Women

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United Kingdom: The gender gap is on course to close…. in 99 years

BBC Mundo

Europe/United Kingdom/25-12-2019/Author and Source: www.bbc.com

The gap between men and women, measured in terms of political influence, economic gain and health and education, has narrowed over the last year, but will take another century to disappear, the World Economic Forum (WEF) said.

In the WEF’s latest report the UK has slipped from 15th to 21st place.

The Swiss-based organisation tracks global progress in gender equality.

It said that while more women were entering government in many places, the economic gap has widened.

The WEF predicted it would take 99.5 years for women to be on an equal footing with men, despite women taking high-profile leadership roles at the European Central Bank and the World Bank, and at the head of several countries including Finland, Germany and New Zealand.

Progress in the political sphere remained slow, the WEF said, with women still holding only 21% of ministerial positions worldwide. But it hoped the «role model effect» would encourage faster change.

The organisation said the economic gender gap had grown compared to last year, partly because women are under-represented in almost all of the fastest-growing job sectors, such as cloud computing and AI. Women are more likely to be displaced by automation, it added.

UK slips

Britain’s new ranking leaves it behind a few developing countries and most rich ones, although it is ahead of the United States.

The WEF said the fall in 2019 in the UK’s position partly reflected a decline in the number of women in ministerial positions.

But the UK also has a persistent economic gender gap, putting the country at 58th in the rankings, due to big differences between men and women’s earned income. In the UK men dominate sectors such as AI, engineering and computing and many more women than men work part-time.

There are several specific areas where Britain is in joint first place, including literacy, enrolment in tertiary education and the proportion of professional and technical workers who are women, WEF found.

Finland's new government with new prime minister Sanna Marin centreImage copyrightGETTY IMAGES
Image captionFinland’s new government, led by prime minister Sanna Marin (centre), could provide role models

Iceland came in top place in the world ranking in 2019 as it did last year. Bottom of the list were Pakistan, Iraq and Yemen.

Top ten countries for gender equality

  1. Iceland
  2. Norway
  3. Finland
  4. Sweden
  5. Nicaragua
  6. New Zealand
  7. Ireland
  8. Spain
  9. Rwanda
  10. Germany

Last year the WEF’s report suggested it would take 108 years to close the inequality gap.

Klaus Schwab, founder of WEF, said the report highlighted the growing urgency for action.

«At the present rate of change, it will take nearly a century to achieve parity, a timeline we simply cannot accept in today’s globalised world, especially among younger generations who hold increasingly progressive views of gender equality,» he said.

Source and Image: https://www.bbc.com/news/business-50814765

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South Africa: Equal Education looks to the future in the wake of sexual harassment scandal

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By: dailymaverick.co.za/04-07-2018

The civic movement Equal Education has begun its third National Congress on the back of recent damaging sexual harassment scandals and allegations of a cover-up. On its opening day, it hosted a panel discussion about creating a safe space for young girls and women.

Equal Education (EE), the civil society organisation which advocates for equal access to quality education and reforms of South Africa’s education system hosted a panel discussion on intersectionality at the opening day of its third National Congress to engage with pupils about creating a safe space for girls and women.

A group of delegates from five provinces (KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo, Eastern Cape, Western Cape and Gauteng) comprised mostly of high school pupils, teachers, parents and education activists, gathered at the Linder Auditorium 0n Wits Education Campus in Parktown on Monday night.

Panellists Letlhogonolo Mokgoroane from Sonke Gender Justice, Simamkele Dlakavu, a #feesmustfall activist, Zandile Motsoeneng, a feminist activist, and Londokuhle Mnguni, a high school volunteer, had a challenging time on stage responding to questions posed by high school pupils.

Ever since the sexual harassment allegations levelled against Equal Education’s co-founder and treasurer Doron Isaacs and other members, the movement has undergone “a lot of self-introspection”, Deputy General secretary, Ntuthuzo Ndzomo told Daily Maverick at the conference.

Isaacs quit following the allegations — but said it was not an admission of guilt — and an inquiry is under way.

According to Ndzomo, since the beginning of the investigations into sexual harassment began, branches have been looking at preventative measures for the future.

Former General Secretary Tshepo Motsepe has also been accused of harassment and an internal investigation is under way. Motsepe resigned and, like Isaacs, he denied the allegations. Also under a cloud was national organiserLuyolo Mazwembe, who was found guilty of sexual harassment in an internal inquiry and was dismissed.

Subsequent accusations were also directed at prominent activist Zackie Achmat, with claims of a cover-up of numerous cases of harassment. Achmat has defended himself against the public attack, and an investigation is also under way.

At the discussion, Motsoeneng said that as a society we had lost the spirit of ubuntu, the idea that another person’s struggle is also your own. This concept was a foundational idea of intersectionality, he said.

“There is no such thing as a single issue struggle, because no one lives single issue lives,” said Motsoeneng, quoting feminist US author Audre Lorde.

A high school student, who identified herself as Dimakatso, asked the panel how society could be taught to create and promote intersectional spaces that are safe for women and people with disabilities.

For Dlakavu, intersectionality meant placing women in positions of power with programmes and policies that would make society prioritise women’s issues with regards to equal pay and ensuring the supply of sanitary pads.

Londokuhle Mnguni, an EE equaliser (post-school volunteer and activist) remarked on how pupils were not informed about what sexual harassment was. For her, the first thing that came to mind was rape, although that is not the full scope of harassment. As pupils, had they been given information and also educated about this — even cat-calling on the street is considered sexual harassment.

“The fact that we could not define sexual harassment meant that we would allow it to happen,” said Mnguni.

Another student commented on how cat-calling for him was something he learnt from his elders back at home when growing up. He was taught that it was a sign that you acknowledge and appreciate the beauty of a woman as she passes by on the street.

Mnguni then replied how uncomfortable women feel when passing a street corner as men stand and stare. Furthermore, she noted how if their advances are rejected they usually hurled insults at women.

“Your teaching (at home) is infringing on the rights of another. Put yourself in the shoes of a woman who gets whistled at, something that is often done to a dog,” said Mnguni.

The discussion became heated when Tato Masilela, a high school pupil remarked how intersectionality could be unfair, especially when an incompetent woman was put in a position of leadership. As an example, he cited Social Development Minister Bathabile Dlamini, who is accused of mismanaging the Sassa grant payment system.

Mokgoroane then replied that the standards placed on black women is not the same as those placed on black men. “Who determines who is competent,” said Mokgoroane, “There are a lot of mediocre black men allowed to do things without being called incompetent.”

Some pupils sat on the fence with regards to allegations of sexual harassment levelled at their mentors and teachers.

Nthabiseng Phuka, a facilitator and recent matriculant, recalled the impact that Tshepo Motsepe, who is currently under investigation for harassment, had had on her since she joined Equal Education.

“He taught me a lot about politics and never used his power on us when he was our facilitator,” said Phuka.

Zanele Magumasholo, a Grade 10 pupil who recently joined EE, said that public perception was such that the issue (of harassment) was with the movement as a whole. She notes that although it was senior leaders involved, these were isolated cases.

“We cannot as yet say that they are guilty, we are still waiting for feedback from the inquiry — it might not be true. There has been nothing concrete yet. If it is true then we will acknowledge it and deal with it,” said Magumasholo.

“People have been asking us questions about how to build from this aftermath,” said Ndzomo, “there are some who think we have something to hide and are distancing themselves because we took time to release a statement on Tshepo Motsepe, whereas we were still consulting all relevant parties.”

The priority, said Ndzomo, wasto make sure that the process was credible and to protect the complainants.

Equal Education has toldDaily Maverickthat they have acquired the assistance of a law firm to assist their inquiries. The law firm has been tasked with drafting terms of reference and approaching lawyers and judges to be potential panelists.

In a statement released last month, EE said that strict sexual harassment policies were in place and that EE had acted swiftly to address “every sexual harassment allegation” before it.

EE has now established three separate processes:

  • One independent panel will look into allegations of sexual harassment levelled against Motshepe. The panel may investigate any other matter that arises as part of the process or refer it to the broader assessment process mentioned below.
  • A second independent panel will investigate sexual harassment allegations against Isaacs.
  • EE’s National Council has also resolved to establish a broader assessment process, which will examine EEs record of dealing with mistreatment in the workplace, as well as EE’s policies, procedures and organisational culture in regard to harassment, and powerdynamics.

*Fuente: https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2018-07-03-equal-education-looks-to-the-future-in-the-wake-of-sexual-harassment-scandal/#.WzwXIyPhC_E

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How important is education to girls across the globe?

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By: thesouthafrican.com/ Mduduzi Mbiza /04-07-2018

Throughout the world, there are many young women in unsafe relationships, some in unhappy marriages, who don’t see a way out.

Women feel trapped

For many of these young girls, leaving is not an option. Why? Because they don’t have the skills and the education to gain them access to work and to be independent.

UNESCO estimates that 130 million girls between the age of 6 and 17 are out of school, adding that 15 million girls of primary school age will never witness a classroom – half of them coming from sub-Saharan Africa.

If we want to understand what educated women can do, we need to go back in time, back to ancient times – a time where we see that men are not the only ones who mattered.

Strong female role models

Going back to the history around the ancient times, you would probably read about the likes of Cleopatra VII Philopator, the last ruler of the Ptolemaic Kingdom of Egypt. If you fast-forward in time, you would come across the Suffragettes – these were members of women’s organisations which advocated the right for women to vote in public elections.

Who could forget Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, who was Africa’s first elected female head of state? You would agree that setting aside her political challenges, she crushed the myth that women cannot be leaders and this inspired a lot of women.

The link between education and sexual abuse

We should be very concerned when a young girl in Sierra Leone is more likely to be sexually abused than to attend high school – some of these young girls may never discover their dreams.

In an article titled Girls’ Education, the World Bank stated:

“Child marriage is also a critical challenge. Child brides are much more likely to drop out of school and complete fewer years of education than their peers who marry later. This affects the education and health of their children, as well as their ability to earn a living.

According to a recent report, more than 41,000 girls under the age of 18 marry every day and putting an end to the practice would increase women’s expected educational attainment, and with it, their potential earnings. According to estimates, ending child marriage could generate more than $500 billion in benefits annually each year.”

When young girls are educated, they have control over their future; no older man will try to take advantage of them. Have you ever asked yourself why most child marriages or forced marriages happen in the rural areas? Because many of the families there are in poverty – educating young girls would save these families.

Ensuring that young girls are in school will be working towards gender equality and reducing inequality. Young girls in South Africa are victims of violence and teenage pregnancy, just to name a few – the very same things that keep them away from school, from education. It is thus imperative that when young girls can’t come to school due to these reasons, education can go to them.

Joseph Stalin once said:

“Education is a weapon, whose effect depends on who holds it in his hands and whom it is aimed.”

I certainly believe that South Africa and the rest of the world can use this weapon to save young girls. Education empowers females to take control of their lives and their families, especially in Africa where young girls are already disadvantaged from birth and are faced with daunting situations that are beyond their ability.

*Fuente: https://www.thesouthafrican.com/how-important-is-education-to-girls-across-the-globe/

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África: Gender Parity is Key for Better Education Outcomes

Reseñas

África/ 18.06.2018/ By: Zachary Donnenfeld / From: allafrica.com.

Seventy years ago, the world agreed on the importance, and right of all people, to education. Article 26 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted in 1948, states that ‘[e]veryone has the right to education’, and that elementary education shall be compulsory and free.

Yet according to the most recent data, we are far from achieving universal access to free, compulsory education – even at primary (or elementary) level. In 2015, the average person in high-income countries had nearly 12 years of education, against fewer than five years in low-income countries.

The number of average years of education is an important measure of the overall level of education in a population and is strongly correlated with more productive economic activity.

Globally, the discrepancy in levels of educational attainment remains large. Figure 1 demonstrates this inequality by showing the average years of education in the adult population for select regions over a 40-year period.

People in Europe and Central Asia have historically had much higher levels of education than those in other regions, though the gap has begun to shrink over time. That said, some regions are catching up faster than others. Sub-Saharan Africa has been particularly slow to progress in terms of educational attainment. At fewer than six years of education per adult in 2015, the region has yet to attain the minimum standard envisioned by the United Nations 70 years ago.

A common way to measure equality of access to education by sex is ‘gender parity’. This method measures the number of female students participating in a given level of education (for example primary or secondary school) relative to the number of male students at that same level.

Figure 2 shows gender parity in primary enrolment for the same regions as Figure 1 (excluding Europe and Central Asia). It highlights the relative exclusion of females from educational opportunities in sub-Saharan Africa, compared to other regions.

Gender parity in sub-Saharan Africa has improved – from about 80 female pupils enrolled for every 100 male students in 1980 to about 95 females per 100 male students in 2015. By comparison however, the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), and East Asia and Pacific, have moved much quicker towards gender equality. One way of interpreting Figure 2 is that in 2015, five out of every 100 girls in sub-Saharan Africa were not expected to set foot in a primary school classroom.

Between 1980 and 1995, sub-Saharan Africa experienced a modest increase (about 8%) in gender equality in primary enrolment. By contrast, women in MENA countries became about 20% more likely to enrol in primary school over that same period. Sub-Saharan Africa remains stuck, with higher levels of gender inequality in primary enrolment than any other region. This is reflected in a population that remains less educated than those in other developing regions.

The ability of MENA countries to make their education systems more gender-inclusive supported the expansion of educational attainment in that region. While MENA is not typically thought of as a particularly progressive region regarding gender, in 2015, women in MENA countries were about 5% more likely to enrol in primary school than women in sub-Saharan Africa.

The exclusion of women and girls from educational opportunities in sub-Saharan Africa is one of the factors contributing to the region’s struggle to improve overall educational attainment levels. Conversely, improvements in MENA between 1980 and 2000 in both primary and secondary enrolment (not shown here) supported the region’s significantly faster increase in average education years relative to sub-Saharan Africa, demonstrated in Figure 1.

Education is inherently valuable for a number of reasons. A better educated population offers wider social benefits, like improved health outcomes (for example a lower propensity to smoke), increased levels of civic participation and reduced fertility rates. Better educated parents tend to have fewer children, which can help reduce the pressure on governments in Africa to deliver basic services by shrinking the absolute size of the population.

In other words, there are strong knock-on effects from educating women and girls. Other research suggests that educating women and girls can play a role in poverty reduction, and even in post-conflict reconstruction by including conflict-resilience education within existing curricula.

If Africa hopes to close the gap in economic and human development outcomes between itself and the rest of the world, then improving the average levels of education of women and girls is fundamental.

Historically, it has taken decades for countries to improve the average levels of education and to achieve gender parity between women and men. Technology may be accelerating those timelines, according to a recent United Nations Children’s Fund report. But that report also points out that access to technology may exacerbate (or maintain) existing levels of discrimination against women.

Whether or not the digital revolution changes the nature of education for women and girls, improving the overall level of education in Africa is paramount to promoting more rapid economic growth and improving livelihoods. Ensuring that 100% of Africa’s citizens can enrol in primary school, regardless of their sex, should be the first step towards achieving that brighter future.

From: http://allafrica.com/stories/201806150191.html

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Ghana: Make girl child education priority for gender parity – Parents urged

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Ghana/Source: https://www.myjoyonline.com

Parents have been urged to place more value on girl child education to help the country achieve gender equality.

According to the Director of Programmes and Projects of civil society organization, Youth Without Borders (YWB), Richard Appau, society also needs to do more to give females the right environment to flourish.

“Women must be empowered and inspired to take the necessary steps in the socio-economic development of their children,” he said.

He was speaking at the maiden edition of the Mafi Zongo Electoral Area Women Rising Summit in the Central Tongu District of the Volta Region.

The event was on the theme: ‘The Role of the 21st Century Women in the Growth and Development of Society.’

The programme brought together over 500 women, chiefs and elders in the district for mentoring.

The summit sought to connect the women to carefully selected mentors from academia and industry to empower and inspire them to take the necessary steps to properly develop their children.

Assembly Member of the Mafi Zongo Electoral Area Julius Karl D. Fieve encouraged mothers to invest more in their children to ensure their adequate development.

He said, “I have come to realize that, beyond infrastructure and social amenities, the only way, we could transform our communities and create a sustainable future for ourselves is through strategic investment in the education of the children of our communities.”

A lecturer at the Ho Technical University, Edem Nerissa Lawrencia Anku, admonished the women to have a vision for their children and play their part in the growth of society.

“You must endeavour to provide all the needs of your children. You have to draw more closely to them so as to be able to understand them,” she said.

Speaking on behalf of the women who participated in the event, Jane Duhoe said they would take the experiences shared by the mentors very serious.

She said, “we were really inspired today for action. We can assure the mentors and organizers of our resolve to push for the development of our children.”

 

Source:

https://www.myjoyonline.com/lifestyle/2018/March-29th/refrain-from-using-cane-to-discipline-children-medical-doctor-advises-parent.php

 

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Australia: Why is a ‘sugar daddy’ funded education being sold as empowering to women?

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Australia/ September 19, 2017/By: Kasey Edwards/ Source: http://www.smh.com.au

Concerned about that HECS debt, ladies? Worry no more, because here’s a great new way to afford your education. Get yourself a rich old guy to pay for it!

That’s the message from a recent press release sent to me by a dating site that pairs young women with «sugar daddies». As the website says, all you have to do in return for your free education is «cater to [his] needs» with «no strings attached».

«These men and women are taking a proactive approach to tackle their student debt, while so many other students will be haunted by it for years to come,» squeals the press release.

I know what you’re thinking. There must be a catch? And there is: a never-ending risk of blackmail. Because even though you might not be «haunted» by a HECS debt, there’s the lifelong risk of being outed as a sugar baby.

To be clear, I am not suggesting that there’s anything wrong with young women hooking up with rich old men. If that’s what floats your boat, then more power to you.

But exchanging sexual services for an education isn’t likely to play out well when these sugar babies hit the workforce and start to rise in seniority.

Imagine if a sugar baby were to enter politics, become a CEO or get a job in the media or public life. One phone call from a jilted sugar daddy, his wife, or a disgruntled employee at the dating website, and she would be accused of sleeping her way to the top faster than you can say «Monica Lewinsky 2.0».

Hell, he doesn’t even have to be jilted. The guy might just be mischievous or decide that he doesn’t like his former sugar baby’s success. Because that’s what men often do to women they decide are too powerful: they use a woman’s sexuality to discredit her.

A woman’s level of education, experience, and track record of success counts for nothing if she can be portrayed as relying on sex to achieve her status and power. She becomes the water cooler joke as the Boys Club wonders aloud about who she had to blow to get her job.

By contrast, there’s seemingly no downside for powerful men who have sexual arrangements with less powerful women.

In the corporate world a man can even end up with a pay rise after being forced to settle a high-profile sexual harassment case, a footballer can be involved in infidelity and a group sex scandal and be rewarded with his own radio show, and a president’s affair can improve his approval ratings.

While sugar daddy funded education is being sold as empowering to women, businesses like this dating website are actually appropriating sex-positive language to exploit women.

Businesses like this dating website are actually appropriating sex-positive language to exploit women

Let’s be clear: sugar babies have no status and no power. And the power imbalance for the women lasts well after the arrangement has been terminated.

There is a big difference between supporting women who choose to be sex workers, and a business model that sells women the least-crappiest short-term option to avoid a debt, but may potentially ruin the careers they worked so hard to achieve.

Because as wrong as slut-shaming is, it exists. It ends careers and it can be financially and socially devastating to women.

It would be interesting to know how many young men have to rely on providing «no-strings-attached» romantic services to anyone in order to afford their educations. And how many sugar daddies have exchanged sex for qualifications? Most likely, when they were at uni, education was free.

It’s not surprising that business has latched onto education as a way to entice young women to submit to a sugar daddy.

On average, women will earn significantly less than men in their careers due to the gender pay gap and taking time out of the workforce to have children. And given the ever-increasing cost of a tertiary education and the constant threat from successive Liberal governments to reduce the HECS repayment threshold – which will disproportionately hurt women – a tertiary education is fast becoming a risky financial gamble for many women.

Women retire with half as much superannuation as men, so having someone cough up tens of thousands of dollars for your education at the beginning of your working life could quite literally mean the difference between living above or below the poverty line at the end of your career.

Dangling the carrot of financial security via a free education in front of young women, who may not yet fully appreciate the gendered barriers they will face in the workforce, is a cynical abuse of male power.

The idea that a sugar daddy is an easy and sex-positive solution to lifelong student debt isn’t progress. It’s an expression of the fundamental inequality between men and women.

Source:

http://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/news-and-views/opinion/why-is-a-sugar-daddy-funded-education-being-sold-as-empowering-to-women-20170917-gyja3d.html

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