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Gender, Poverty & Employment in Tanzania Key points from recent analytical studies Waheeda Shariff (Carpe Diem Ink) Technical Support from ILO Inputs from.

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Presentation on theme: "Gender, Poverty & Employment in Tanzania Key points from recent analytical studies Waheeda Shariff (Carpe Diem Ink) Technical Support from ILO Inputs from."— Presentation transcript:

1 Gender, Poverty & Employment in Tanzania Key points from recent analytical studies Waheeda Shariff (Carpe Diem Ink) Technical Support from ILO Inputs from the Gender Macro Policy Working Group

2 Data available to us…  Availability of data during the first phase of PRS implementation has increased substantially  A number of studies have been carried out in the last 3-4 years that have informed us on the gender situation  These include (but are not limited to): The HBS 2000/1, the ILFS 2000/1, the PHDR 2002 & 2003, and the FHH study

3 Labor Force Participation  Significant increase in male participation rates from 73% to 81%  Marginal increase in women in the workforce from 71% to 73%

4 Unemployment  During the 1990’s, unemployment has increased substantially, particularly in urban areas  Women form a much higher proportion of the unemployed  Unemployment is especially high amongst young people PHDR 2002 1990/12000/1 Urban DSM 22%26% Urban other 6%10% Rural2%

5 Female Employment by Industry (SIDA and ILFS) Industry19932000/1 Mining4%47.3% Electricity19.9%85% Construction5.4%22% Trade41.7%48.9% Transport8.7%66% Finance25.7%17% Services30%46.7%

6 Female Economic Activity HBS 2000/1 Urban 1990/1 Urban 2000/1 Rural 1990/1 Rural 2000/1 Agricultur e 47%28%87%74% Other2.4%6%0.5%1% Unpaid helper 5.5%15.1%6%8.7% SE with employees 12%2.8%1%0.7% Self employed 0.1%13%0.2%2.2%

7 Earning Capacity  Women form 66% of unpaid family helpers  They are 2/3 of those engaged in household duties  They are less likely than men to be self- employees (with or without employees)  Women earn less than men in spite of similar education levels

8 Employment & Poverty  Households with formal sector incomes tend to be less poor  Households engaged in agriculture tend to be more poor (70% of HH heads are engaged in agriculture)  Households whose heads have some formal education tend to be less poor

9 Employment & Poverty (cnt)  Women engaged in agriculture in rural areas are amongst the poorest  There is a significant shift to self-employment and very small trading activities by women  Women are over-represented in low skill, low pay jobs, particularly in agriculture and elementary occupations  Women form ¾ of those too old to work and 2/3 of those too sick to work

10 Employment & Poverty (cnt) Patterns of occupational distribution between genders is partly due to:  culturally determined sexual division of labor  Education levels & access  Lack of opportunity for women  Lack of representation in decision- making bodies

11 Education  41% of rural women are illiterate, compared to 23.9% of rural men  The percentage of women with no education has declined marginally  Enrollment (for both men and women) in adult literacy classes has dropped significantly

12 Education (cnt)  Primary school enrollment for boys and girls has equalized, but  Girls performance rates are significantly lower than boys (21.4% for girls, 36.2% for boys)  Girls are less likely to remain in school after the age of 13  Girls have lower performance in science subjects and do not pursue careers in these fields

13 Education (cnt)  School environments support gender stereotypes in subject choices for girls  School facilities are lacking in terms of distance and facilities (particularly for girls)  At tertiary level, only 6% of students in technical/vocational training institutions are women  Women comprise lower enrollments at universities

14 Education (cnt)  At tertiary level, higher proportions of women receive training in humanities, arts and education  They also form a higher proportion of those who receive training but are unemployed  Low numbers of women receive training in finance, engineering, etc

15 Health  There is a significant decrease in numbers of births attended by trained professionals (8% decline)  Female HIV/AIDS incidence has risen from 5.9% to 13.3%  The greatest increase in HIV/AIDS prevalence is with young women

16 Health (cnt)  Children in rural areas are twice as likely to be stunted (a sign of chronic under-nutrition)  This is mainly sue to inappropriate feeding practices, low rates of breastfeeding and low frequency of breastfeeding  The gendered division of labor at household level and patriarchal allocation of household resources contribute to this

17 Health (cnt)  Teenage pregnancies increase from the age of 15  Girls enrollment at secondary level fall quickly in relation to child-bearing frequency  Only 19% of births to uneducated mothers are attended by trained professionals (compared to 80% for educated women)

18 Female Headed Households  The proportion of FHH has increased from 17.6% to 22.9%  FHH are common in urban areas  FHH are no more poor than MHH, but are more vulnerable to poverty  They have less land, less formal education, higher dependency ratios, less experience with credit, and rely on casual labor

19 Laws and legislation  Tanzania is a patriarchal society where men dominate in politics and the economy  Customary law still prevails, especially in rural areas  Women’s access to productive resources is limited

20 Laws & legislation (cnt)  Employment laws do not provide adequate safeguards for women employees  Some employment laws are not gender sensitive in language  There is no provision for women to be represented in decision-making bodies (e.g. education boards, labor tribunals, trade unions)

21 Politics and Access to Information  Women are underrepresented at all levels of politics  Women generally have less access to information than men, given literacy levels  Information on women’s rights, government policies and laws affecting them do not reach enough women

22 So What Do We Do Now? -

23 Information  More information must be made available to women, especially in rural areas  This is being done by civil society to a certain extent  What is required are mass information campaigns on basic rights (health, education, land, inheritance)

24 Information (cnt)  Information must be provided in appropriate language and format in order to reach the target audience  All media channels should be used, especially radio, which has the widest outreach  Information should not be targeted at women only, as men also need to understand the issues and impacts

25 Information (cnt)  Working relationships between government and development partners, civil society and the media should be implemented to reach mass audiences  Partnerships with the private sector have a lot of potential and should also be utilized to maximize this

26 Employment Opportunities  More employment opportunities must be created for the poor, particularly women  Employment in agriculture should be enhanced through direct investment  An enabling environment for the informal sector must also be created  SACCOs and micro-credit must be made available to women

27 Health  ARV should be provided to young women as a priority  Cost-sharing for basic health services should be suspended until an effective system can be put in place that does not disadvantage the poor

28 Education  Learning needs of young women should be addressed in gender-biased curriculums  School committees should be geared up to deal with gender issues  Secondary schools for girls should be increased, and proper facilities be put in place to cater for girls as a priority

29 Education (cnt)  The focus of education needs to shift from quantity to quality in order to address performance issues  Programs need to be put on place that capture girls who have dropped out/missed school

30 Laws, legislation & politics  The effects of the new Land Act need to be closely monitored  Trade unions should be supported to review employment practices for gender bias  Women’s representation on decision- making bodies should be increased in order to represent their concerns (at both national and local levels)


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