Foolish to ignore the facts
By Ulla Tørnæs | Published: 29 December, 2009
It is a fact that more than one billion people worldwide are starving. The climate is changing all over the globe with alarming consequences for millions of poor people especially in developing countries and, above all, in countries on the African continent. The number of people on the planet will increase from approximately 6 billion today to over 9 billion in 2050, which will put enormous pressure on the resources at our disposal.
These facts underline the seriousness of the challenges confronting us and must not be ignored. That would be morally indecent and economically unwise. We have a moral responsibility to meet the challenges up front and must act now. In order to reach development goals, political priority and increased investments in gender equality are required, and I do not hesitate to say that one of the keys to eradicating poverty and averting a new era of recurring famine in many parts of Africa is empowerment of women, not least economically.
Gender inequality in itself is a challenge. Despite many global achievements, women and girls are still exposed to systematic gender-based discrimination. The recently launched Global Gender Gap Report 2008 indicates that no country has closed the gender gap completely, and in some the gap is actually widening. The largest gaps are related to economic participation and political empowerment, and that is where focus is needed.
Without diminishing the fundamental aspect of equal rights between men and women everywhere in the world, I will here focus on the urgent need to strengthen women’s economic empowerment. This comprises women’s equal rights to inheritance, rights to land and right to decide over their own bodies.
We are in a very critical situation. The enemy is poverty, allied with climate change and population growth, and we need to mobilise all available resources. If 50 percent of the population of a country does not have the possibility to contribute to economic growth, valuable potential is lost.
In terms of economic participation, women’s share of non-agricultural wage employment increased worldwide between 1990 and 2005. In the last decade more than 200 million women have joined the global labour force, but for 20 countries in sub-Saharan Africa women make up just 20 percent of the paid workforce. If women are empowered, not least economically, it will have a positive effect on not only poverty reduction but on health and education. Furthermore it will lessen pressure on scarce resources and decrease population growth. It is a fact that if a woman is educated, she will have fewer children and it is more likely that she will ensure the education of the children she has. It is also a fact that if women have ownership of land the agricultural production could increase by up to 20 percent.
On my travels in developing countries I have seen how women can make a big difference. Last year in Accra I met Charlotte, who had built a small business from scratch. With a minor loan she started a bakery, she reinvested the profits and at the time I met her, she was employing several people. She contributes to economic growth and opportunities. Many more women would follow in her footsteps given the chance.
