Gender and sustainable development [electronic resource] : maximising the economic, social and environmental role of women

2008·1.6 MB·English

by  Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development

Genderand Sustainable
Development
MAXIMISINGTHEECONOMIC,
SOCIALANDENVIRONMENTALROLEOFWOMEN
«•
OECD
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Gender
and Sustainable
Development
.XIMISINGTHE ECONOMIC, SOCIALAND
ENVIRONMENTALROLEOFWOMEN
GANISATIONFORECONOMICCO-OPERATION
ANDDEVELOPMENT
ECDisauniqueforumwherethegovernmentsof30democracieswork
addresstheeconomic,socialandenvironmentalchallengesofglobalisation,
salsoattheforefrontofeffortstounderstandandtohelpgovernments
newdevelopmentsandconcerns,suchascorporategovernance,the
1economyandthechallengesofanageingpopulation.TheOrganisation
ettingwheregovernmentscancomparepolicyexperiences,seekanswersto
roblems,identifygoodpracticeandworktoco-ordinatedomesticand
alpolicies.
ECDmembercountriesare:Australia,Austria,Belgium,Canada,the
ablic,Denmark,Finland,France,Germany,Greece,Hungary,Iceland,
ly,Japan,Korea,Luxembourg,Mexico,theNetherlands,NewZealand,
land,Portugal,theSlovakRepublic,Spain,Sweden,Switzerland,Turkey,
KingdomandtheUnitedStates.TheCommissionoftheEuropean
estakespartintheworkoftheOECD.
PublishingdisseminateswidelytheresultsoftheOrganisation’sstatistics
ndresearchoneconomic,socialandenvironmentalissues,aswellasthe
s,guidelinesandstandardsagreedbyitsmembers.
ThisworkispublishedontheresponsibilityoftheSecretary-Generalof
2OECD.Theopinionsexpressedandargumentsemployedhereindonot
cessarilyreflecttheofficialviewsoftheOrganisationorofthegovernments
itsmembercountries.
OECDpublicationsmaybefoundonlineat:www.oecd.org/publishing/corrigenda.
FOREWORD-3
Foreword
ainable development can only be achieved through long-term
entsineconomic,humanandenvironmentalcapital.Atpresent,the
halfoftheworld’shumancapitalisundervaluedandunderutilised
Idover.Asagroup,women-andtheirpotentialcontributionsto
ic advances, social progress andenvironmentalprotection-have
arginalised. Better use of the world’s female population could
economicgrowth,reducepoverty,enhancesocietalwell-being,and
uresustainabledevelopmentinallcountries.Closingthegendergap
onenlightenedgovernmentpolicieswhichtakegenderdimensions
ount.
; report is acontribution by the Organisation forEconomic Co-
nandDevelopment(OECD)totheUnitedNationsCommissionon
ibleDevelopment(UNCSD)anditscross-cuttingworkongender.It
increaseunderstandingoftheroleofwomeninmaintainingthethree
economic,socialandenvironmental-ofsustainabledevelopment.
reporthasbeenpreparedbytheOECDHorizontalProgrammeon
ibleDevelopmentandisbasedlargelyonOECDanalyses.Thedata
primarilyto the situation ofwomen in OECD countries, but the
andpolicyimplicationsareapplicabletoallcountries.Thereport
;showgendermainstreaminginstatistics,studiesandstatutescan
noresustainablegovernmentpoliciesandabetterworldeconomy.
more information on OECD sustainable development activities,
Candice Stevens, OECD Sustainable Development Advisor
[email protected]).
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TABLEOFCONTENTS-5
TableofContents
3
7
idGender 9
idEconomicGrowth 11
idPovertyReduction 17
idTechnology 23
idManagement 29
ntrepreneurs 35
iender 41
idEducation 43
idHealth 49
idMigration 55
idGovernance 59
andGender 63
idSustainableConsumption 65
idSustainableProduction 69
idClimateChange 73
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SUMMARY-7
Summary
ainable development rests on maintaining long-term economic,
ind environmental capital. While the importance ofinvesting in
icassetstoassureprogresshaslongbeenrecognised, sustainable
mentbringsattentiontotheecologicalandhumandimensionswhich
keytogrowthanddevelopment.Infailingtomakethebestuseof
nalepopulations,mostcountries areunderinvestinginthehuman
neededtoassuresustainability.Althoughwomenaccountforover
'ofthepotentialtalentbasethroughouttheworld,asagroupthey
;en marginalised and their economic, social and environmental
itionsgoinlargepartunrealised.
;marketandsystemsfailureisdiscussedhereintermsofgender
nts, which are basedonthe socially-constructed andhistorically-
ed roles of men and women. Exploring the various aspects of
bledevelopmentwithagenderperspective,e.g.theplaceofwomen,
itstheeconomiccostsofcontinuinggendergaps.Italsoilluminates
lalecontributionscanbebetterrealisedatpresentandhowstrategies
levelopedformeetingtheneedsoffuturegenerations,womenand
ke. This “engendering” ofanalytical, statistical andpolicy work,
gthatoftheOECD,providesthebasisforenlightenedpoliciesand
stainabledevelopmentandgrowth(Box1).
LMakingUseofFemaleHumanCapital:BenefitsandPolicies
ithatifbetteruseweremadeoftheworld’sfemalehumancapital:
inomicgrowthwouldincreaseinallcountries;
numberofpeoplelivinginpovertywoulddeclineinallcountries;
tilityrateswouldriseinOECDcountriesanddeclineinnon-OECDcountries;
;inessperformanceandinnovationwouldbeenhanced;
cost-effectivenessofhealthcareandsocialprogrammeswouldberaised;
/ernmentpolicieswouldbetterrespondtotheneedsofallcitizens;and
dronmentaldamagefromunsustainableactivitieswoulddecrease.
dsonengenderedgovernmentpoliciesincluding:
lily-friendlypoliciestoincreasethelabourforceparticipationofwomen;
/elopmentassistancepolicieswhichpromotetheeconomicroleofwomen;
gradingthestatusofandwagesfortraditionalareasofwomen’swork;
entivestowomentoenterscienceandtechnologycareers;
reasedaccesstofinanceandsupportservicesforwomenentrepreneurs;
ider-specificapproachesinhealthcareplanningandtreatment;
terintegrationofwomenmigrantsinlabourmarketsandsociety;
tingtargetsandgoalsforwomenmanagersandparliamentarians;and
inggreaterweighttofemaleperspectivesinenvironmentalpolicies.
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ECONOMICSANDGENDER-9
EconomicsandGender
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