Every year the World Economic Forum releases an annual report on the state of gender equality in every country. This year, Yemen ranked last, having closed less than 50% of its gender gap (the level of gender-based inequality). The report is based on statistics in four areas: economics, politics, education, and health.

Research in Yemen revealed some startling statistics:

1. The earned income of Yemeni woman is one-third of a male counterpart
2. Only 4% of elected officials are women
3. Less than 40% of women have learned to read

Like many other countries, Yemen’s disparities can be largely attributed to culture. For example, although Yemen has had a 15% female quota requirement for candidacies since 2006, little change has resulted in the last several election cycles.

In addition, many families choose to educate boys rather than girls since a growing population has caused many Yemeni schools to become overcrowded.

Klaus Schwab, Founder and Executive Chairman of the World Economic Forum told the Yemen Observer, “It is more important now than ever before for countries and companies to pay heed to one of the fundamental cornerstones of economic growth available to them – the skills and talent of their female human resource pool.”

Yemen ranks last in gender equality, WEF report- Yemen Observer

Bolivia will be holding a general election in December under a new constitution which requires that half of all candidates for political office are female. For women that make it into politics, especially at the municipal level, there is a constant threat of violence which causes many to either leave office or not run at all.

Several organizations, including the Bolivian Association of Women Town Councilors (ACOBOL) have pressured Congress to pass a bill to protect female officials, but so far the government has not responded.

When IPS asked María Eugenia Rojas of ACOBOL to recount cases of gender-based discrimination toward elected officials she considered many. “Which is worse? The case of the councilwoman who was attacked and suffered a miscarriage? Or the one that was beaten within an inch of her life? Or the municipal official who was raped?” she said.

Of those accused of beating or humiliating elected female officials, none have been prosecuted. From 2000 to 2005 ACOBOL recorded two hundred complaints which is unusually high for a country that currently only has 25 percent of its town council seats held by women.

“A law is not sufficient in and of itself, but it will be a key step in the right direction and a major achievement because it will be taken as a reference point for further action, especially as it sets specific penalties and identifies certain behaviors as punishable offenses,” elected official Patricia Flores told IPS.

Bolivia: Politics, a Risky Business for Women - IPS

In an article examining women as an economic force, CNN writes that women’s earning power globally is expected to reach $18 trillion by 2014, more than twice the 2014 GDP of China and India, according to World Bank estimates. A study by the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) has recently revealed that companies are not harnessing women’s economic power as a distinct force, said Michael Silverstein of BCG: “The current way companies appeal to women is to make a male product and paint it pink.” Despite their growing earning power, women are disproportionately represented in the workplace, with less than 40 of the top 400 companies being run by women.

Read the full article: Women: Saviors of the world economy? -CNN

Economist Sylvia Ann Hewlett examines women’s impact in business with a recent article published by ForbesWoman, ‘Smart Women Equal Stronger Companies.’ Hewlett cites numerous studies conducted by Catalyst, McKinsey & Company, and the London Business School, each of which “demonstrates that companies with significant numbers of women in management have a much higher return on investment than companies that keep women on the sidelines.” Addressing gender imbalances that favor men has been shown to promote diversity by counteracting groupthink, “the tendency of homogeneous groups to staunchly defend wrong-headed ideas because everyone in the group thinks the same way.” Research further illustrates that companies with a high ratio of women in top management positions have been more resistant to the present financial crisis than those without a significant female presence.

Read the full atricle: Smart Women Equal Stronger Companies -ForbesWoman

National Consultant Rehmah Kasule with Ugandan President President H.E Yoweri Kagutta Museveni at the release of the "Gender Dimensions" report.

Rehmah Kasule is an incredible Ugandan woman and past Vital Voices program participant who operates her own marketing firm in addition to an entrepreneurship development agency, which supports women interested in starting their own businesses. Ms. Kasule also serves as a national consultant to the Ugandan government, where she is currently aiding in the creation and implementation of a new government program that seeks to empower women to participate in the growing export sector.

On October 2, 2009, the Ugandan government, under the leadership of President H.E Yoweri Kagutta Museveni, released a report entitled “National Export Strategy- Gender Dimension”, which outlines the new goals:

1. To unlock the untapped potential of Ugandan women and increase their contribution in export trade. This will in turn contribute to the economic and social transformation of Uganda.
2. To add greater value to the current NES initiatives and yield competitiveness and developmental benefits beyond the set targets.
3. To facilitate the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals, which emphasize gender equality, in particular MDG Number 3.
4. To create gender sensitive export support policies and to improve and strengthen the capacity of export support institutions to provide relevant, targeted support services to women engaged in the export sector.

Vital Voices is proud of Ms. Kasule’s continued contribution to the promotion of women’s rights!

Full Report

“Investing in girls is the right thing to do. It is also the smart thing to do.”- Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Managing Director, World Bank

Plan USA, one of the world’s largest development organizations, recently released another Because I am a Girl 2009 report, the third in a series of eight, entitled “Girls in the Global Economy: Adding It All Up.” The report analyzes the importance of women and girls in economic growth and recovery.

New research found that women are disproportionately affected by financial crisis; they are the first to lose their jobs, receive salary cuts, and be forced out of school. These circumstances increase instances of child labor and exploitative industries, like sex work.

The report called for a ten-point action plan to help build economies and improve the lives of women and girls:

1. No compromise on global gender equality goals and international commitments.
2. Promote the full integration of gender equality principles into national and regional economic policies.
3. Prioritize girls’ education from their earliest years through to adolescence and beyond.
4. Maintain national social protection programs and safeguard social services.
5. Scale up investment in young women’s work opportunities.
6. Support young women workers and ensure they get decent pay and conditions.
7. Invest in young women’s leadership.
8. Ensure equality for girls and young women in land and property ownership.
9. Count and value girls and young women’s work through national and international data disaggregation.
10. Develop and promote a set of practical global guiding principles on girls and young women at work.

Full Report

At the Clinton Global Initiative annual summit last week a new program was launched called Technologies to Improve Women’s Economic Livelihoods, which aims to “help identify and deploy technologies and innovations that can improve quality of life and enable women to participate more fully in income-generating activities.”

The $1.5 million dollar program is sponsored by Exxon Mobil Corporation, Ashoka’s Changemakers, a global association of the world’s leading social entrepreneurs, and the International Center for Research on Women (ICRW).

Bill Drayton, founder of Ashoka’s Changemakers, said, “We have seen what individuals can do to engineer change in their communities. This collaborative search will help us see how technology innovations for women can be part of the solution to global poverty.”

Press Release

In a late August report, the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) found Japan’s efforts to ensure gender equality “insufficient”.

Finding little progress in the past six years, the Committee set a two-year time limit for Japan to revise a number of areas of inequality.

Some of recommended revisions include:

• Marital discrimination: Japanese civil code does not allow married couples to choose separate surnames and only women face a waiting period before they are able to remarry
• Wage discrimination: Women earn 60 to 70 percent of men’s wages, one of the biggest gaps in industrial nations
• Political discrimination: women in Japan have one of the lowest political representations of industrial nations, at only 11.25 percent

Women’s organizations have been encouraged by the deadline and have posed their own recommendations.

Yasuko Yamashita, a representative of the Japanese NGO Network for CEDAW (JNNC) said, “I’d like to see an expert panel on elimination of discrimination against women set up within the Council for Gender Equality to oversee how government measures are being implemented.”

U.N. to Japan: Get serious on gender equality- International Herald Tribune

Yesterday, September 14, Drexel University College of Medicine launched a new initiative called VISION 2010, a decade-long campaign to ensure equality for men and women all aspects of American society.

The 2020 deadlines comes at the 100th anniversary of the ratification of the 19th Amendment, which gave women the right to vote.

Sponsoring the camping is Penn Mutual Life Insurance Company along with a national advisory board including:

• Journalists Anna Quindlen and Cokie Roberts
• Philanthropist Doris Buffett
• College presidents Emerita Johnnetta Cole (Spelman) and Mary Patterson McPherson(Bryn Mawr)
• ABA president Carolyn Lamm
• CEOs Lynn Elsenhans (Sunoco) and Janet Dillione (Siemens IT division)
• JAMA editor-in-chief Dr. Catherine DeAngelis
• Olympic gold-medalist Dawn Staley

Among the issues the initiatives will strive to improve are female political representation, income disparities between men and women, and percentage of women in high-level business positions.

102 experts, two from each state including the District of Columbia, will meet in the following year to create an action agenda for the next decade.

If you want to get involved visit www.Drexel.edu/VISION2020 or the project’s Facebook page.

National Initiative Tied to 19th Amendment Centennial Targets Full Equality for Women by 2020- Reuters

The field of sustainable development, critical to growth in the African continent, is driven by scientific research and new technology, areas where women are increasingly building a presence in the region. Dr. Marie Louise Correa, former minister in charge of scientific research in Senegal, recently commented in an interview with IPS news that women researchers are working “in perfect harmony with male researchers,” adding that women are not marginalized in scientific research. Correa noted, “Certainly, we are women, but this doesn’t disturb us in the exercise of our functions.” At present, Correa insists that advances in women’s involvement be noted as positive signs:

“We women play an influential role in the development of the continent through research.”

Yacine Toure, an advisor on science and technology at the Food Technology Institute of Senegal, believes that any existing gender gaps in representation in the scientific fields are owning to inequities that start with early education: “To begin with, in the acquisition of knowledge, there are fewer educated women than men. In Senegal, less than 50 percent of females are in school. Those who are, often leave school at the primary or secondary level.” Toure goes on to explain, “If there is not equality between men and women in research, it’s not because of a lack of capacity by women, it’s due to sociocultural realities.”

Toure insists that a change is needed at the root of common perceptions surrounding the role of women and young girls: “We need a change in the behavior of parents, so they’ll let their daughters continue their higher studies instead of being married off early.” Certain government programs and initiatives are providing support for women who pursue careers in science and sustainable development, providing bursaries to girls who get their baccalaureate, as IPS reports.

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