Transcript Diapositiva 1

Policy Interventions to Meet the
MDG 3 Challenge in
Middle-Income Countries
By Miguel Székely
Former Deputy Minister
Ministry of Social Development of Mexico
Prepared for the High-Level Consultation on “Promoting the Gender Equality
MDG: The Implementation Challenge”
Washington DC, February 16, 2006.
Message:
The main challenge is to
focus on the underlying
mechanisms generating gender
differences, not only on the
outcomes
If the “rules of the game” and
cultural patterns are not
modified, policy will be
“swimming against the tide”
Contents
1.
Identifying the scope for government
intervention
2.
Changing the “rules of the game”
3.
Providing information, incentives and
infrastructure
4.
Main message
1. The scope for
government intervention
Market outcomes:
+ fewer opportunities, lower incomes,
lower investment in human capital
(education, health, etc.)
“Rules of the game”:
+ Labor laws, hiring & firing within the
government, counterparts for
government intervention, operation of
programs, no access to services, etc.
Cultural patterns (family):
+ Discrimination, tradition, inertia,
religion, etc.
. Affirmative action
. Explicit goals (MDG)
. Provide incentives in
service provision
. Change Laws
. Internal hiring policy
. Change how programs
operate
. Access to services
. Education programs
. Information generation
. Incentives within hh’s
. Increase productivity
2. “Changing the rules of
the game”
in policy implementation
Two basic principles
i)
Social policies BY women (not only FOR
women): women as main partners &
counterparts in programs
ii)
Benefits tailored to women’s and girl’s needs
CORRESPONSABILIDADES
5 million
women run
Oportunidades
Benefit
Shared
responsibility
Scholarships
School attendance
by all children in the
household
Cash transfer
for food
Attendance to health
clinics by all children in
the household
Taking women as partners and not only
as beneficiaries, has huge implications
Use of cash transfers by women in Oportunidades
Food
71%
Clothing
5%
Hygiene
7%
Health
2%
Other
14%
Education
1%
Tailoring benefits to women’s needs
1. Credit for projects designed by women
2. Nutritional supplements for girls, pregnant
women, nursing mothers, etc.
3. Day care centers
4. Training
5. Health services (Oportunidades)
6. Safe environment
3. Modifying cultural patterns
Three mechanisms
a) Generation of information
b) Provision of incentives within the household
c) Increasing productibity in activities performed by
women
a) Information on discrimination
(Mexican National Discrimination Survey:
“A look in the mirror”)
40%
40% of Mexican men think that women should
be confined to “women’s jobs”
Women should only work in
“jobs for women”
30.5%
Almost one out of three think that men
should earn more than women when
performing the same job
Men should earn more than
women
21.5%
21% believe that women have fewer abilities
to handle high pressure jobs
Women have fewer
capabilities than men to
handle high pressure
jobs
23.1%
… and almost one out of every four believe
that women are to blame when they are raped
because they attract men
Women are to blame
when they are raped,
because they attract
men
15%
15% do not invest in the education of their
daughters, because they will get married and
their husband will provide for them
Investment in female
education is worthless,
because they will get
married
a) Formalize information on women’s
real economic contribution:
The visible economic contribution of women
in Mexico is of 30% of total GDP
(through declared participation in economic activity)
Men
70%
Women
30%
The invisible (non-remunerated) contribution is of at
least an additional 17% of GDP
17% of GDP
PIB
* Estimations from the National Employment Survey, various years.
b) Incentives
In Oportunidades, scholarships for girls are higher
than for boys
Increase in secondary school enrollment
25% general enrollment
33% women
16% men
c) Increase efficiency in activities
normally performed by women
8
14 hours
per day
8
Does not participate
Domestic activities
6
Participates in labor market
Labor market participation
* From National Income and Expenditure Survey, 2004 (women 18 and older).
Household infrastructure and appliances
reduce time and effort considerably
10
3
3
3
1
Potable water
Gas stove
Micro-wave oven
Weekly hours saved
Refrigerator
Total
Message:
The main challenge is to
focus on the underlying
mechanisms generating gender
differences, not only on the
outcomes
If the “rules of the game” and
cultural patterns are not
modified, policy will be
“swimming against the tide”