25 January Addressing Gender Inequality: an International prospective Pierella Paci Regional Gender Coordinator Europe and Central Asia Region The World Bank

25 January Outline What is gender? Why governments should be concerned with gender equality? Gender inequality exists everywhere And the transition countries of ECA are not an exception

25 January What is gender? Refers to the socially & culturally defined roles of males and females – what males and females are supposed to do Contrasted with sex, which refers to the biological differences between males and females Gender equality is the extent to which females and males have different rights, resources and power –Male privilege and prerogatives dominate, but there are cases in which females are better off than males, also gender problems involving males that arise from gender roles (e.g., violence)

25 January Why should governments be concerned about gender? 1.Gender inequality reduces economic growth, amperes poverty reduction – important objectives of many governments – and is associated with worse governance 2.Gender inequality exists throughout the world, that is, it remains a problem 3.This is despite many countries having made commitments to promote gender equality that remain unfulfilled good policies 4.And despite the evidence that good policies can make a difference

25 January Gender equality helps to:  increase economic growth  lower poverty & improve the quality of life  improve governance (maybe)

25 January Links between gender equality and economic growth

25 January Links with productivity/efficient allocation of resources in the current generation  Unequal allocation of resources based on gender lowers productivity and efficiency  Example: gender equality in farm inputs could increase output by 4 to 20 percent  Women’s use of productive resources is as efficient or more efficient than men’s  Ex: micro-credit to women has been shown to have twice the impact on household income as micro-credit to men  More equal capacity leads to higher economic growth (see next slide)

25 January Links with the productivity of the next generation  Women invest their incomes in their children, men in themselves  Ex: In Brazil, income in the hands of mothers has four times the positive impact on children’s nutrition (height-for-age) as income in the hands of fathers.  Better educated mothers invest more heavily in their children’s learning  Ex: In India, children of literate mothers spend two more hours a day studying than children of illiterate mothers.

25 January (Additional) links with poverty Job discrimination and/or cultural or legal barriers to better paid forms of work put women at risk of poverty Within households, unequal access to resources may result in greater female than male poverty Violence against women is pervasive, dangerous and costly

25 January Countries with more equal participation and rights are less corrupt Index of women's economic and social rights Corruption Index

25 January Inequality remains pervasive Gender disparities are found in all regions and countries Are especially large in: –Low income countries –Low income households

25 January Gender gaps in education are often largest in low-income countries Male/Female Enrollment Ratios, 6-14 years old Morocco Pakistan India Tanzania Kazakstan Brazil Indonesia Egypt Turkey Selected Developing Countries RichPoor Source: Filmer (1999)

25 January Time poverty: Women work longer hours than men CARCote d'Ivoire TanzaniaBotswana ZambiaKenyaNigeriaBurkina Faso Uganda Women Men Hours of Work per Day, by Gender, in Selected African Countries Source: Various, cited in Blackden and Bhanu (1999)

25 January Inequality in legal, social and economic rights exists in all regions High Equality Low Equality

25 January Women are under-represented in parliaments

25 January Gender violence exists around the world (% of women who have experienced violence)

25 January Women earn less than men – even when they have similar education and work experience What women earn for every $1 men earn: Developed countries 0.77 Developing countries 0.73 Adam Smith (1763): A woman shall be paid three quarters of a man’s wage.

25 January Countries’ commitments Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1979 Fourth World Conference on Women Platform for Action, 1995 (Beijing) Millennium Development Goals, 2000 –Goal 3: Promote gender equality & empower women

25 January Well designed public policies can make a difference

25 January Pension income for Chilean workers with incomplete primary education (female/male ratio in parenthesis) (0.89) (0.43) (0.35) (0.29) (0.60) Female own pension (retire age 60) Female own pension adjusted by MPG Female own pension (retire age 65) Female own or survivor's pension Female own+ survivor's pension Male own pension Pesos (thousands) Gender equality in pension benefits

25 January Ecuador Judicial Reform Project Established legal service centers for poor women Result: Child support cases settled in 3-8 weeks rather than in 1-3 years

25 January Example of best practice interventions in the labor market

25 January EU LEGAL FRAMEWORK PRIMARY LEGISLATION Treaty of Rome, 1957 –Principle of Equal Pay Treaty of Amsterdam, 1997 –Eliminating Gender Inequality SECONDARY LEGISLATION establishing principle of equal treatment as regards: –access to employment; –vocational training and promotion; –working conditions; and –matters of social security.

25 January Directive 76/207/EEC, 1976 Equal Access to Employment, Vocational Training and Promotion, and Working Conditions: abolishment of all discriminatory provisions in laws, regulations, administrative procedures, collective agreements, individual contracts etc.; application of the principle of equal treatment with regards to vocational training, and working conditions; elimination of discrimination on grounds of sex either directly or indirectly, in particular by reference to marital and family status.

25 January Employment rates - male and female 2002 Source: Eurostat, Jan 2004

25 January Share of Skilled Women and Men in Employment, 2002 (in%)

25 January Vertical Segregation - Share of employees in managerial occupation, by sex, 2002

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25 January Directive 92/85/EC, 1992 – Maternity Protection an assessment of specific safety risks at work; prohibition of dismissal from the beginning of pregnancy until the end of maternity leave; ensuring employment rights plus pay and respective allowances during maternity leave; shifting the burden of proof.

25 January Directive 96/34/EC, 1996 Framework Agreement on Parental Leave granting male and female workers an individual right to parental leave; enabling parents to take care of their child for at least 3 months until a given age up to eight years; granting the leave on a non-transferable basis; protecting workers against dismissal on the grounds of taking a parental leave; ensuring the right to return to the same job under the same conditions.

25 January Share of employees with children aged 0-5 (2002, in %)

25 January Maternity/Parental Leave Arrangements Traps for Women's Employment? Extended leaves; Wage effect; Career; Institutional structure. Protective measures raise the cost of hiring women. Ignoring the negative effect of protective standards may prove harmful for women, particularly in countries experiencing structural reforms/transformation.

25 January Directive 97/81/EC, 1997 Non-discrimination against part-time workers clear definition; non-discrimination of part-time workers with respect to employment conditions; facilitation of access to part-time work at all levels of the enterprise, including skilled and managerial positions...

25 January Share of part-time employees, 2002 (in%)

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25 January Re-organization of working time Flexibility - A new form of precariousness? Implications of “flexible” working arrangements? Experiences of such working arrangements in other countries? In what circumstances could flexibility and equal opportunities serve/reinforce each other? All possible effects should be borne in mind.

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25 January Directive 97/80/EC, 1997 Burden of Proof in cases of Discrimination based on sex clear definition(s) of direct/indirect discrimination; application to all civil and administrative procedures; introducing rule of evidence, burden of proof… New standard - major shift in legal theory and practice! Very difficult adoption and implementation - classic rule of evidence...

25 January Key Elements of Policy Relevance Importance of differences in m/f labor market participation and career structures; Differences in m/f wage structures and gender(ed) effects of pay and promotion policies; horizontal segregation in general and concentration of women in low paying sectors and occupations..

25 January CHALLENGES OF EU ACCESSION Overlapping of two significant, continuing processes - transition and accession; level of economic, social and political reforms prior to entry into EU; different phases of accession to EU; creation of many losers in domestic politics; paid employment as primary axis of social change...

25 January LABOUR MRKT. OPPORTUNITIES WELFARE SYSTEM LABOUR MARKET STRUCTURE INTERNATIONAL CONTEXT POLITICAL and ECONOMIC CONTEXT TRADITION, SOCIAL/SOCIETAL CONTEXT LABOUR MRKT. OPPORTUNITIES

25 January CHALLENGES OF THE EU ACCESSION No explicit legal provisions prior to the process of accession; No mechanisms on equal treatment (quasi quotas); Low legal culture and weak institutional infrastructure; Focusing on legal harmonization; Lack on information and case laws; Implementation deficit - weakness.

25 January CHALLENGES OF EU ACCESSION Policy Performance - Slovenian case Act on Parental Care and Family Incomes (2001) - not translated - introducing non-transferable PATERNAL LEAVE Labor Relations Act (2002) Equal Opportunities for Women and Men (2002)

25 January Labor Relations Act Prohibition on discrimination - Art. 6 Job advertisements, Art. 25 Sexual harassment, Art. 45 Extraordinary cancellation by an employee, Art. 112 Principle of equal pay, Art. 133

25 January Labour Relations Act - Process/Actors Preparation of materials - law experts Exchange of legal practices - Phare Programme “Harmonizing Regulations, Employment and Social Reforms Foreign Experts (UK and France) ESS - April 1997/proceeding in July Ministerial proceedings st Proposal in the Parliament st proceeding in the Parliament

25 January Labor Relations Act - Process/Actors 3 rounds of harmonization between social partners; change of ministers; Sept certain unadjusted solutions; rd round of harmonization 7 Nov Statement on harmonization by ESS

25 January Labor Relations Act - Process/Actors NO CONTENDING TO THE EQUAL OPP. PROVISIONS, BASED ON EU OR OTHER INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY’S DIRECTIVE/S

25 January Policy Performance Number of active measures needed: clear governmental commitments; modification of EU structural indicators and benchmarks to reflect the specific characteristics of CEE labor markets; shifting attention to the implementation/enforcement of legislation; equality plans creation - inclusion into collective bargaining; encouraging employers to facilitate reconciliation

25 January Policy Performance Government should support NGOs and develop measures for preventing, detecting and eliminating discrimination; TUs should monitor the working environment and raise awareness of discriminated-against; creating measures for inclusion on non- discriminatory basis; clear HR policies continuing monitoring (system creation) Companies most friendly to women

25 January Policy Performance Long-lasting and complex nature of shift from the principle of equal rights to the principle of eq. opportunities/treatment; active and intense resolution by all actors in society; EU as an important international reference frame and impulse; proper legislation - incl. wider policy environment, state of labor markets, national trends and case laws into consideration

25 January Policy Performance Careful and well-prepared analytical approach to legislation procedure; inclusion of all actors - TUs, experts, NGOs, employers, government, case laws, exchange of best-practice; careful adoption of other countries’ solutions! Proper training and media coverage

25 January