of men, income or assets in the hands of women is
associated with larger improvements in child health, and larger expenditure shares of
household nutrients, health, and housing.
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11 http://www.nber.org/papers/w17702.pdf
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Since the founding more than 30 years ago, ICRW's work has expanded
understanding of women's economic contributions as well as the hurdles that prevent
them from being successful. Their efforts focus on how gender affects economic
development efforts related to assets and property rights as well as employment,
enterprise development and financial services.
They strive to increase women's ownership, use and control of assets and property. We
want to empower women as economic agents and better their ability to access markets
on competitive and equitable terms. And with their partners, ICRW aims to integrate
gender perspectives into program and institution activities. We believe such an
approach improves the likelihood that efforts to strengthen women economically are
successful.12
In all economic empowerment programmes, UN Women reaches out to women most in need,
often by engaging with grass-roots and civil society organizations. Particularly marginalized
groups include rural women, domestic workers, some migrants and low-skilled women. Their
aims are higher incomes, better access to and control over resources, and greater security,
including protection from violence.
12 http://www.icrw.org/what-we-do/economic-empowerment
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Nepal: UN Womens long-standing work with migrant women workers in Nepal has
yielded concrete results, such as the creation of a network of returning migrant
women workers, legislation that has cemented rights, and regulations that provide
protection for the countrys 2.7 million migrant workers. Most recently UN Women
supported preparation of the Foreign Employment Policy, adopted in 2012, which
includes a separate section focusing on the rights of women domestic workers.
Tanzania: UN Women has helped the Ministry of Trade review key trade and
enterprise development policies from a gender perspective. New mechanisms are
being put in place to protect women from exploitation, improve access to
opportunities under the East African Customs Protocol and support the formation of
enterprises.
UNDP
13http://www2.unwomen.org/~/media/headquarters/attachments/sections/library
/publications/2013/12/un%20women_ee-thematic-brief_us-web%20pdf.ashx?
v=3&d=20141013T121456
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14http://www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/ourwork/povertyreduction/focus_a
reas/focus_gender_and_poverty/women_s_economicempowerment.html
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Conclusion
Womens empowerment and economic development are closely interrelated. While
development itself will bring about womens empowerment, empowering women will bring
about changes in decision-making, which will have a direct impact on development. Contrary
to what is claimed by some of the more optimistic policy makers, it is, however, not clear that
a one-time impulsion of womens rights will spark a virtuous circle, with womens
empowerment and development mutually reinforcing each other and women eventually being
equal partners in richer societies.
On the one hand, economic development alone is insufficient to ensure significant progress in
important dimensions of womens empowerment, in particular, significant progress in
decision making ability in the face of pervasive stereotypes against womens ability.
On the other hand, womens empowerment leads to improvement in some aspects of
childrens welfare (health and nutrition, in particular), but at the expense of some others
(education).
This suggests that neither economic development nor womens empowerment is the magic
bullet it is sometimes made out to be. Equity between men and women is only likely to be
achieved by continuing policy actions that favor women at the expense of men, possibly for
for a very long time. While this may result in some collateral benefits, those benefits may or
may not be sufficient to compensate the cost of the distortions associated with such
redistribution.
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Bibliography
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http://economics.mit.edu/files/7417.
http://www2.unwomen.org/~/media/headquarters/attachments/sections/library/publica
tions/2013/12/un%20women_ee-thematic-brief_us-web%20pdf.ashx?
v=3&d=20141013T121456.
http://www.oecd.org/dac/stats/46877843.pdf.
http://www.oecd.org/dac/gender-
development/economicempowermentandfinance.htm.
http://www.unwomen.org/en.
http://www.icrw.org/what-we-do/economic-empowerment.
http://www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/ourwork/povertyreduction/focus_areas/fo
cus_gender_and_poverty/women_s_economicempowerment.html.
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