Gender inequalities

The issue of women’s advancement in Guyana has been given much attention on the recent campaign trail, particularly by the major parities – PPP/C and APNU/AFC. Both parties boasted of having a comprehensive plan in terms of advancing women’s rights and ensuring that they take their rightful place in the society which they hope to implement once elected.

To its credit, Guyana has made significant progress in advancing women’s empowerment under the PPP/C Government. Even though there is still much work to be done, Guyana must be commended for the progress it has made in ensuring that; in addition to women being protected under the law, they are also given the relevant opportunities for their personal and professional advancement.

Further, it should be mentioned that Guyana was ranked 29th in the world out of 143 countries by the Inter-Parliamentary Union in 2013 and 42nd of 200 countries, in terms of political and educational empowerment by the Global Gender Gap Index. In essence, irrespective of what the naysayers will want us to believe, there is much the world can learn from Guyana’s experiences in terms women’s empowerment.

At present, the International Development Partners and Governments are putting their finishing touches on the Post-2015 Development Agenda, and the issue of gender equality and women’s empowerment is getting the attention it deserves.

At a recent forum to mark the 20th anniversary of the landmark conference on women that enshrined the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, UN Development Programme (UNDP) Administrator Helen Clark stressed that, in addition to a specific gender equality goal in the new Post 2015 global development agenda, it is crucial to ensure all policies at the national and local levels are seen through a “gender lens” to help overcome historic inequalities between men and women.

Clark was quoted as saying that in pursuing economic growth which benefits all citizens, it is important to focus not only on ensuring that women can participate in the decisions which affect their lives, but also on overcoming the barriers, including institutionalized discriminatory practices and attitudes, which severely affects women from moving forward.

This includes addressing the scourge of violence against women, and also the disproportionate burden of unpaid work carried out by women and girls which deprives them of time to earn money, gain new skills, and take part in public life.

According to the UNDP, during the last few decades, poverty rates have declined in every region of the world. Between 1990 and 2010, the proportion of people in developing regions living under the threshold of US$1.25 a day, the international benchmark for measuring extreme poverty, fell from 47 per cent to 22 percent.

Progress for women is also visible. For example, at least 50 per cent of the world’s women are now in paid wage and salary employment, an increase from forty per cent since the 1990s. Also, women’s political participation has increased worldwide.

In 1995, women comprised 11.3 percent of parliamentarians. Today, they make up 22.1 percent of parliamentarians, which is, however, still below the 30 per cent target set by the UN.

However, despite the progress, too many challenges remain. According to a recent UN report on the Millennium Development Goals progress, more than 1.2 billion people still live in extreme poverty, and women continue to be more likely than men to be among them.

Despite the increased number of women in paid wage and salary employment, women remain disproportionately represented in vulnerable employment, and earn ten to thirty per cent less than men do for the same work. Moreover, across countries and regions, women are less likely than men to have access to decent work, assets, and formal credit, and do not have an equal voice in decision-making.

In this regard, Clark highlighted key steps to boost women’s empowerment, these include: supporting legal reforms to ensure women’s equal access to land, credit and assets, guarantee equal pay for equal work, and strengthen labour protections; developing employment and entrepreneurship programmes which target women; and establishing social protection measures which are of particular benefit to women, such as maternity benefits, unemployment and health insurance, and greater livelihood security.

These are some very valid suggestions which we hope will be taken seriously by all stakeholders.