Gender statistics in PRSPs

Sulekha PatelThe World Bank

Gender Forum, Ghana, AccraJanuary 26-28, 2009

Gender Issues in PRSPs

Outline of this presentation: Elements of gender equality Limitations of MDGs Proposed set of indicators to complement

MDGs Gender coverage of country PRSPs:

• MDGs

• Expanded ( proposed) set of indicators Next steps

Key Elements of Gender Equality

HouseholdHousehold

Household resource and task

allocations, fertility

decisions

SocietySociety

Civic and political

participation

Economy & Economy & MarketsMarkets

Access to land, financial services, labor

markets, technology

Aggregate economic performance (poverty reduction, growth)

Gender equality in rights, resources, and voiceLeveling the field of opportunities

Domains of choices,

domains for policy

Framework : Key Elements of Gender Equality

Ties together key elements of gender equality*

In the household: increased gender equality between men and women changes the allocation of HH expenditures, resulting in a larger share of resources devoted to children’s education and health.

In the market: gender inequality is reflected in unequal access to land, credit, and labor markets, and in significantly less access to new production technologies.

In society: gender inequality is expressed as restrictions to women’s participation in civic and political life.

In addition to improving individuals’ lives, increased gender equality can contribute to better aggregate economic performance.

*Source – WB Global Monitoring Report 2007

MDG 3: Promote gender equality and empower women

Target 3A: Eliminate gender disparities in primary and secondary education, preferably by 2005, and in all levels of education by no later than 2015

Household Economy and market

Society

Ratio of girls’ to boys’ enrollment in primary, secondary, and tertiary education

Share of women in wage employ-ment in the non-agricultural sector

Proportion of seats held by women in national parliament

Official Indicators

MDG3 Effect on Other MDGs

Gender equality and women’s empowerment are channels to attaining other MDGs —• universal primary education (MDG2A),

• lower under-five mortality (MDG4A),

• improved maternal health (MDG5A and B),

• lower likelihood of contracting HIV/AIDS (MDG6A),

• Reduce biodiversity loss (MDG7B).

Limitations of the Official MDG3 Indicators

Only partially measure gender equality Do not monitor key elements of gender

equality (health outcomes and disparities in access to productive resources such as land, credit, and technology)

Inadequate measurement of empowerment National-level indicators can veil inequalities

between particular subgroups

Official MDG indicators: Education

Ratio of girls’ to boys’ enrollment in primary, secondary, and tertiary education –

• say nothing about educational outcomes (Completion? Getting a job?) Gaps between boys and girls completion rates remain high in SSA and SA (90% to 83% and 67% to 57% respectively)

• Changes in the indicators based on parity ratios are difficult to interpret. (Increases in female-to-male ratios can result from a fall in male rates with female rates remaining constant)

• Measures the status of women relative to men, rather than whether women are empowered (whether they have the ability to exercise options, choice, and control)

Other Indicators’ limitations:

Share of women in non/agricultural wage employment

• Limited use for low-income countries where wage employment is not a main source of jobs.

• Does not capture the dimensions of job quality/ability of women to work for pay (economic empowerment)

• Does not quantify barriers inhibiting women from participating in the labour force.

• Does not capture the ability of women to control their fertility

Proportion of seats held by women in national parliaments

• Captures political participation only at the national level, not at provincial or local levels,

Prospective MDG 3 Indicators

Household Economy and markets Society

Test scores, male and female

Gender gap in wages Percentage voting by male, female, and ratio

Proportion of women who have ever been victims of physical violence by an intimate male partner

Share of women in informal wage and self-employment in nonagricultural employment

Proportion of women in the executive branch

Percent of employed women who have access to child care

Percentage of individuals who possess basic citizenship documents, female, and ratio

Business by average size and sex of owner

Access to credit for women and men

Land ownership by female, male, and jointly held

Gender in the PRSPs

45 PRSPs, from 2003-08 were reviewed

• For coverage of MDGs

• For coverage of prospective indicators:• Which prospective gender issue was addressed

• Was an indicator identified to monitor progress

MDG coverage in PRSPsPercentage of countries that mention MDG 3

indicators in PRSPR

atio o

f girls

to b

oys

in p

rim

ary

education

5

8

Ratio o

f girls

to b

oys

in s

econdary

education

4

7

Ratio o

f girls

to b

oys

in tert

iary

education

27

Ratio o

f lit

era

te w

om

en

to m

en, 15-2

4 y

ears

old

40

Share

of w

om

en in w

age

em

plo

ym

ent in

the

non-a

gricultura

l secto

r

9

Pro

port

ion o

f seats

held

by

wom

en in n

ational parlia

ment

42

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

1

Pe

rce

nta

ge

Related MDG indicatorsPercentage of countries that mention other gender

related MDG indicators in PRSP

Mate

rnal m

ort

alit

y r

atio

93

Pro

port

ion o

f birth

s a

ttended

by s

killed h

ealth p

ers

onnel

47

Contr

aceptive

pre

vale

nce r

ate

49

Adole

scent birth

rate

29

Ante

nata

l care

covera

ge

18

Unm

et need for

fam

ily p

lannin

g

9

HIV

pre

vale

nce a

mong

popula

tion a

ges 1

5-2

4 y

ears

4

2

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

1

Prospective MDG3 Indicators: Household

Issue IndicatorNumber of countries

Test scores, male and female   0

     

Proportion of women who have ever been victims of physical violence by an intimate male partner/Domestic Violence

   

 

% of women who have experienced violence 4

 

% who know that violence against women is a crime 1

  % of cases prosecuted 1

 

% of women victim reintegrated in the society 2

Prospective MDG3 Indicators- Economy and Markets

Issue Indicator Number of countries

Gender gap in wages    

  Females’ wages as % of males’ wages 1

  Gender salary gap in the private sector 1

Share of women in informal wage and self-employment in non-agricultural employment

   

  Share of women self- employed 1

 

  Informal sector 9

Percent of employed women who have access to child care

   

  Percentage of children getting day-care facilities 1

Business by average size and sex of owner   0

Access to credit for women and men    

  Percentage of women with access to training, credit and fiscal incentives for SMEs

1

  Percentage of women who have obtained credit 7

  Volume of microcredits granted to women 1

  Ratio of men to women who have obtained credit 1

Land ownership by female, male, and jointly held    

  Percentage of girls/women with access to land ownership

2

  Percentage of women who had the right to inherit 1

Prospective MDG3 Indicators: Society

Issue Indicator Number of countries

Percentage voting by male, female, and ratio

  0

Proportion of women in the executive branch

  7

Percentage of individuals who possess basic citizenship documents, female, and ratio

  0

Next steps

Advocacy: Raise awareness for Bank and country staff:• Developing training for Bank staff

Collaborate with partners to develop indicators to measure and monitor the prospective indicators:• Identify indicators

• Develop methodology to gather and process data

Thank you.