Women and the Key to Economic Development
How can a woman support her family, feed her kids, get educated, access proper healthcare for herself and her family. How can her community sustain itself? When a mother has financial stability, she has the power to provide for her needs, and to contribute to her community and her world.
Poverty can only be eradicated if women—half of the world’s population—are educated and strong enough to generate income for themselves and their families. Unfortunately women globally are nowhere near financially secure. Seventy percent of the 1.5 billion people living on one dollar a day or less are women.
Why are women poorer?
Women farm the land but don’t own it: Though women are responsible for 60 percent to 80 percent of food production in developing countries, inheritance and property laws often exclude women from land ownership.
Women have little access to economic resources: In Africa, where women often produce the majority of the food for their families, less than 10 percent of the loans available for small farmers go to women, who are perceived as greater credit risks or lacking sufficient collateral.
Women are less educated than men: They are discouraged from pursuing education and have less access to education and specialized training.
Women lack representation: Within families and communities, women have little decision making power. This pattern is echoed in local and national politics: currently, women make up more than 25 percent of elected legislators in only twenty-two countries.
Women work more than men: Globally, women work more hours than men. Much of this work is unpaid and within the home, though many women also must work to balance their unpaid work with income-generating activities such as formal employment, domestic work, or making and selling goods in the market.
How do women experience poverty differently from men?
Women are often the sole caregivers: Lack of opportunity in rural areas means that men leave their families and migrate to cities or other countries in search of work to help support their families. Women are left to raise families alone
Poor Employment Opportunities: When women find formal employment outside the home, it is usually jobs such as factory work, which are accompanied by long hours and low pay.
Domestic Work is Not Regulated: The majority of women who work outside the home are employed informally as domestic workers. Since domestic work is not regulated, and domestic workers tend to come from the poorest segments of societies, women are subject to ill-treatment, exploitation, and abuse.
How Do We Improve The Global Economic Status of Women?
Around the world, many programs target women in an attempt to reduce poverty. This has proven to be a particularly effective method, because women tend to invest their earnings in food, health care, and education for their children. All of these are investments in the future, and contribute towards long-term economic advancements for families, communities, and ultimately, for countries. Microcredit programs are a great example. When women receive small loans to start their own small businesses, such as a market stall, they gain experience, confidence, practical skills and economic independence. All of these skills and experiences go beyond simple economic improvement and lead women toward taking active roles in their lives and the lives of their communities.
Fighting Poverty and Advancing Women’s Status Are Linked!
Improving the financial status of women is an integral part of eradicating poverty and building civil society: a broadly representative civil society cannot be created without the voices of women. At its roots, women’s empowerment is about women gaining the skills and confidence to develop themselves fully as human beings and challenging existing male-dominated power structures in order to participate fully as equals, in their families, communities and countries.
