Significant evidence
shows that by empowering women and girls, societies benefit as a whole,
new socio-economic opportunities open, and economic growth is spurred,
the US ambassador to the United Nations Betty E King, who is heading the
US delegation to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development
yesterday observed during a session on ‘Women in Development.’
“A growing body of evidence – including academic, policy, and private sector research – shows that empowering women and reducing gender gaps in health, education, labour markets, and other areas is associated with lower poverty, higher economic growth, greater agricultural productivity, better nutrition and education of children, and a variety of other outcomes,” she said.
Agriculture, environment, food security, and intellectual property, among other issues, also have important gender considerations, she added.
“Today’s event on ‘Women in Development’ offers another important moment to highlight the important role of women in development and economic growth. Too many women around the world are marginalised. Too many girls are not given the opportunity to learn the skills and develop the tools that will help them contribute productively to their communities,” she said, while mentioning that the US recognised the fact and has made the empowerment of women an integral part of its development agenda.
“As Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said at the special session on ‘Gender’ at the “Fourth high level forum on aid effectiveness,” we believe we are entering the age of participation, one in which every individual can make valuable contributions to the global marketplace if they have the opportunity to do so. And it is incumbent upon us to make sure that men and women alike have that opportunity,” she said.
The official maintained that the empowerment of women was of crucial, and growing, importance for harnessing the potential for inclusive growth and development. “Women’s engagement in trade and economic activities, employment in export sectors, production of cash crops and the creation of new businesses enables them to make productive investments and reduce poverty,” she noted.
“A growing body of evidence – including academic, policy, and private sector research – shows that empowering women and reducing gender gaps in health, education, labour markets, and other areas is associated with lower poverty, higher economic growth, greater agricultural productivity, better nutrition and education of children, and a variety of other outcomes,” she said.
Agriculture, environment, food security, and intellectual property, among other issues, also have important gender considerations, she added.
“Today’s event on ‘Women in Development’ offers another important moment to highlight the important role of women in development and economic growth. Too many women around the world are marginalised. Too many girls are not given the opportunity to learn the skills and develop the tools that will help them contribute productively to their communities,” she said, while mentioning that the US recognised the fact and has made the empowerment of women an integral part of its development agenda.
“As Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said at the special session on ‘Gender’ at the “Fourth high level forum on aid effectiveness,” we believe we are entering the age of participation, one in which every individual can make valuable contributions to the global marketplace if they have the opportunity to do so. And it is incumbent upon us to make sure that men and women alike have that opportunity,” she said.
The official maintained that the empowerment of women was of crucial, and growing, importance for harnessing the potential for inclusive growth and development. “Women’s engagement in trade and economic activities, employment in export sectors, production of cash crops and the creation of new businesses enables them to make productive investments and reduce poverty,” she noted.
She mentioned that the World Bank recently released a report showing that the developing world had collectively met the Millennium Development Goal of halving extreme poverty by 2015. “This occurred in spite of the challenges presented by the financial crisis and slowdown in the global economy. Women played a crucial role in this progress, and their potential is even greater,” she said.
She highlighted that globally, women will control $15tn in spending by the year 2014. And by 2028, women will be responsible for about two-thirds of consumer spending worldwide.
“The Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) estimates that if women had the same access to productive resources as men, they could increase yields on their farms by 20 to 30%. This increase could raise total agricultural output in developing countries by 2.5 to four percent and reduce the number of hungry people in the world by 12 to 17%, or up to 150mn people,” she explained.
Ambassador King added that women disproportionately spend more of their earned income on food, healthcare, home improvement, and schooling, which has a multiplier effect in local communities.
“According to The Economist magazine, over the last decade women’s increased participation in the labour market in the developed world accounted for a greater share of global growth than China . In the emerging East Asian economies, for every 100 men in the labour force there are now 83 women, higher even than the average in OECD countries,” she mentioned.
“The United States believes that to elevate the status of women and girls, we must put them at the centre of development efforts,” she noted.
Sourch: http://www.gulf-times.com/site/topics/article.asp?cu_no=2&item_no=501285&version=1&template_id=36&parent_id=16
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