women listening to the speech
A commitment to gender equality in economic outcomes, as in other
areas of social development and human rights, has emphasized women's
empowerment. There is evidence that expanding woman's opportunities -
particularly in the areas of health, education, earnings, civic rights,
and political participation - decreases gender inequality and
accelerates development. However, despite important advances towards
equality, gender differences in many socioeconomic outcomes still
persist. In light of this, policy makers and social scientists have
shifted attention to the role of men in reducing gender disparities.
In both the developing and the developed world, men wield enormous
power over many aspects of women's lives. In the public sphere, as heads
of states and government ministers, as leaders of religious
institutions, as judges, and village heads, men design and implement
policies that may or may not favor women's priorities and needs. In the
private sphere, as husbands and fathers, men can directly impact the
economic and social progress of women. Thus, ignoring men in the design
and implementation of gender-oriented policies may not only limit the
effectiveness of these initiatives but also exacerbate existing
disparities.
In my recent
paper,
using 'family' as the main unit of analysis, I identify situations in
which men's actions or decisions affect women's achievements and analyze
the implications of policies designed to foster gender equality.
The paper first describes the process that governs decisions within
the family and the economic factors that affect this process. Families
are formed by multiple agents that have different preferences. Household
allocation decisions are the result of a bargaining process in which
household members seek to allocate the resources that they control and
particularly care about. Thus, the bargaining strength of each member is
crucial to the process of final allocation. Relative income clearly
influences the intra household distribution of power, but it is not the
only variable that affects the decision process. Factors that alter a
household's economic environment, particularly its members' respective
bargaining positions, are also important.
Existing literature has identified several factors that, over time,
have led men to share or give up some of their traditional privileges
and authority in favor of women. For example, the rise in the returns to
human capital has increased men's incentives to share power with women
and has made polygamy less affordable. There is evidence that women
spend more resources on children's well-being than men.Thus, more
bargaining power for women means greater investments in children's human
capital. Also, in a context of technological progress, skilled men
value skilled women for their ability to raise skilled children. This
increases the value of skilled females in the marriage market to a point
that skilled men prefer one skilled wife to multiple unskilled ones.
The narrowing of gender gap in pay, partly driven by increasing
educational attainment of women, has also contributed to the reduction
of violence against women.
The paper also reviews recent studies that identify an important role
of husbands and fathers in the well-being of their wives and daughters.
It focuses on access to education and health institutions, as well as
on public and private arrangements that influence women's economic and
social outcomes. Some studies show that in countries such as Nigeria,
Ethiopia, Tunisia, India, and Korea, when women seek health care, they
are dependent on decisions made by a spouse or senior male member of the
family. Constraints on women's access to healthcare are likely to have
severe implications on their health, particularly during pregnancy or at
the time of delivery. In many developing countries, men also have
control over women's reproductive health. As policy makers and service
providers, men can perpetuate a dominant male definition of what is
important for women's needs. As partners and husbands, in many instances
men have the final say in family planning decisions and the use of
contraception. Thus, fertility and family planning programs that focus
solely on women will continue to achieve limited success.
The
study finally summarizes some gender policy interventions that
intentionally or unintentionally have affected men's attitudes and
behaviors and consider their ultimate implications for women's outcomes.
For example, there is evidence that involving men in reproductive
health issues by boosting their participation in informational campaigns
may have a positive effect on women's welfare. Some studies have also
stressed that economic development per se will not reduce gender
discrimination unless social structures, such as dowries, patrilineal
living arrangements, and discriminatory inheritances, will be
eliminated. In developed countries, policies aimed at promoting a more
equal distribution of child care and housework tasks are strongly
encouraged to reduce inequalities in the labor market. The Scandinavian
experience shows that a promising initiative is the introduction of
incentives to encourage fathers to take parental leaves and to share the
responsibility for child care
A lady resting {Hope}
Hope doing home chores
The lady when she visited Lwiche Secondary school and talking with girls she was invited during graduation day . She was nick named as a mother of girls
