The e-Newsletter of the Gender Network

August 2012 | Vol. 6, No. 2

Gender equality and the MDGs in Asia and the Pacific

by Shiladitya Chatterjee Gender equality is more than a goal in itself. It is a precondition for meeting the challenge of reducing poverty, promoting sustainable development and building good governance. The author of this quote, Kofi Annan is one of the main champions of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) which were adopted through the historic Millennium Declaration of the UN General Assembly in September 2000, under his watch as the UN Secretary General. The MDGs were agreed by leaders of all countries at the beginning of this century to substantially end poverty and deprivation in the world by 2015. They gave hope to millions of the worlds poor and deprived including deprived women of a better life. The Goals spelt out in eight major development areas - were to be achieved through concerted national and global efforts. Given the importance of gender equality in overall development, it was included as one of the major goals, but as recognized by Kofi Annan, it influences all aspects of development. Indeed, the overall achievement of the MDGs in their entirety depends on them too. However, the Asia and Pacific region, despite its rapid progress in terms of economic growth, has lagged behind in major aspects of human and social development, including progress in providing equal opportunities to its women. This is shown in Figure 1 below, which shows progress since 1990 against targets on measures directly related to gender (gender parity in primary, secondary and tertiary education; share of women in nonagricultural wage employment and maternal mortality) as well as measures that are closely affected by womens development (such as underweight children, child mortality rate) and measures that affect the well-being of women significantly (such as access to clean water and basic sanitation).
Figure 1: Progress on major MDG indicators in the Asia-Pacific Region
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Source: Strategy and Policy Department staff estimates using data from UNESCAP, Statistics Division.

Figure shows the percentage progress achieved by selected MDG indicators since 1990 relative to progress required to meet the 2015 targets.

Not that there has been no progress. As far as educating children is concerned, major strides have been made. There are as many girls as boys enrolled in primary and secondary schools throughout the region even in its rural and remote areas. Although in our universities and institutions of higher education women are still outnumbered by men, by 2015 gender balance is likely to be achieved. However, this general progress towards gender equality in education has failed to translate into gender equality in other aspects of womens development. Formal jobs outside agriculture are still mainly the preserve of men women in the AsiaPacific region occupy only a third of such jobs at present and this indicator has shown little movement since 1990. Similarly, women still are grossly under-represented in parliament and in higher echelons of the public and private sectors. A part of the explanation for this is the continuation of social taboos or prejudices in vast swathes of the region, preventing women from taking active roles outside the home or traditional family farms. The worst form of social prejudice against women female feticide and infanticide is still common in many parts of Asia and is reflected in the unbalanced male to female sex ratios in several Asian countries. Less virulent forms of oppression in terms of discrimination in access to nutrition and health interventions are also evident in the skewed female to male ratios in underweight children and infant and child mortality in several countries also. Lack of sufficient attention to womens health is a cause for very slow progress in improving health outcomes for women. Despite advances in science and medicine, far too many mothers still die needlessly at childbirth in this region (140,000 by latest count). The incidence of women living with AIDS has also risen from 1.3 million in 2001 to 1.7 million in 2009 while their proportion in total AIDS sufferers has also increased from 34.6% to 35.9% in the same period. Stifling womens development not only limits half the population of this region from living a full and decent life but also affects the sustainable development of the economy and society as stressed by Kofi Annan. Barriers to womens participation in the labor force, for example, deprive the labor market from exploiting the best talent available and reduce overall productivity and growth. Lack of womens development is likely to harm the welfare of the family, especially children. A recent ADB study,2 for example, found a strong relationship between the Gender Development Index (GDI) and child (under 5) mortality, shown in Figure 2 for Asian countries. Countries with high GDI scores had lower child mortality rates than those with low GDI. This is to be expected as higher child mortality is likely to result from lack of awareness of good nutrition and sanitation practices by women who are the primary care givers in the family. Education of women is likely to result also in better birth spacing and breast-feeding practices. Better nutrition, smaller families and improved sanitary mores are likely to result in improvements in the health of the family as a whole.

ESCAP ADB and UNDP. (2012). Accelerating Equitable Achievement of the MDGs: Closing Gaps in Health and Nutrition Outcomes. Bangkok.

Figure 2: Cross-country variation in child mortality explained by differences in gender development

Source: United Nations Development Programme, Human Development Report (Various issues) for Gender related Development Index and UN MDG Database for child mortality.

Gender inequality imposes many costs. It results in higher population growth owing to lack of information with women of reproductive practices; lower school performance of girls due to under-nutrition; less efficient allocation of household resources due to discrimination against women. Several studies have shown that community resources are better used and prone to less corruption if women are more actively involved in decision-making about them. All these factors resulting from gender inequality ultimately impact in terms of lower economic growth. So if these are well known what must be done? Leaders and policy makers all over the region must realize that investments in gender equality will bring immense benefit to society as a whole. More actions than just in the field of education are needed. All aspects of womens development need to be looked into, including more attention to womens health; skills development for women; ensuring their security within and outside the home and workplaces; encouraging their participation in productive jobs and so on. As we near 2015, the terminal year for the MDGs, the opportunity for taking a fresh view at global development priorities has arisen. While the MDGs did much to further the cause of women, more can be done as part of the post 2015 development agenda. *** Shiladitya Chatterjee is a former ADB staff and currently serves as Regional advisor consultant on the Millennium Development Goals in ADBs Strategy and Policy Department as a consultant.

The views expressed in this paper are the views of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the Asian Development Bank (ADB), or its Board of Governors, or the governments they represent. ADB does not guarantee the accuracy of the data included in this paper and accepts no responsibility for any consequence of their use. The countries listed in this paper do not imply any view on ADB's part as to sovereignty or independent status or necessarily conform to ADB's terminology.