WUNRN
Economic and Social Survey of Asia and the
Pacific 2007
Executive Summary: http://www.unescap.org/survey2007/overview.asp
Section
of Executive Summary
Gender
Inequality Continues – At Great Cost
"Gender discrimination has widespread ramifications and clear economic and social costs. The Asia-Pacific region has made good progress in reducing gender discrimination in recent years, but appalling disparities remain. The region is losing $42-$47 billion per year because of restrictions on women's access to employment opportunities – and another $16-$30 billion per year because of gender gaps in education. Those are just the economic costs – added to them are social and personal costs.
Gender discrimination in the region is most visible in the low access of women and girls to education and health services, to economic opportunities and to political participation. Female primary school enrolment can be as much as 26% lower than that of males. Such disparities are also reflected in access to health. The female-to-male ratio in the population is deteriorating, particularly in North and Central Asia, South Asia and the Pacific island countries, partly reflecting women's inadequate access to health services. In some countries, one in every 10 girls dies before reaching the age of one, and one in every 50 women dies during pregnancy and delivery. Meanwhile, violence against women continues, unabated, indicating how voiceless women are in households and in countries.
One of the fundamental reasons women are subject to discrimination is that they do not have a voice in decision-making at home or in society, even when the matters are directly related to themselves. They are powerless intellectually, materially and politically. With women accounting for half of the population, one would naturally expect that they should have at least equal representatives in elected bodies at the local, regional and national levels. However, the reality in the region is starkly different. Only seven countries had parliaments in which more than 20% of representatives were women, with New Zealand having the highest rate, at 28%.
The report proposes several specific recommendations in four critical dimensions: economic participation, education, health and empowerment. Best practices highlighted from across the region and elsewhere show that gender balance can be achieved with limited resources, but this requires changes at the household, societal and national levels. In particular, political leadership and commitment will go a long way towards correcting abject discrimination against women."
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