Global Policy Forum

More than 10,000 delegates from some 180 countries gathered in New York last week for a special United Nations session to see how far governments have come in achieving gender equality in the five years since committing to such action at the watershed Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing.

Negotiations over an action plan to make sure achievements are protected and continued got bogged down as talks became mired in reproductive rights and health issues, but delegates came to an agreement in the session's waning hours.

The Platform for Action agreed to in Beijing provides "principles, goals and policy approaches that women in all parts of the world find of great value in their daily struggle to improve their lives," said UN Secretary General Kofi Annan as he opened the session on "Women 2000: Gender Equality, Development and Peace in the 21st Century" on June 5.

Despite progress made in the last five years, the goals of Beijing still need to be met. Women still earn less than men, have higher unemployment rates, are more often unemployed, and are generally poorer than men, said Annan. And "most countries have yet to legislate in favor of women's rights to own land. Violence against women is still increasing—both in the home and in the newer types of armed conflict which target civilian populations."

These inequalities have serious consequences and are the foundation of the World Bank's commitment to gender equality, said the World Bank's Gender and Development Director Karen Mason, who represented the Bank at the week-long meeting. "It is clear from everything we know—based on years of on-the-ground experience and policy research—that gender is a fundamental development issue," said Mason.

The 1995 Beijing platform urged the World Bank to take four concrete steps: to increase lending for basic education, health, and credit programs that benefit girls and women; to systematically consider gender perspectives in all Bank projects; to promote the participation of grassroots women's organizations in the formulation of national economic policies; and to increase the number of women in management positions at the World Bank itself.

"The World Bank has worked to promote greater female participation in development for many years now," said Mason. "But we used the momentum created by the Beijing Conference to redouble our efforts—to broaden and deepen our commitment to gender equality in all aspects of our work. And in each of the areas where our partners challenged us to do more, we have seen considerable progress."

But, said Mason, this isn't "the moment to rest on our laurels." Some of the recent gender gains remain fragile, and in some countries, rapid socioeconomic changes have resulted in setbacks and created new challenges. To meet these, "the World Bank is committed to redoubling its efforts to promote gender equality as part of the fight against poverty." It aims to do so by accounting for the positive links between gender equality, growth, and poverty reduction; by strengthening female participation in the policymaking process; and by integrating gender into development policy dialogues.

Mason and other members of the Gender and Development Group hosted a special session June 6 to discuss "Engendering Development," a draft policy research report that analyzes the relationship between gender and economic progress in developing countries. Two years in the making, "Engendering Development" has also been released on the Internet for a discussion timed to coincide with the special session. (Click here to see the draft.) Around 500 government and NGO representatives attended Tuesday's session, chaired by World Bank Vice President for Poverty Reduction and Economic Management, Kemal Dervis.  

"Much of the recent debate about gender and development has pitted growth-oriented approaches against rights-oriented approaches," said report co-author Elizabeth King, presenting highlights from the study. "But the evidence we examined suggests that economic development and institutional change are complementary—and that both are necessary."

Report co-author Andrew Mason said the research team's review of experience in more than 100 countries concluded that "although income growth and economic development are good for gender equality in the long run, growth alone cannot deliver the desired results." He said that societies progress more rapidly if they also adopt specific measures, such as equal rights to land and access to infrastructure and services, to narrow gender gaps.

Panelists—including Eveline Herfkens, the Netherlands' minister for Development Cooperation, Irene Santiago, president of the Center for Women's Leadership, Philippines, and Mona Zulficar, senior partner and chairperson of Shalakany Law Office, Egypt—urged the World Bank to translate the report into action.

"Great report, but what are you going to do about it?" asked Herfkens. "Since Beijing, we have seen a number of excellent World Bank reports on various topics. The World Bank must make sure it translates the policies recommended in the report into action." Herfkens also called on the audience to make sure their representatives on the Board of the World Bank and similar institutions promote the empowerment of women as a primary concern.

Santiago urged the Bank to push for increasing women's political participation and voice: "On average we have seen a 1 percent increase in women's political participation per decade. It is clear that the World Bank together with the development community at large must do more in this area."

Wrapping up the panel discussion, chairperson Dervis encouraged UN country delegations to help the Bank by appointing women executive directors and promoting gender mainstreaming in their own policies.

As a special contribution to the meeting, the Bank produced a website and a report highlighting the institution's actions since Beijing to integrate gender issues into its development work and organizational culture and structure. Some 2,000 NGO representatives and government delegates stopped by the Bank's information booth to pick up copies of the report, "Advancing Gender Equality: World Bank Action Since Beijing."   

Among the hundreds of speakers was US First Lady Hillary Clinton, who delivered a spirited speech on women's rights at a UNIFEM event on the meeting's opening day. "We are committed to making this journey together," Clinton told a cheering audience. She praised the UN for leading the global push for women's empowerment, but cited areas in which women's rights remain under attack.]

US Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers also spoke at an event organized in conjunction with the UN meeting. Citing recent research presented in "Engendering Development," he highlighted the strong linkages between female education and economic growth in developing countries.

Some 30,000 participants, in addition to the meeting's official delegates, attended a myriad of forums for nongovernmental organizations. More than 125 events focused on such diverse topics as microcredit, young women's health, and the trafficking of women.