The contribution of women to the economic, political, and social well-being of a society, peculiarly, in developing counties like ours has been dramatically devalued in spite of some transformations witnessed these days. It is only in the last fifty years that the thinking towards the role of women has shifted and practically put into effect.
Today, there is general global consensus that women empowerment is of paramount importance in making economies boost and that gender equality has a positive effect on economic growth and human development. The inverse relationship stating that economic growth has a positive effect on advancing gender equality is more controversial and understudied.
Having this concept in mind, The Ethiopian Herald had a stay with Workinesh Teshome, a gender specialist graduated from Addis Ababa University, to grasp some sorts of information regarding women’s economic development.
She said, “To gain a broader picture of the role of women in economic development, as well as a more nuanced understanding of the relationship between economic growth and gender equality, it is better to situate women within the human development paradigm and explore the notion of economic empowerment. The role of women in the economic development trajectories of Ethiopia, discrimination and marginalization of women in Ethiopia, has limited both women’s roles economic development and impeded their human development.”
In the Ethiopian context, of course, women do not participate in high growth sectors and a majority of women, if employed, work in the agriculture sector with substantially unequal access and control over productive resources. Even girls are expected to attend less school than boys, resulting in lower literacy compared with their male counterparts. In health, life expectancy has improved substantially in Ethiopia girls have a higher life expectancy than boys at birth. Despite there are advancement, fertility rates remain astronomically high in the country, which curbs the sustainability of economic growth potential and women’s empowerment.
Yes, she said if Ethiopia significantly increases economic and educational opportunities for women, while maintaining gains in healthcare, fertility rates will decrease and more sustained economic growth can occur, which will ultimately have positive gains for women’s empowerment and for development of the entire nation.
“Women are key drivers of economic growth, indeed! In order to eradicate extreme poverty and build vibrant economy, women must gain access to and control of capital, land, markets, education, and leadership opportunities. Increasing gender equality and enhancing women empowerment through work opportunities are the important steps in achieving sustainable development. The relationship between women economic rights and economic growth needs to be well explored whether the effect of women’s economic rights is different,” she opined.
Despite women’s increased participation in the labor market significantly contributing to past economic growth, persistent gender gaps across the nation’s labor market hinder full realization of the potential gains of women’s economic participation, as to her.
Responding to the question, to what extent does gender equality contribute to economic growth in Ethiopia, Workinesh said either growth strategies would need to be reformulated to be more inclusive in their impacts or redistributive measures would need to be put in place to ensure that men and women benefit more equally from the growth.
Women’s empowerment implies that they have the same economic rights as men and are not discriminated against simply because they are female. Unfortunately, women are comparatively less privileged compared to men in terms of economic participation in society. Giving women economic rights can boost economic growth because it allows them to develop their potential as successful household managers without restriction. Women’s economic rights can bring long-lasting benefits across multiple dimensions.
She further elucidated that not only is empowering women economically the ‘right thing’ to do to honor the country’s commitments to human rights but it is also the ‘smart thing’ to do for development, economic growth and business.
The link between women empowerment and income inequality and find a strong relationship, and a strong spillover effect of women economic rights for middle-income countries where the gender structure of employment in tradable sectors is performed by foreign investors.
Reduced gender disparities in employment and education also have a favorable impact on economic growth, which depends on labor market expansion and skill development. Domestic unpaid work mainly carried out by women is also vital to the social well-being and maintenance of the labor force. It is also noted that increasing women’s contribution to household income, through working, improves the wellbeing, reduces household poverty and reduces a family’s susceptibility to economic ups and downs.
As to Workinesh, the impact of gender equality on economic growth and the impact of economic growth on gender equality have to be made compatible as gender equality is an essential aspect of human dignity and social justice and is an effective means to achieve economic development goal. Yes, the economic growth has a significantly positive impact on gender, and gender inequality in education and employment may reduce growth and development.
Fertility decline, investments in children and decreased corruption are consequences of gender equality with positive externalities for growth. Thus gender equality bears instrumental relevance and international institutions and development agencies have a sound empirical basis for promoting gender-aware approaches to growth and development. However, markets and other economic institutions are themselves products of the prevailing social order, including the gender order, and can be used in ways that benefit some over others.
Genuinely speaking, as to Workinesh, improving equality between men and women is a key ingredient of the demographic transition and of the process of socio-economic development.
Gender equality potentially affects economic growth through various channels. In the first place, potential link can be fostered as it is instrumental in reinvigorating increased quality of human capital inputs, which is reflected in the increased productivity of labor and other complementary inputs to the production process. The growth impacts of education for girls may be greater than the impact for boys. Secondly, women’s employment in certain sectors or occupations needs to be widened and women may have greater incentives to save than men.
Workinesh said, “Greater gender equality under the law, including legal rights of women to own assets such as land and property, the right to move freely outside the home and to participate in various markets, and women’s rights within marriage might be expected to boost economic growth by increasing women’s productivity.”
Since women in most cases have limited access to financial markets or other necessary complements to private investment such as property rights and infrastructure essential to the accumulation of physical and knowledge capital and participation in the growth process, this trend has to be modified to help the nation register economic growth, Workmesh added.
She also said women’s economic participation promotes agricultural productivity, enterprise development at the micro, small, and medium enterprise levels, as well as enhances business management and returns on investment, and women empowerment and gender equality play key roles in driving economic progress.
Empowering women in economic development involves several aspects, such as providing access to education, opportunities for skill development, and financial resources for operating small businesses. Importantly, promoting gender equality not only improves the well-being and economic status of women but also provides broader societal benefits.
In sum, there is increasing recognition that economically empowering women is essential both to realize women’s rights and to achieve broader development goals such as economic growth, poverty reduction, health, education and welfare. To this end, a broad range of organizations have committed themselves to the goal of women’s economic empowerment. These organizations realize that economically empowering women is a win-win that can benefit not only women, but society more broadly.
It promotes women’s ability to achieve their rights and well-being while also reducing household poverty, increasing economic growth and productivity, and increasing efficiency. True, working with women makes good business sense. When they have the right skills and opportunities, women can help businesses and markets grow. Besides, women who are economically empowered contribute more to their families, societies and national economic progress.
BY MENGESHA AMARE
THE ETHIOPIAN HERALD FRIDAY 18 OCTOBER 2024
