2. Promoting Gender Equality and Empowerment of Women
Chapter 3
Main messages

3. Increased equality has intrinsic and instrumental value
Increased gender equality in households, markets and society
Mother’s greater control over decision-making in households
Women have better access to markets
Women have better education and health
Increased women’s labor force participation, productivity and earnings
Improved children’s well-being
Better health and educational attainment & greater productivity as adults
Income / consumption expenditure
Differential savings rate
Future poverty reduction and economic growth
Current poverty reduction and economic growth

4. Gender equality is about fairness, opportunity, and smart economics
Tracking gender equality over time: .

5. Some low income countries & fragile states will not meet MDG3 target
Regional performance in attaining the primary and secondary enrollment target by 2005 .
Achieved target by 2005
On track to achieve target by 2015
Off track or unlikely to achieve target by 2015
No data
Total
Sub-Saharan Africa 10 1 16 21 48
East Asia and the Pacific 13 11 24
Europe and Central Asia 22 4 27
Latin America and the Caribbean 31
Middle East and North Africa 8 3 14
South Asia 2 83 46
152
of which: Fragile states 5 9 35

6. Official MDG indicators do not fully monitor gender equality and empowerment
They exclude important elements of gender equality such as health.
They poorly measure gender equality in education, employment and political participation.
They monitor performance on national averages which can mask inequality within countries
Source: Duryea, Galiani, Nopo and Piras (2006)

7. ‘Good’ parity levels may hide huge enrollment challenges
Source: World Development Indicators 2006

8. Additional indicators – three filters:
Data availability
Policy relevance
Parsimony

9. Recommended additional indicators for MDG3
Household
Economy and markets
Modifications of official MDG indicators
Additional indicators
Primary completion rate of girls and boys (MDG 2)
Percentage of year-old girls who are mothers or pregnant with their first child
Labor force participation rates among women and men aged and 25–49
Under five mortality rate for girls and boys (MDG 4)
Percentage of reproductive-age women, and their sexual partners, using modern contraceptives (MDG 6)

10. Monitoring child mortality reveals additional problem regions
Female under-5 mortality rate and female to male ratio, 2004
Source: World Population Prospects 2004.

11. Other themes: Lessons from high and low performing countries on MDG3.
Policy framework for gender equality.
Review of gender policies in donor agencies (IFIs and bilaterals).

12. Female-to-male ratio of primary gross enrollment rates
Changes in official MDG3 indicators for countries in the bottom and top quintiles, 1990–2005
Female-to-male ratio of primary gross enrollment rates

13. Women’s share in nonagricultural wage employment
Changes in official MDG3 indicators for countries in the bottom and top quintiles, 1990–2005
Women’s share in nonagricultural wage employment

14. Lessons
Primary enrollment success  international mobilization & financial resources make a difference.
Increased divergence between countries in top & bottom quintiles  widening gaps in well-being between better off and poorer women.
Less difference for non-agricultural wage employment and political participation  expanding capabilities, restricted opportunities.

15. Policy Framework for Gender Equality
Legal and constitutional reforms
Responsive institutions
Pro-active policies

16. Experience with gender mainstreaming
Gap between words (policies) and deeds (implementation)
Diffusion of responsibility
Ambitiousness of mandate
Inconsistent support from senior management
Difficulty in tracking financial resources
Difficulty in measuring results

17. Going Forward Gender mainstreaming & specific initiatives
Greater selectivity in mainstreaming
Results orientation
Instrumental arguments
High-level leadership & financial resources

18. Thank you
The GMR and related materials are available at: