Dr. Ewa Ruminska-Zimny Director, Gender and Economy Programme, UNECE “The Challenges of Engendering Economics – Way towards Social Justice and Equal Opportunities” Tbilisi, 1 April 2008 ECONOMIC DIMENSION OF GENDER EQUALITY IN MDG CONTEXT

Role of women in economic growth Gender equality as a human right, but also a key factor behind economic growth and efficient allocation of resources Women are a major source of new labour in the context of ageing. They are also well educated and bring new ideas, priorities and tastes in developing new products and services to compete on global markets.

Women’s share in labour force (age 15 +) Source: UNECE Gender Statistics Databases, 2005

Women’s entrepreneurial potential Own-account workers, % employed selected countries

Improving innovation and competitiveness Over 50% share in total tertiary education in most ECE countries; also high-share of employment in service sector Ford Women’s Network (since 1999): inclusion of women into design teams for new cars pushed up sales and is now standard human resource policy The Global Banking Alliance For Women (among members: Bank of Scotland, Bank of America, RBC Royal Bank) The Global Banking Alliance For Women (among members: Bank of Scotland, Bank of America, RBC Royal Bank): increased market share as a result of better understanding of needs of female customers

Female Share of Researchers (%) Source: UNECE Gender Statistics Databases, 2005

Women’s economic potential still remain untapped Jobs are clustered at the lower end of the labour market High level of education is not reflected in women’s professional position on a labour market Wage gap still exists

Education vs. Occupation in selected UNECE Countries, 2005 Source: UNECE Gender Statistics Databases, 2005 *Armenia: data for 2004 (education) and 1995 (occupation)

Gender pay gap* Source: UNECE Gender Statistics Databases and Eurostat * Difference between average gross earnings of male paid employees and of female paid employees as a percentage of average gross earnings of male paid employees

Policy challenges Raising awareness of governments, private sector and civil society that gender equality is “smart economics” Identifying good practices of mainstreaming gender into employment, tax, budgetary policies Supporting the arguments for “smart economics” approach by gender-disaggregated data

Policies matter Gender-sensitive legislative and institutional framework for SMEs US -- Equal Credit Opportunity Act (1974), office for women’s busines at SME Administration, Federal Acquisition Streamlining Act (1994), support centers and targeted programmes In number of women run businesses grew by 42% (23% all firms); now about 40% of privately held US businesses Partnership between government, private sector and civl society (business associations): gender budgets as a tool

UNECE: part of UN framework One of five UN regional commissions; 56 member countries (US, Canada, Western & Eastern Europe, Central Asia, Caucasus) A regional forum for dialogue and exchange of good practices among governments, but also private sector and civil society Raises the awareness on issues, develops norms and standards, recommends policies Collects data, initiates studies, prepares publications

UNECE role in promotion of gender equality Promoting regional dialogue on economics of gender as a key factor for sustainable growth: ECE 60 th Annual Anniversary Session Gender analysis of economic aspects of NDS/MDG Strategies (stocktaking study) Development of a gender disaggregated data: gender Statistics Website ( Knowledge hub on gender and economy (forthcoming) Assessment of business environment for women entrepreneurs in rural and urban areas (joint project with ILO) Preparation of manual on gender budgets (joint project with the Council of Europe)

Thank you l