To What Extent Might a Gender Perspective Enhance Understanding of Poverty - Literature review Example

Running head: Gender and Development Gender and Development [Writer’s Name] [Institution’s Name] Gender and Development New social policies have emerged recently which focus specifically on social protection when the issue of dealing with poverty is discussed. There are many aspects of poverty that can be looked at. This paper specifically deals with the aspect of gender and how it plays a role in the way poverty is being tackled, specifically highlighting the impact it has in Papua New Guinea. The paper will also iterate on the idea that gender biases indeed are a key factor in poverty and need to be eliminated in order to alleviate poverty. The policies of the Millennium Development Goals, which have been adopted by Papua New Guinea, will also be touched upon in efforts to explain the necessity of the inclusion of gender equality when implementing policies and programmes for development. Although social protection has become an issue for which policies have been established, the issue of gender has been somewhat ignored. “...to date, the social protection agenda has generally been presented in terms of categories of poor, excluded and vulnerable social groups, differentiated according to age, health status and relationship to formal labour markets. This emphasis on the formal sector has left out women in particular” (Johnson, Arnold & Thakur 2009, p.167). While policy makers focus on other factors of poverty, the aspect that highlights the role of women to the economy in light of eliminating poverty is not usually touched upon. Even when certain policies do focus on the role of women in society, they tend to be biased. “…social protection programmes are rarely gender neutral, and poorly designed programme can exacerbate or contribute to inequalities,” (Luttrell and Moser, 2004). Policies which focus on the eradication of poverty are based on different gender biases and do not deal with the gender issues in question. Certain constraints need to be looked upon such as differences in societal norms and practices, specifically how they apply differently to the different genders. In addition, the issue of inequalities in the distribution of food, health care, etc at a household level based on gender need to be touched upon. In effort to plummet poverty by helping households overall, the gender bias inside the household is not dealt with. Poverty rises from unequal distribution of power, income, opportunity and social standing. These factors can specifically be applied to women in many countries, including Papua New Guinea. Unequal and disproportionate representation of women in society has many results. Women not only have less opportunity in the labour market as opposed to men, but are also often confined to “poorly remunerated, more casual and more insecure forms of waged and self-employment, particularly in the informal economy, without access to social protection,” (Johnson, Arnold & Thakur 2009, p. 168). Poverty is lead by economic inefficiency, and economic efficiency relies heavily on appropriate investments. Alleviating gender biases and allowing women to play a more impacting role in society can be considered a form of human capital investment, which currently is minuscule. Restricting women in society also serve as inefficiency in terms of the advancement of education, skills development and opportunities. There are various programmes that focus on the development in such sectors, but bringing women into the sphere of the programmes will aid in increasing the level of development. Rather than restricting women to the household and childcare, if they were allowed the opportunity to join men in the labour market, then productivity would rise. There are various other results of restricting women from equal opportunity, especially in the work force. “In most regions of the world, women live longer than men and hence face a longer period of widowhood, and risk of decline into greater poverty and insecurity,” (Johnson, Arnold & Thakur 2009, p. 169). Recognizing the social barriers put on women and dealing with them can help achieve higher goals of economic growth, human development and social justice. Cash transfers that focus specifically on women can help stimulate the monetary transmission mechanism of society. The issue of gender needs to be integrated into social protection policies and programmes, “including targeting, linkages with complementary services, institutional arrangements, awareness-raising and monitoring and evaluation,” (Johnson, Arnold & Thakur 2009, p. 175). For growth to occur, women empowerment must be taken into account when dealing with poverty. The writings of Amartya Sen provide insight into the argument of rights, specifically from his research book of 2001 titled “Development as Freedom”. According to Sen, the ability for citizens to fully exercise their rights in the international arena is a strong determinant of economic development. He emphasizes that respect for human rights facilitates economic development (Abouharb and Cingranelli 2007) and argues that typically used economic indicators such as GDP per capita are adept enough to measure true economic development. Development in its true sense, in terms of national welfare, can be seen as freedom in terms of human rights and their exercise increases. Sen also touched upon the fact that in developing countries, although efforts towards economic growth are taking place, they are not simultaneously helping in alleviating poverty. Part of Sen’s work also focuses specifically on the role of women and the need to specify policies which increase women rights so that the economy may fully progress. To emphasize on the role women can play in advancing the economy and helping alleviate poverty, Sen mentions that he feels the different aspects of women rights, including women’s earning power at the workplace, their economic role outside the household, their standards of education and property rights all have a common factor. According to Sen: “…what they all have in common is their positive contribution in adding force to women’s voice and agency – through independence and empowerment. …The diverse variables…have a unified empowering role. This role has to be related to the acknowledgement that women’s power – economic independence as well as social emancipation – can have far-reaching impacts on the forces and organizing principles that govern divisions within the family and in society as a whole…” (2001, p. 191 – 192). Another writer who supports the idea that women can play a major role in the development of society is Ester Boserup. In her work, titled “Woman’s Role in Economic Development”, Boserup focuses on the demeaning role of women in the societies of Third World countries, looking at examples from various countries in Asia and Africa. She highlights in particular how female deprivation is a significant obstacle to the success of development policies. Boserup basically pointed out two main fundamental issues with the role of women in her writings. One was the point that all societies have created somewhat of a straightforward division of labour by gender, and there is nothing instinctive in their division. The second point was to show that “…the Third World has had a differential impact on men and women and that the impact on women often had been negative,” (Beneria and Roldan 1987, p. 3). In her work, Boserup also mentions an ILO report on African Women that describes men setting their standards higher and switching jobs on the basis that they expect to do better than women, a result of women now being offered jobs that were exclusively for mean previously (Boserup 1974, p. 208). When the works of both influential authors are put together, it is realized that women indeed have been under-represented in society and justice to this sex can provide great opportunities for the development of the economy. It is important to understand that gender does indeed play a strong role in the alleviation of poverty, not just in Papua New Guinea, but around the world. “…there has been a growing concern in development circles about the problems faced by Third World women in their social and economic lives,” (Beneria and Sen 1982). “Economic Dimensions of Gender Inequality: A Global Perspective”, edited by Janet M Reeves and Mahmood Yousefi, focus on many reasons why gender inequality strongly contributes to slow economic development around the world. It explains gender inequality is a result of insufficient investment in human capital and specifies how the negligence of women’s nonmarket output results in the overlooking of women’s economic contributions to a country (1997). Women right benefits, such as education, health and social benefits are necessary in dealing with poverty. According to UNFPA (United Nations Population Fund), “gender gap remains a serious concern in Southern Asia, sub-Saharan Africa and Western Asia…[and] if this slow rate of progress continues, the target of eliminating the gender gap in secondary education by 2015 will be missed,” (2005). Statistics by the UNESCO also show that almost two-thirds of the world’s illiterate consist of women (2005). Eliminating gender inequality, manifested by occupational segregation, gender-biased wage gaps, and women’s disproportionate representation, is necessary to increasing women’s economic security, alleviating poverty and promotion sustainable development and growth. According to The Millennium Development Goals Report, “Women represent the majority of the working poor in all regions. Out of the 550 million working poor in the world, an estimated 330 million, or 60 per cent, are women. Several factors contribute to this situation, including the undervaluation of women's work and women's intermittent career paths, due mainly to their role as caregivers in the family and their greater need to balance work and family life. In some countries, there are also legal restrictions or prohibitions against women engaging in certain types of work,” (2005). Such statistics bring to realization the fact that gender biases are a pertinent issue to many parts of the world. Looking at the specific case of Papua New Guinea, it has and still does suffer greatly from poverty. About 40% of the population of Papua New Guinea lives in poverty, which is below the poverty line of US$1 per day (2009). In spite of government’s efforts to reduce poverty, which includes the adoption of the Millennium Development Goals, GNP has shown little significant change in the last two decades. Lack of education remains a constant issue. Shortages in food and agriculture also add the extensive list of development problems in PNG. According to AusAID, i.e. the Australian government, PNG has the highest reported rate of HIV cases in its region and is simultaneously facing speedy population growth. Most of the population resides in rural areas and unemployment along with underemployment has been a key issue. According to UNDP reports, “it is unlikely that the very demanding global target of reducing poverty by 50 per cent can be achieved in PNG by 2015. The country needs significant economic growth (higher than the current 2.8 percent per annum) to lift the population out of poverty,” (2009). The high expectation of unlikely improvement of the poverty situation in PNG only adds to the existing tensions. Papua New Guinea also is notorious for the status of women in its society. Women tend to extremely under-represented in society and are not treated as equals in terms of opportunity in the workforce. Also, the role women play in society is a demeaning one, leaving them only for household work and childcare. “Women in PNG are less likely to be in paid employment, more likely to suffer violence and poor health, and less likely to be able to read or have gone to school than men. Women are also at greater risk than men in PNG from the country's HIV/AIDS epidemic,” (UNDP 2009). Part of the Millennium Development Goals that PNG has adopted focus primarily on the promotion of gender equality and the empowerment of women. However, traditional and social norms serve as a hindrance in the process of women empowerment. Policies that focus even more on gender equality, keeping in mind the norms that have been ever-present in the past, need to be implemented in the process of poverty mitigation. Upcoming policies and pre-existing ones need to focus on neo-liberalism for women in the economy if growth and development is desired. Although current policies exist, they need to take into account that more than goals need to be described – a more inherent issue needs to be dealt with which lies in the psyche of most members of society, specifically those of Third World countries such as Papua New Guinea. Ensuring a gender aspect in the creating and implementation of various social protection programmes can add to the efficiency of such policies. Through this process, social protection can be improved for both men and women of society. “Partner governments and donors can help ensure appropriate social protection responses to the differential risks and vulnerabilities faced by men and women,” (Johnson, Arnold & Thakur 2009, p.178). This can be accomplished though many means. Policies could support effective and more improved gender analyses by focusing on the strengthening of collection of gender-related data on measures such as poverty rates, income status, health and education opportunities, and employment conditions. Insurance schemes and other such instruments specifically meant for cash transfers to women working in the informal sector can be established. Government programmes that support women’s organizations could be formed to help create awareness in reference to the necessity of women’s participation in the economy. Such possibilities are evidently tied with continual efforts to alter existing programmes to eliminate any gender discrimination that may still exist. The UNDP is already in efforts to help the government of PNG address gender inequality, especially in relation to violence against women and disproportionate representation of women in decision-making positions (2009). Many multi-national organisations have been formed in hopes of lessening gender-inequality and providing due rights to women all over the world, but their success remains a question. In summation, the role of gender biases in poverty needs to be highlighted. As seen from worldly examples and from the writings of various influential authors, it can be established that by abating inequality between the sexes, poverty in most Third World countries can be diminished. Papua New Guinea serves as a key example in understanding how gender can play an important role in dealing with poverty. Social protection policies need to focus on feminist issues in their efforts to increase development and accomplish sustainable growth. Although PNG has espoused the Millennium Development Goals, it can be said that in order to accomplish the goal that focuses of female empowerment in society, greater efforts need to be made by various national and international organisations. If poverty in Papua New Guinea is to be lessened, than the issue of gender biases cannot be ignored. References Abouharb, M. R., and Cingranelli, D. 2007, Human Rights and Structural Adjustment, [Online] Available at: http://cup.es/catalogue/catalogue.asp?isbn=9780521676717&ss=exc [Accessed 2 November 2009] AusAID 2009, Papua New Guinea: Development Challenges, [Online] Available at: http://www.ausaid.gov.au/country/papua.cfm [Accessed 2 November 2009] Beneria, L. and Roldan, M. 1987, The Crossroads of Class and Gender: Industrial Homework, Subcontracting, and Household Dynamics in Mexico City, University of Chicago Press. Boserup, E. 1974, Women’s Role in Economic Development, St. Martin's Press. Johnson, T., Arnold, C., and Thakur, S.G. 2009, Gender and Social Protection, pp. 167-178. Luttrell, C. and C. Moser 2004, Gender and Social Protection, London. Rives, J.M. and Yousefi, M. 1997, Economic Dimensions of Gender Inequality: A Global Perspective, [Online] Available at: http://www.infibeam.com/Books/info/janet-m-rives/economic-dimensions-gender-inequality-global-perspective/9780275956189.html [Accessed 2 November 2009] Sen, A. 2001, Development as Freedom, Oxford University Press. Sen, G. and Beneria, L. 1982, ‘Class and Gender Inequalities and Women’s Role in Economic Development – Theoretical and Practical Implications’, JSTOR – Feminist Studies, vol. 8, no. 1. UNDP 2009, Poverty Reduction UNDP Papua New Guinea, [Online] Available at: http://www.undp.org.pg/mdg.html [Accessed 2 November 2009] UNFPA 2005, Gender Equality Factsheet: State of World Population 2005, [Online] Available at: http://www.unfpa.org/swp/2005/presskit/factsheets/facts_gender.htm [Accessed 2 November 2009] Read More