Neglecting women affects economy

As an uneducated lady, Soko has lived most of her life as a peasant farmer growing both cash and food crops, which she sells to pay school fees for her two secondary school-going children.
She spends most of her time selling tomatoes at Jenda Market where she also pays 50 Malawian kwacha market fee each day.
Contribution to economic growth
The National Statistics Office (NSO) estimates that approximately 65 percent of the female population in Malawi is illiterate.
And writing on AfricaFiles, Illovo Sugar Public Relations Officer, Irene Phalula, discloses that a typical rural Malawian woman is illiterate or semi-literate and, therefore, cannot engage in meaningful economic activity or employment, save for casual labour and peasant farming.
But the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) challenges that these illiterate women play a critical role in agricultural production in developing countries, particularly in low-income countries in which agriculture accounts for an average 32 percent of the growth in gross domestic product (GDP), and in which an average 70 percent of the countries’ poor live and work in rural areas, women make up a substantial majority of the agricultural workforce and produce most of the food that is consumed locally.
Agricultural production in these countries – which include almost all of the countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, including Malawi – is an engine for economic growth, and provides the basis for most rural livelihoods.
The large proportion of agricultural production that is attributable to women makes them important agents of economic development. The vast majority of food production that is attributable to women makes them the principal agents of food security and household welfare in rural areas.
“The productivity and economic empowerment of women is, therefore, a logical priority of agriculture programmes and policies that seek to promote agricultural development. The priority is warranted both in terms of the importance of women’s agricultural production as a source of economic growth, and as a source of rural livelihoods and poverty reduction,” says IFAD.
For development practitioners versed in gender analysis and its applications to policy making and programme design, none of this is new. Yet recent analyses presented in the Gender in Agriculture Sourcebook suggest that gender issues are explicitly incorporated into less than 10 percent of official development assistance (ODA) that is directed toward agriculture.
Putting this into perspective, the 2008 World Development Report Agriculture for Development revealed that agricultural programmes and projects accounted for only four percent of ODA, and four percent of public spending in Sub-Saharan Africa, where agriculture is a major source of economic growth.
Policy on women empowerment
A Policy and Plan of Action for Women in Malawi presents a national policy statement on women in Malawi, together with its corresponding Plan of Action, which have been prepared in response to a request from the national Commission on Women in Development (NCWID).
The policy is designed to be the vehicle through which the government reaffirms its commitment to efforts which will enhance women’s active participation in development and access to benefits.
Additionally, Malawi is among the countries that have ratified United Nations (UN) agreements such as the Convention for the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), which guarantee women equal rights and protection from discrimination. These have not informed policy-making or translated into better living and working conditions for women.
Despite such positive moves, there has been insufficient political will and sustained commitment to meeting the needs and interests of women by local authorities and governments.
“This hampers Africa’s development by excluding the perspectives, skills and dynamism of half the population. Without meaningful commitment in the form of policy changes and the provision of resources to deal with the root causes of women’s conditions, Africa cannot hope to see a breakthrough in its development and renewal,” Africa Recovery Briefing Paper notes.
What needs to be done?
Agricultural growth and increased income among women are two areas of economic development that have demonstrated exceptionally high impacts on poverty.
For this reason, policies and programmes that seek to raise the productivity and income of women farmers have the potential to bring about a convergence of especially potent anti-poverty forces in low income agriculture-based economies.
In these countries using agriculture as the basis for economic growth requires a “productivity revolution in smallholder farming,” the sector of the rural economy in which the economic roles of women is most prominent.
Gender activist Emma Kaliya, urges governments and public entities to pay attention more to women as they are an untapped source of economic growth.
Kaliya echoes a new report published by Deloitte, The Gender Dividend: Making the Business Case for Investing in Women, which states that women control roughly $20 trillion of total consumer spending globally and make/influence up to 80 percent of buying decisions.
“As women play a significant role in economies as a growing consumer market, they should improve business, increase sales, reduce costs, and expand markets. Companies need to understand women’s needs and how to market to them as consumers,” says the activist.
Kaliya further emphasises the need for governments and public entities to take a look at their policies for economic growth to ensure they reflect the impact of women as decision makers – voters, consumers, and leaders in the public and private sectors.
“Neglecting the women may affect economic competitiveness, fiscal health, and even socio-political stability. Nowadays, more educated women than men move from their country of origin in search of greater opportunities. Those countries that lose educated women suffer a double loss – they lose a worker and they lose a role model and potential mentor. Therefore, countries must take specific actions toward rectifying any gaps or shortcomings they may have. Those countries that gather female talent within their borders will be more competitive,” Kaliya stresses.
While concurring with the activist on the call to empower women, Giselia Soko remains pessimistic on the implementation of these conventions and policies and the benefits accrued to a peasant farmer like her.
“What people in offices say is nothing but paperwork. Most of their talk does not result in action, and, that is why I fear that we’ll remain poor despite contributing a lot to the economic development of the country,” says Soko. – Genderlinks.