Transcript Empowerment of Women in Knowledge Based Society

Empowerment of Women in
Knowledge Based Society
The global economy is becoming
increasingly dependent upon the ability to
effectively produce and use knowledge and that the
competitiveness of a country depends on the
knowledge acquisition capacity of its human
resources.
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Status of Knowledge in the Arab Region
Disturbing signals revealed from the first AHDR in 2002:
• While good progress has been made over the last decades in education
coverage, more than half of Arab women cannot read or write. Two thirds of
illiterates in the region are women.
•About 10 million children are out of school, mostly girls
•Low, and deteriorating, quality of education
•Only 0.6% of Arabs use the Internet & 1.2% of the population uses a PC
(The Arab region has the lowest level of access to ICT of all regions of the
world, even lower than sub-Saharan Africa)
•Spending on research and development (R&D) is one seventh of the world
average (0.5% of GDP)
• Severe mismatch between education and the labor market
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Why Should Women be Empowered to
Access Knowledge?
Linkages between women’s education and development.
Investments in girls’ schooling are effective.
Benefits of rising female education.
Female education leads to women’s empowerment
Irrespective of the social and personal gains, women are
entitled to equal rights (moral and legal reason)
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The case of Egypt
• Female literacy rate as percentage of males is 63.4
• Female primary enrolment as % of males is 93.2
• Female preparatory enrollment as % of males is 91.9
• Female Secondary enrollment as % of males is 94.9
• Females with Higher education (15 years +) is 23.5 %
• Females in labor force as % of males is 18.5
• Dropout rate for girls is 3.02 % higher than boys
• Disparities however exist between Egypt’s different governorates with Upper
Egypt ranking the lowest in female enrollment as % of males with 82 for primary
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and 80 for secondary.
Obstacles
The main impediments to knowledge are:
1. Political
2. Socio-economic
3. Cultural
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1. Political Impediments
• Too few women have a public and influential voice in
Egypt (2.4% seats in parliament and 5.7% in Shura
Council)
• Women suffer in the Arab region from unequal citizenship
and legal entitlements, often evident in voting rights and
legal codes
• Too few women occupy decision-making/senior positions
(Governor, President of University, CEOs, etc…) in Egypt
– Percentage of females in legislative or managerial staff
is 2.5%
– Percentage of females in Professional or technical staff
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is 6.3%
2. Socio-economic Impediments
• Women do not have yet an equal access to education and information.
• Socialization in the Arab world is characterized as over-protective and
authoritarian child upbringing especially for girls (over-controlling
childrearing leads to limited risk-taking & innovation).
• Unemployment is much higher for women than for men.
• Early marriage, limitations to travel and access to Ids
Labor demand characteristics:
• Characteristics of the Arab Economy
• Employment for women made more difficult in some sectors due to cultural
factors (tourism, retail, etc…)
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3. Cultural Impediments
• Are women equal to men in their role of educating their children and what
is the weight of women’s decision-making in the family?
– (women’s subordination & patriarchal family structure)
• Cultural barriers and misinterpretation of religion with respect to
knowledge and women’s role in society
• Behavioral deviations discouraged or just to be different
• The representation given in the media of the role of women
• There are some trends which seem to discourage women’s public
engagement (niqab).
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What needs to be done
• The quality of the Egyptian education system needs improvement in order
to become more flexible, diversified and relevant to the economic and social
needs of the country and to be gender sensitive.
• Women are chief hidden educators especially in the Arab World where many
women stay at home - need to promote the role of mothers in socializing
and upbringing children and in setting the tone of curiosity and critical
thinking for their children.
• Need to raise awareness of the true place and role of woman in Islam, which
is in many instances misrepresented in the media and elsewhere – need to
sensitize religious preachers and authorities.
• There should be a realization that Egyptian women have a role, indeed a
responsibility to transform the contemporary Egyptian society.
• Economic policies fostering more labor intensity, so generating 10
more
education and knowledge demand by women
Transformation Tools
• Illiteracy eradication, especially to target governorates
with a wide gender gap and low enrollment rates.
• ICT – access to information and knowledge
• Political empowerment
• Media and gender
• Education reform
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Transformation Tools (cont.)
• Positive symbolic measures
• More women activism
• Affordable social support services to free women’s time
and potential
• Awareness of women’s educator role, which can change
prevailing norms/habits starting from the family
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