Gender Inequality, Economic Development and the Knowledge Economy Second MENA Knowledge for Development Forum Marseilles, France March 15-16, 2004 Gender Inequality, Economic Development and the Knowledge Economy The World Bank

Gender Inequality and Economic Development Knowledge for Development Program 2004

Selection-Distortion and Environment Effects Gender Inequality in Education Boys with lower innate abilities get educated Less Educated Mothers - Less intellectually stimulating environment Less life-long learning at the household level Lower quality of students Lower Quality Labor Force Gender Inequality in Employment Lower TFP Growth Marginal Product of Capital Decreases Less Investment Lower Economic Growth Knowledge for Development Program 2004

Environment Effects Gender inequality in education – less female education at each level of male education Less-educated mothers provide environments that are less intellectually stimulating Resulting in a lower quality of students Equally educated siblings and couples tend to strengthen each other’s educational success and life-long learning Gender inequality in education tends to result in less life-long learning Knowledge for Development Program 2004

Demographic Transition Effects Gender Equality in Education Education attainment of women increases Lower fertility – less children Aggregate Savings Increases Relative size of the working–age population increases Marginal Product of Capital Increases Note that the demographic transition effects are relevant to countries that have not undergone the demographic transitions. As such, this necessarily precludes, most if not all, developed countries. More Investment Higher per-capita Income Knowledge for Development Program 2004

Better Governance and Institutions Women’s participation in public office tend to be associated with Cleaner businesses and government Less corruption Better governance and institutions tend to be associated with higher rates of economic growth Greater women’s rights and more equal participation in public life by women and men are associated which cleaner business and government and better governance. Where the influence of women in public life is greater, the level of corruption is lower. This holds even when comparing countries with the same income, civil liberties, education and legal institutions. These findings lend additional support for having more women in the labor force and in politics, since women can be an effective force for rule of law and good government. Women in business are less likely to pay bribes to government officials, perhaps because women have higher standards of ethical behavior or greater risk aversion. A study of 350 firms in Georgia concludes that firms owned or managed by men are 10 percent more likely to make unofficial payments to government officials than those owned or managed by women. This results holds regardless of the characteristics of the firm, such as the sector in which it operates and firm size, and the characteristics of the owner or manger, such as education. Without controlling for these factors, firms managed by men are twice as likely to pay bribes. Knowledge for Development Program 2004

Governance and Institutions Corruption Index The corruption index uses data from the International Country Risk Guide (ICRG) and transforms it: Corruption index = 10 – (ICRG index –1) x 2 A value of 0 indicates low levels of corruption; a value of 10 indicates high levels. The women’s rights variable is the Women’s Economic and Social Human Rights (WESHR) Indicator developed by Purdue University’s Global Studies Program. A score of 7 is interpreted as gender equality in economic and social rights. The figure controls for per capita GDP in each country. Original source: World Bank staff estimates; Kaufmann (1998). Index of women’s economic and social rights Source: World Bank, 2001 Knowledge for Development Program 2004

Gender Inequality in the World Knowledge for Development Program 2004

Gender Inequality in the World The rights indicator is an average of three indexes of gender equality in rights collected for more than 100 countries by Humana (1992). The individual rights indexes focus on gender equality of political and legal rights, social and economic rights, and rights in marriage and in divorce proceedings. The indexes are constructed using a consistent methodology across countries in which the extent of rights is evaluated (on a scale of 1 to 4) against rights specified in several human rights instruments of the United Nations. Knowledge for Development Program 2004

Gender Inequality in the World Knowledge for Development Program 2004

Gender Inequality in the World Unequal rights and poor socioeconomic status of women relative to men limit their ability to influence decisions in their communities and at the national level. Women remain vastly underrepresented in national and local assemblies, accounting for less than 10 percent of the seats in parliament, on average (except in East Asia where the figure is 18-19 percent). In no developing region do women hold more than 8 percent of ministerial positions. Progress has been negligible in most regions since the 1970s. In Eastern Europe female representation has fallen from about 25 to 7 percent since the beginning of economic and political transition there. Knowledge for Development Program 2004

Gender Inequality and the Knowledge Economy Knowledge for Development Program 2004

Knowledge Economy Framework Economy in which knowledge is the engine of growth Four Pillars of the Knowledge Economy Economic incentive and institutional regime that provides incentives for the efficient use of existing and new knowledge and the flourishing of entrepreneurship Educated, creative and skilled people Dynamic information infrastructure Effective national innovation system Knowledge for Development Program 2004

Gender Inequality in MENA Knowledge for Development Program 2004

ICT and Gender Inequality Knowledge for Development Program 2004

ICT: Economic Opportunity for MENA women New sector. No legacy from the past Women are by nature good at information aggregation; creation and dissemination Allows unemployed graduates to find a new niche in local creation in their field of expertise Allows work to be virtual. Can combine workforce in one location (childcare) or women can work in politically correct locations with the right tools, Infrastructure, and training Allows life long learning and re-skilling from home

ICT Entrepreneur Profile Great networker, Extrovert Dealer and wheeler Pushy/Aggressive ; marketeer Well connected to industry / practitioners Access to Finance and VC Travel; Partnerships, Participation in exhibits, events and conferences Enjoys Freedom of Expression

ICT and Gender Inequality Channels via which ICT can improve gender in equality Influencing public opinion on gender equality Web sites; news; networks; associations on line Increasing women’s education Via access to public information on relevant topics without having to go through traditional channels Allowing more economic opportunities for women 10 PERCENT OF OECD LABOR FORCE is employed in ICT SECTOR (directly and indirectly) Knowledge for Development Program 2004

ICT and Gender Inequality Influencing Public Opinion on Gender Equality ICT increases flow of knowledge and information Increases exposures of customs, norms and practices from other cultures and societies Raises the awareness and informs the constituency of gender inequality issues, on injustices or flagrant system failures Increases pressure on policymakers to include gender as an important component of their social and economic policies, and women as an important segment of their constituency Radio Rabia Balki in Mazar-E Sharif, Afghanistan, where more than 80% of the women are illiterate, airs recorded essays and features on gender inequality issues and successful efforts to overcome challenges. After listening to this program, some conservative family heads in the region, which had previously refused to let their daughters attend school, changed their minds. Knowledge for Development Program 2004

ICT and Gender Inequality Increasing Women’s Education Lack of schooling coupled with gender biases that dictate domestic roles for women tend to perpetuate gender disparities ICT allow women to obtain and update their skills for equal participation in the knowledge economy Increasing access through distance learning Broadening the availability of quality educational materials Efficiency and Effectiveness of Educational Administration Increasing Access through Distance Learning ICT can provide various channels to bring educational options to those who have historically been excluded, including populations in rural areas without schools, women facing social barriers that limit their access to education, students with disabilities or with specific vocational training needs. For example, radio and TV are popular educational media in many developing countries. Today, we have more sophisticated technologies, such as video conferencing and the Internet, that offer advanced tow-way interactive delivery modes and can be combined with traditional technologies to meet the educational needs of various communities. In addition, ICT also enables timely transmission of information and knowledge, which is crucial in this information age. Broadening the Availability of Quality Educational Materials Network technologies have the potential to increase the availability of quality educational materials. Their interactivity and global reach allow for customized sharing of knowledge, materials and databases quickly and cheaply, independent of the physical movement and geographic distances of individuals. Efficiency and Effectiveness of Educational Administration ICT provides support not only for classroom activities but for administrative activities as well. Through ICT training programs, school principals and administrators learn how ICT can help improve the process of quality of administrative activities through management software and computer networks, including human resource management, student registration, and monitoring of student enrollment and achievement. Knowledge for Development Program 2004

ICT and Gender Inequality Increasing Economic Opportunities for Women ICTs allow women to telecommute and hence they are able to work and interact with men without face-to-face contact and even without being in the same place ICTs allow micro and small enterprises (MSE), which are dominated by women, to compete and to partner in the marketplace ICT allows women to save time and start valuing their own time ICT saves on transportation time and hazards Women have been limited from participation in many forms of economic life. In some cultures, women are expected to stay at home and are not permitted to have face-to-face contact with men other then close family, or to travel. For such cultures, ICT may open economic opportunities for women since telephone and the Internet allow them to interact with men without face-to-face contact, and even without being in the same place Women increasingly dominate the micro and small enterprises (MSE) sector in many developing countries. Women in business need ICT for connectivity, communications, computing, and commerce. New ICT-enabled business and businesses servicing the ICT sector are particularly fruitful areas for women entrepreneurs. A number of e-business ventures, including examples from Cambodia, India, and Peru, illustrate how self-employed women working in the formal sector can exploit economic opportunities offered by e-commerce. Chambers of commerce and other business service providers too can be very helpful in delivering ICT-related services to women entrepreneurs. Tortas Peru is a women-owned enterprise that uses the Internet to reach a wider market, selling cakes and desserts through their website, mainly targeting the 2 million Peruvians living outside the country, who send orders by email. With just 3 hours of instruction, the housewife-members of the network learn to use email, find the website, and interact with clients through public computer booths. Knowledge for Development Program 2004