Gender Equality and Sustainable Development

The role of women in society has long been a source of contention. Their commitment to the growth and well-being of mankind is a subject that has been debated by a variety of stakeholders around the world. Different societies have distinct positions for women as well as a general understanding of their status in society. Gender equity is a major concern in some countries, but not in others. Men rule all aspects of life in such cultures. The paper addresses the cultural environment of particular African communities from Ethiopia and Kenya and an Asian country, Japan. The essay further examines the various roles women in these society play. There is also a comparison of these social settings with those of the United States and other developed countries such as Germany, Sweden, and Netherlands. The main aim will be to establish if the culture that relates to gender has a relationship with the development levels of a nation.

The paper also examines policy intervention measures that will help eradicate the backward culture and embrace a culture that celebrates and supports women. These policy measures include changing of legislation and creation of institutions that support and advocate for women rights. Different nations vary by their prosperity and development levels, financial and economic potential due to the level of participation of women. According to research, cultures that involve women in fundamental matters of national importance are more advanced than the cultures that treat women as second-class citizens.

Women play a critical role in the social, environmental, transformational and economic development needed for sustainability of growth and prosperity. They play a significant role in food production especially those who stay in agricultural areas.Further research also linked income inequality to gender inequality. It implies that there is a high positive correlation between gender inequality and the level of income inequality across different nations. In patriarchal societies where women often receive harsh and contemptuous treatment purely because of their gender, income inequalities tend to be high. The reason behind this situation is that women rarely obtain the same kind of education received by their male counterparts that will enable them to acquire well-paying jobs. They thus end up working in the informal sectors where they earn meager salaries that are insufficient to cater for basic needs or invest in economically viable projects. Furthermore, unequal access to other facilities such as healthcare, financial services, and even leadership positions deny women the chance to match their male counterparts regarding income earnings and ability to remain independent. In some instances, women receive fewer wages for the amount of work that is equal to that performed by male colleagues; this widens the gap of income earnings between the two genders.

Empowerment of women and more so the girl child is necessary for development. They should be given access to resources and essential social amenities such education and proper health care to enable them to participate in the national building of the country. Various myths and stereotypes about women and especially in the developing nations have made it very difficult to ensure that women are empowered. The stereotypes portray women as inferior human beings who are not equal to men. In some African cultures, the girl child is in the same category as livestock such as sheep and goats. In others, women cannot consume certain foods which might be beneficial to their health and nutrition. For instance, there is a community which prohibits women from taking meat and eggs. This stereotyping adversely affects women development.

The presentation is in the form of annotated bibliography drawn from a variety of sources which include newspapers, books, academic journals and online blogs and websites. The evidence collected from these sources confirm that the way a society treats women has an enormous bearing on the development of that nation. Furthermore, evidence from these sources also suggests that communities that used to mistreat women previously are beginning to see sense in women empowerment. They have started embracing programmes to enhance the welfare of women.

Annotated bibliography

Bayeh, Endalcachew. "The Role Of Empowering Women And Achieving Gender Equality To The Sustainable Development Of Ethiopia." Pacific Science Review B: Humanities and Social Sciences 2.1 (2016): 37-42. 2017.Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psrb.2016.09.013 Accessed 18 Nov.2017

The article aims to reveal the benefits of empowering women and ensuring the achievement of gender equality so that Ethiopia might have sustainable development. The methodology used to ascertain the information about gender equality was qualitative. Secondary data was collected and used for this purpose. According to the findings of this research, women perform a critical role in economic and social transformation. Leadership, especially in the political sphere, was dominated by men with few women accorded a chance to lead and make decisions in the country.

The rights of women are abused continuously with no deliberate effort to protect them.Women lack the chances needed to access resources and facilities like their male counterparts. Women require a conducive environment necessary in competing favorably with men or engaging actively in problem-solving. It is unfortunate that they are side-lined even when addressing problems related to them. According to the author of this article, for Ethiopia to achieve sustainable development then women participation in the economics, environment, political and social issues should be incorporated. The article ends by calling on the government to initiate women empowerment programs necessary in harnessing their potential and ultimate improvement of human welfare.

AMINA, M, and Chatterjee, S. "Women’S Role In Economic Development." The Standard., 2016.Retrieved from

www.standardmedia.co.ke/article/2000190439/women-s-role-in-economic-development Accessed 18 Nov.2017

The standard media group is a leading newspaper company in Kenya. The article from this media group focuses on what the former president of the United States, Barrack Obama said on the need to empower the girl child. During his maiden visit to Kenya, the former U.S. president made a strong message in a bid to convince some Kenyan communities to shun the degradation and discrimination of women and more so the girl child. He used an imagery whereby he equated the human race with a playing team. He then posed a question of what the repercussions would be if only half of the team were to play in a match. He implied that women too were part of the team that would ensure economic growth and development; excluding them from participating in the transformative agenda is similar to playing with half a team.

According to the article, the role of women as stewards in Kenyan families has been on the rise. The family is the basic unit of any community including the nation and therefore if more women are becoming the heads of families, they should be supported and empowered. Opportunities for them to grow and flourish should be created and enhanced for the greater good of the entire nation. However, research conducted by the Kenya Demographic and Health Survey indicate that half of the women in Kenya have only attained primary school education. The high illiteracy rates among women hamper their participation in socio-economic processes and projects. Furthermore, the newspaper insists that Kenya will have to put more effort in educating women to ensure that development takes place. Awareness of family planning among women will also enable them to make families that they can comfortably support. It will also alleviate the poverty level that faces most of the women who live in urban settlements and have no idea to space their births nor control them. Educating them on the need to shun retrogressive cultures which lead them to have many children than they can handle is also important.

Mungiria, L. "Social-Cultural Factors Affecting Women In Decision Making And Conflict Resolutions Activities In Garissa County." The University of Nairobi., 2013. Retrieved from www.erepository.uonbi.ac.ke/handle/11295/55715 Accessed 18 Nov.2017

The research report for a master’s student in project planning and management analyses the predicament that women face in Kenya. According to him, politics in Kenya are dominated by men; women find it next to impossible to penetrate and participate in the national political arena. The main aim of this report is to examine the socio-cultural factors that affect women to the point that they are unable to participate in matters of national importance. The research engaged primary data collection with a sample of 100 respondents.

The findings of the study showed that women were just mere spectators when it came to decision making and conflict resolution; only men carried out this task. The discoveries of this study indicated that some cultures within the country entirely prohibited women from participating in public issues. Women are restricted to work in homes alone. Some cultural traditions also denied women access to valuable information about socio-economic and political matters. Furthermore, the problem of female genital mutilation is prevalent among the communities that live here with many girls having to undergo this backward practice every year. Such traditions directly and adversely affect the educational progress and achievements of the girl child and lead to many health complications.

The society under study lags behind in economic development with poverty levels reaching an all-time high. There is an absolute need to improve women participation in the community activities if the targeted progress is to occur. The government and the society by extension need to undertake massive campaigns necessary in creating awareness in areas prone to such practices. There is also need for strict action for people found engaging in the exercises.

Okwengu, H. ‘’Women who support fellow women. Evewoman’’. ,2016. Retrieved from www.standardmedia.co.ke/evewoman/article/20011240184/women-who support fellow women. Accessed 18 Nov.2017

The magazine article from an African country best highlights the violation of women rights that plague Africa. According to Okwengu, a fifth of the women in Africa encounter either physical or sexual violence at some point in their lives. The degrading cultural ideologies and practices have contributed to the perpetuation of sexual abuse and gender inequality in most of the African societies. The said ideologies have hampered the progress of women and disenfranchised them from realizing their full potential.

Therefore, to combat these problems, the judge proposes a raft of measures necessary in unveiling women potential especially those in leadership positions. Creation of awareness is essential in eradicating harmful cultural practices and sensitizing women of their rights which will ultimately empower them. The author of this article is a judge who believes that women of influence can do anything within their power to alleviate the plight of women who are suffering under ruthless people

Boellstorff, Darcy L., "WOMEN IN DEVELOPMENT: THE NEED FOR A GRASSROOTS GENDER PLANNING APPROACH.” Nebraska Anthropologist. 82, 1995.Retrieved from http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/nebanthro/82 Accessed 18 Nov.2017

Boellstorff, a cultural anthropologist, expresses his disappointment on how many of the development projects especially in the third world countries exclude women. According to him, women have been and continue to be the losers in all meaningful projects that are undertaken by the government.

He acknowledges that women play a significant role in the community. Ideally, the standards of living within a community depend on the tasks that women perform which are directly related to the productivity of a community.

Some stereotypes, especially in the developing countries, have been the reasons why women find it a challenge to reap benefits that come with developing technology and urbanization. As a solution to these problems, Boellstorff proposes that there is a need for grass root gender planning; that in addressing the issue of gender inequality there is need to target the local women and create awareness on the vital issues. There is also need for program planners to be gender sensitive when initiating development projects to debunk stereotypes against women; both sexes should be acknowledged and given equal opportunities.

Epstein. T. A social anthropological approach to women’s roles and status in developing countries: the domestic cycle. Poplline,1982. Retrieved from https://www.popline.org/node/388493 Accessed 18 Nov.2017

The author of this article examines the role of social anthropology in the place and position of women in the developing societies. There is an examination of the roles played by women in each stage of their lives. For instance, when the women are young they are mainly trainees of the social and the cultural norms. When they enter the marriage stage, they assume a different role and so on and so forth until they become socializers who pass the traditions to the younger upcoming generation.

The study takes place in the many developing countries of Asia and Africa. According, to the author, there exists different types of roles and social structures depending on the society under study. The understanding of the responsibilities of women specifically the older generation who are considered to be the socializers, can help anthropologists’ effect change. They would target the older women to effect meaningful change in the society; this helps in improving women welfare and eliminating some of the backward stereotypes about them.

Anju, M., Schuler, R. & Boender, C. Measuring Women’s Empowerment as a variable in International Development. World Bank Workshop on Poverty and Gender: New Perspectives,2002.

The article draws its information from the World Bank which established that women empowerment was one of the primary factors that would help alleviate poverty and accelerate development. According to the authors of the article, promotion of women empowerment is in itself a noble thing since it promotes social justice. Furthermore, promotion of women empowerment leads to the accelerated pace of economic growth and development.

The article states that it is crucial to measure empowerment benefits so that the international community can determine efforts to apply in that course. The authors of this paper lament of there not being a rigorous and a definitive way of accessing the impact of empowerment programmes carried out. They, therefore, process a methodology of assessing the results of women empowerment that will draw from the various disciplines such as economics and anthropology

Furthermore, the article goes ahead to define and elaborate the empowerment process. It also develops indicators which would be used to measure the extent of women empowerment. According to this paper, giving women access to resources is not women empowerment per se, but rather when women utilize resources in their interest, the empowerment can be said to have happened. Women empowerment is all about the creation of capabilities and channels for growth.

Ogato, G. The quest for Gender equality and women’s empowerment in the least developed countries: policy and strategy implications for achieving millennium development goals in Ethiopia. International Journal of Sociology and Anthropology. Vol. 5(9) pp 358-372,2013. Retrieved from http://www.academicjournals.org/IJSA

The paper applies an ecological approach in collecting secondary data for qualitative research. The main aim of the author is to present the situation of gender equality in Ethiopia and highlights of some policy interventions that need adopting in Ethiopia and other less developed countries. In Ethiopia, women are behind in all the spheres of life; political, economic, social and cultural. They do not enjoy equal rights in accessing key opportunities and in the participation in the making of crucial societal decisions. Women’s access to productive capacities is highly limited. The paper insists that women should be empowered and this should not be taken to mean that women should now replace men in the leadership positions.

The article cites the Copenhagen declaration of the World Summit on Social Development which indicated that women empowerment requires the participation of all relevant stakeholders in the formulation and the implementation of policies that ensure the maximisation of the societies welfare. Ethiopia has been making some policy interventions to see through the empowerment of women since the year 1993. It has done so by increasing the share of women employed in the formal sector and increasing the proportion of seats held by women in the national parliament. However, these efforts have borne little fruit since Ethiopia is yet to attain some of the millennium development goals that need women participating and empowerment for their realization.

Ahmad, I., Said, Hamdan., Altaf, H., and Sadaf. K. BARRIERS TO CO-EDUCATION IN PAKISTAN AND ITS IMPLICATIONS ON GIRLS EDUCATION: CRITICAL REVIEW OF LITERATURE. University Teknologi Malaysia,2014.

The study aims at analyzing the context of socio-cultural, religious and political orientation in Pakistani society. The study basis its findings from a critical review of the literature. The study was able to discover a lot of social-cultural, economic and political barriers that hinder the education of the girl child. For instance, male dominance and chauvinism were the leading factors that hampered the training of the girl child in Pakistani. Other retrogressive cultures which hinder the education of the girl child in Pakistani include a complex social structure that follows a strict Islamic religion, conservatism, acute poverty and female segregation.

According to the study, women are therefore left behind in all aspects of their life. The failure to include girls in the education process and the strict segregation of females has affected the social maturity of both genders in Pakistani. Furthermore, the development of Pakistani has remained poor because of leaving a chunk of the population behind. The authors of this study report that Pakistan is the lowest ranked country in female literacy rates in the region. The study also observes that in societies where women and men are at parity, there is much development.

Schalkwyk, J. Culture: Culture, Gender Equality and Development Cooperation. Canadian International Development Agency (Cida),2000. Retrieved from

http://www.acdi-cida.gc.ca Accessed 18 Nov.2017

The article explores how culture especially the one relating to gender can determine the pace of development of a particular society. Schalkwyk acknowledges that religion is a crucial factor in holding the fabric of the nation together and that different cultures have different assigned roles between the two genders. Perceptions can change as they respond to the environmental pressure and advancement in technology. However, there are particular cultures which are rigid and holds women in lowest regard. In such cultural settings, gender inequality cannot end even with changing times.

The article also maintains that development initiatives are culturally neutral and factors that can effect meaningful change in the society. The difference may mean that women have to be empowered and included in the participation of nation-building. Some development initiatives leave some communities with no option but to ensure that women are on the same platform as men. Therefore, Cultural practices of a community are vital in informing the success of women empowerment efforts. The more a society is culturally rigid, the less it is to gain from globalization, and hence it will lag behind in development.

Schultz, P. Investment in women’s human capital. Chicago: University of Chicago Press,1995.

The author of this book Schultz elaborates the benefits of women’s enrolment to education and investment in women human capital. He draws his experiences from across the world in all the continents. After collecting information from Africa, Asia Europe, and America, he asserts that most of the social returns are due to public investment in the education of the girl child. By examining a host of developed countries such as Germany, Sweden, and Netherlands, Schultz highlights some tremendous benefits that a nation can derive from public policies and women participation in the labor force. These countries enjoy the highest form of civilization. Furthermore, development in these countries is fast-paced as everyone is actively involved in the nation-building process.

The book gives an overview of how the developed countries treat women. It is evident that retrogressive cultures that hinder the progress of women in these societies are non-existent. Men and women get equal treatment and can serve at the same level of the community platform. Education, health, career, leadership opportunities are available to all with no bias or discrimination to a specific gender. The self-esteem of women in such countries is high since they are not weighed down by the negative stereotypes about women that are prevalent in the least developed countries.

Schultz also examines how investment in medical care is critical in empowering and alleviating the conditions of women, especially in the developing countries. Women should be afforded healthcare as their situation might demand.

USAID.GENDER EQUALITY AND WOMEN’S EMPOWERMENT. USAID., 2017. Retrieved from www.usaid.gov/waht-we-do/gender-equality-and-womens-empowerment Accessed 18 Nov.2017

This article by the USAID gives alarming global statistics on how women face various challenges from violence to early marriages and health-related complications. While women make 40% of the agricultural labor force, only an average of 15% of them owns a piece of land. The problem is prevalent in the least developed countries particularly in Africa and parts of South Asia. In these countries, there are retrogressive cultures such as female genital mutilation and wife inheritance. Such cultures degrade the women and negatively affect the efforts made towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.

Women account for half the entire human population and USAID believes that women empowerment is at the core of development. According to this article, when women are involved in social, economic and political processes, results are more satisfying and successful than when handled by men alone. Therefore, for societies to thrive negative culture that oppresses women must be discarded and policy interventions that empower women and promote gender equality enhanced

Ferguson, L. Promoting gender equality and empowering women. Tourism and third Millennium Development Goal. Current issues in tourism. Vol.14(3) pp. 235-249, 2011. Retrieved from http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13683500.2011.5 Accessed 18 Nov.2017

According to Ferguson, Tourism can play a significant role in enhancing the third Millennium Development Goals. There is a lot of potential in potential in tourism, and all that is needed is a reframing of the policies to harness this potential into realizing the third Millennium Development Goals. According to this journal, tourism can help diffuse the tensions that exist between the gender through the creation of employment opportunities that will take care of both sexes and give them an equal platform for advancement and growth. Therefore, the role of tourism should be re-examined, and considered as an avenue in which there is gender equality and women empowerment. With this thinking, it is a way of killing two birds with single stone since promoting tourism in itself leads to economic development of a nation, and secondly, it is a way of enhancing gender equality which will also accelerate the pace of growth in the countries that lag behind economically.

In light of what the author has discovered, governments should examine other sectors in the economy in which woman emancipation and empowerment can be easily carried out. However, this needs careful treatment to avoid neglecting and threatening the existence of the male species.

Rogers, B. The Domestication of Women: Discrimination in Developing Societies. New York: Taylor and Francis Group,1981.

As a researcher armed with experience from the United Nations, Rogers presents a feminist critique of the various international development programmes. She claims that there is bias against women especially in the field of development program leading to wastage of a lot of resources. According to her the failure of these development project to incorporate the input of women in the job is a mistake that would cost the project planners a lot more than they intended and still fail to meet the targeted solutions

The book also explores the nature of societies where women are restricted to be only housewives and cannot participate in other matters outside the house. She is bitter that many of the development projects aimed at changing the situation fail to do so due lack of proper inclusion of women and therefore a lack of understanding of the problem at hand. For sustainable development achievement, there is a need for women participation practically in all aspects.

Hugo Z. Marko, J. & Stanley, J. Comparing leadership practices between the United States, Nigeria, and Slovenia: does culture matter? Cross-Cultural Management: An International Journal, Vol. 11(2). Pp. 16-34,2004. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1108/13527600410797774 Accessed 18 Nov.2017

The article aims to establish the effect of culture on leadership in three different countries which have entirely diverse economic and cultural backgrounds. According to the findings of this research, there exist differences in leadership practices especially when the gender question came into play. The differences were more pronounced in Nigeria which is a country that is yet to match the United States level of economic development.

Therefore, culture has a significant role in shaping the way leadership perform and deliver. In a culture where women receive low-status quo treatment economic progress is lower than in an economy that upholds equality measures to cement the place of women. The leadership practices of the country that regards women the same as men will ensure prosperity. In the research that conducted in the three counties, no significant differences were noted in leadership style when using other metrics other than gender. It was only after posing the question of gender that gaps arose. Culture affects not only gender-related leadership methods but also a host of many other things that affect humanity.

In conclusion, the culture of a society and the way it treats women has a significant influence on the development progress of such countries. From the literature reviewed it is evident that the link between cultural practices and especially those regarding women has a close connection to the level of civilization and economic development in societies. It is clear the cultures which treat women as second-class citizens and does not value their input are less developed and remain in poverty and underdevelopment. Most of the least developed countries particularly in South Asia and Africa still perpetuate backward cultures that degrade the girl child. These societies have remained backward and are yet to enjoy the immense contribution of women in the nation.

On the other hand, developed countries realized that women have a critical role to play development. Such nations disregarded cultures that degraded and undermined women. Policies to ensure that women were empowered and received equal rights with their counterpart males were adopted and implemented.

Women are critical in the development of a nation and in transforming the world into a better place to live for everyone. Leaving them out in vital development endeavors is failing to utilize demographic potential which could be the key driver in boosting demographic dividends. Good news is that developing countries are starting to realize the contribution of women in change and economic growth. They do not see the need to oppress women and deny them opportunities anymore. Most of these countries have embarked on women empowerment programmes including the creation and amendment of various legislation aimed at increasing women participation in leadership, the establishment of institutions to advocate for human rights and supporting education for the girl child. Governments have also outlawed harmful cultural practices such as female circumcision. Though they face a challenge regarding conservative cultures which are deep-rooted, it is only a matter of time for the efforts and policies put in place to empower women to bear fruits.