From Africa Recovery, Vol.13#2-3 (September 1999), page 10

How to combat women's poverty?

UN's ECOSOC examines role of employment in poverty reduction

The fact that half of the world's population lives in poverty today, up from one-quarter 25 years ago, is an "inescapable blot" on the record of human progress, remarked UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan in his opening address before the 1999 session of the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). Poverty eradication was the overarching theme of the entire ECOSOC session, held in Geneva from 5-30 July. The Secretary-General's report on "The role of employment and work in poverty eradication: the empowerment and advancement of women," provided the sub-theme for discussions during the ECOSOC session's opening (high-level) segment, held from 5-8 July.

People living in sub-Saharan Africa are the most deeply mired in poverty, with incomes the furthest below the poverty line worldwide, observes Mr. Annan's report. Moreover, the number of absolute poor continues to rise while the "face of poverty" is changing: in the next century, a poor person will more likely be an unskilled female earning low wages and living in urban Africa or Latin America than a male small-holder living in rural Asia. Therefore, strategies designed to combat the discrimination and disadvantage faced by women "must be central to successful poverty reduction," the report says.

Create jobs for women

Ms. Angela King, Assistant-Secretary General in the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs and Special Adviser on Gender Issues and Advancement of Women, noted that women make up a larger share of the unemployed and underemployed than men do. She urged national policymakers to develop strategies for employment creation and poverty eradication that give full and equal recognition to women's roles as providers for themselves and their families, while also taking into account that women shoulder the extra burdens of family and caring work. Failure to take a gender-sensitive approach in policymaking risks skewing outcomes to the disadvantage of women and society at large, she warned.

South African Minister of Welfare and Development Zola Skweyiya said his country's policymakers have devoted increased attention in recent years to the linkage between employment and poverty reduction by implementing legislation and programmes to empower women and improve their quality of life. Dr. Skweyiya mentioned several recent initiatives, including the 1998 Employment Equity Act, which aims to create an equitable society and prevent employment discrimination. Also, a national gender audit, coordinated by the Office on the Status of Women and due to be completed by September 1999, is intended to result in a National Plan of Action on Gender.

A communiqué adopted at the end of the high-level session focused on the mutually reinforcing relationship between employment, poverty eradication and gender equality. It stressed that all poverty eradication strategies must promote dynamic, sustained and human-centred economic growth and development in a manner that generates employment; put a "human face" on the global economy to ensure that markets work for everybody, especially women and vulnerable groups; provide an enabling environment to ensure that markets function efficiently while creating equitable systems of social protection; and encourage women to participate equally with men in planning, decision-making and implementation.

Policy dialogue

On the first day of the high-level segment, ECOSOC held a policy dialogue with the heads of the international financial and trade organizations to review the global socio-economic situation. International Monetary Fund Managing Director Michel Camdessus, World Bank President James Wolfensohn, UN Conference on Trade and Development Secretary-General Rubens Ricupero, and Mr. David Hartridge, Director-in-Charge of the World Trade Organization, led discussions on how poverty has been affected by factors such as the huge debt burden carried by many countries, particularly in Africa, and globalization of the world economy.

Mr Wolfensohn emphasized that "debt relief does not stand alone" and cautioned that funds for poverty reduction should not be diverted to debt relief. Arguing that debt relief is just "one very important component in a comprehensive approach to poverty reduction," Mr. Wolfensohn reminded the meeting participants that policy responses should address all of the social, institutional and policy weaknesses faced by poor countries.

Similarly, Mr. Camdessus cited debt relief as just one among three elements that he feels are prerequisites for an "enabling international environment for poverty alleviation." Calling for a tighter link between debt relief and social spending, he urged governments to ensure that funds freed by debt relief are earmarked for human investment and development. And, thirdly, he pointed to the need to increase official development assistance (ODA) flows to accelerate poverty reduction.

Globalization and trade

Addressing the impact of globalization, Mr. Ricupero stressed that "development should be as much female as export-led." Trade liberalization "might do wonders" for the world's poor, especially women and other disadvantaged groups, if it could be achieved in a "gradual, equitable and balanced way," he added.

Commenting on the role of the international community in poverty eradication, Mr. Percy Metsing Mangoaela, Permanent Representative of Lesotho to the UN, also underscored the importance of trade liberalization -- particularly in sectors like agriculture that are key to developing economies -- as well as increased ODA levels. Mr. Mangoaela concluded by urging the international community to "strengthen its political commitment to meeting its obligations on resources."

Mrs. Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah, Director-General of the Department of Women's Affairs in Namibia, also underlined the importance of "tangible political commitment" in the fight against poverty. Noting that there has been no dearth of initiatives in the global poverty eradication campaign, Mrs. Nandi-Ndaitwah said that governments face an enormous task in actually implementing those initiatives.

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