The report's
key message is that economic growth does lead to gender equality, but with the
exception of a few "sticky" issues. These issues arise when
gender inequality persists despite economic growth. Women and girls are
still more likely to die than men and boys. Women continue to be
over-represented in low-paying, low-skill and informal employment. Rates of
violence against women remain stubbornly high in both high-income and
low-income countries, while the number of political positions held by women is
disproportionately small.
Rather than
simply "sticky" issues, these are fundamental areas of resistance
that the women's rights movement around the world has been fighting
against. They are sites of deep-seated conflict and tension which economic
growth alone cannot address.
The bank's
economic and political approach is evident, however, in the issues the report
addresses and those it chooses to ignore. In a step forward, the WDR
recognises the important work women do caring for children and the elderly:
cooking, cleaning, and collecting firewood and water. These activities,
performed alongside other work, are a heavy burden for women and act as a
barrier to accessing higher earning jobs or participating in politics. The
report notes that "women work more than men", but does not then
consider that their workload increases significantly during an economic crisis.
At such times, when family incomes drop and public services are cut, women and
girls produce essential domestic goods that they can no longer afford
to purchase such as food and clothes. When medical bills become too
expensive or public healthcare services are not available, it is women and
girls who care for the ill at home. Women's labour not only replaces
household income, but also subsidises the state.
The report
claims that even in the wake of the most recent financial crisis there is
"no evidence that women were more affected than men" in terms of
employment. In previous crises, research has found that, while both women
and men may lose their jobs, the impact on women is under-reported because
their work in the home remains invisible. In addition, women are disproportionately
represented in the informal economy. With so little information available, how
can the bank be sure that women are not unduly affected?
The World
Bank's faith in the market to pick up the pieces after a crisis is evident in
its treatment of social protection, or lack thereof. The report reduces this
multi-faceted issue to conditional cash transfers, completely neglecting the
important role programmes such as South Africa's child support grant have
played in lifting households and women out of poverty. The bank seemingly fails
to recognise that poverty is chronic in the current economic system and the
shocks frequent. Stop-gap measures are just not enough if governments are
to prevent these shocks from reversing the gains made on gender equality.
The WDR does
stress the pressing need for women's ownership of and control over assets,
particularly land. There is unfortunately no mention of communal forms of land
ownership, but it is still significant that the bank has emphasised women's
control over land as a source not only of income, but also of status – and,
more importantly, as a right.
The report
fails to face the new and unavoidable challenges confronting countries. Take
natural resources. In a world where land, water, seeds and forests are
increasingly contested, how will women fare in the power struggle? What new
challenges do climate change and diminishing natural resources pose for women,
and what economic and social policies do governments need to adopt in response?
If the 2012
world development report succeeds in putting gender at the top of the bank's
agenda, it's a good starting point. The bank's development committee is
scheduled to discuss the report and its implications for bank practices at next
week's annual meetings, and we can hope that some of the analysis will trickle
down and influence their programmes and lending policies. But because the WDR
has shied away from some of its own more controversial findings, the bank
ultimately misses an opportunity to push the discussion on gender equality beyond
economic growth and make even bolder decisions.
•
Rachel Moussié is women's rights adviser on economic policy at ActionAid International