Transcript Investment in Women Through Public Policy

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Brooke Lillard
School of Public and Environmental Affairs
[email protected]
Investment in Women
Through Public Policy
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Outline
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Introduction
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Question
Definition of “investment”
Case Studies
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Kenya
United States
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Historical Context
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Political Representation and Education
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Economic Growth
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Are women equal to men in the United States?
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Conclusion
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Question
If countries invest in women through public policy, particularly
constitutions, will their economies develop faster than those
that don’t invest?
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Definition of “investment”
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Providing constitutional support for women by
providing them with power or authority
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Case Studies
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Kenya
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Considered a third world country
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Recently ratified its constitution in August 2010
United States
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First world country
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Constitution ratified in 1789
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Did you know? The Kenyan
Constitution…
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…mentions the terms “sex,” “gender,” “women,” or “woman”
in at least 30 different places in the document.
President Mwai
Kibaki lifts up
Kenya's new
constitution
soon after
signing it. The
ceremony was
attended by
several African
leaders.
Photograph:
Tony
Karumba/AFP/
Getty Images
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Gains for women in the Kenyan
Constitution
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Equal Rights
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Political Representation
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Women and men have the right to equal treatment, including the right to equal
opportunities in political, economic, cultural and social spheres. Article 27 (3).
The State shall not discriminate directly or indirectly against any person on any
ground, including race, sex, pregnancy, marital status, health status, ethnic or social
origin, colour, age, disability, religion, conscience, belief, culture, dress, language or birth.
Article 27 (6).
The electoral system shall comply with the following principles–– …(b) not more than
two-thirds of the members of elective public bodies shall be of the same
gender…Article 81 (b).
Parliament shall enact legislation to promote the representation in Parliament of—
(a) women; (b) persons with disabilities; (c) youth; (d) ethnic and other minorities; and (e)
marginalised communities. Promotion of representation of marginalised groups. Article
100.
Property Ownership
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…elimination of gender discrimination in law, customs and practices related to land
and property in land…Article 60 (1)(f).
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Did you know? The United States
Constitution…
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…is the only major written constitution that includes a bill of
rights but lacks a provision that explicitly states women have
equal rights to men.
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United States Constitution
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19th Amendment
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“The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied
or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of sex.
Congress shall have the power to enforce this article by appropriate
legislation.”
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Passed by Congress June 4, 1919.
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Ratified August 18, 1920.
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United States: Congressional
Actions
1938- Fair Labor Standards Act establishes minimum wage without regard to gender
1963- Congress passes Equal Pay Act
1964- Title VII of the Civil Rights Act prohibits employment discrimination on the basis
of race, color, religion, national origin, or sex
1965- Labors laws are repealed on the hours and conditions of women’s work, opening
previously male only jobs to women
1972- Title XI bans sex discrimination in schools
1974- Congress prohibits housing discrimination against women
1993- The Family and Medical Leave Act goes into effect
1994- Congress passes the Gender Equity in Education Act to train teachers in gender
equality
2009-Congress passes the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act amending the 1964 Civil Rights
Act stating that each new discriminatory paycheck resets the 180-day Statute of
Limitations for filing a lawsuit regarding pay discrimination.
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United States Supreme Court Actions
1971- Reed v. Reed rules that if a law discriminates
against women, it is unconstitutional under the
Fourteenth Amendment
1976- Supreme Court upholds women’s rights to
unemployment benefits during the last three months
of pregnancy
1978- Kirchberg v. Feenstra overturns state laws
designating the husband as “head and master”
1981- Sandra Day O’Connor becomes first woman
appointed to the Supreme Court
1984- Sex discrimination in membership policies is
forbidden by the Supreme Court
1998- Court rules that employers are liable for
sexual harassment
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Kenya
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President: Mwai Kibaki
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Population: ~39 million
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Tribes: Kenya is made up of
about 42 indigenous
communities.
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Largest are Kikuyu (22%) Luhya
(14%), Luo (13%), Kalenjin (12%)
and Kamba (11%).
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GDP: ~ $32 billion
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Constitution: 1963, August 2010
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Kenya: Tribal History and
Colonialism
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Tribes before colonialism
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Colonialism and its effects
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The missing culture
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Wangari Maathai
Conflict of constitutional and
customary laws
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Kenya’s First Constitution
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Largely dated from Kenya’s independence from the United
Kingdom in 1963
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Seemed to provide equality to women
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Multiple exceptions to equality clause:
 Citizenship issues
 Law that deals with adoption, marriage, divorce, burial, inheritance,
or other matters of personal law nor to “members of a particular
race or tribe” with respect to the application of their customary law
 Statute that prescribes standards regarding appointment to an
office in public service, in a disciplined force, in local authority
service, or in the public body corporate
 Giving or withholding consent to a transaction in agricultural land
by any body established by law for the control of such transactions
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Kenya’s First Constitution and
Customary (Tribal) Law
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Exemption of Constitutional Law to Customary Law
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Most women only abided by customary law, primarily in
rural areas
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Amongst 42 indigenous groups, there are variations of
customary laws, even at the clan and family levels
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Patriarchal
Principal decision-making power given to men
Men inherit and control land and property
 Married women do not inherit from their parents
 Unmarried women inherit less from their parents than
their brothers
Enforced by traditional leaders and local authorities
May also be applied in formal courts by judges and
magistrates
 Judicature Act
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Kenya and Current
Political Representation
Parliament
10%
Women
Men
90%
Twenty-two out of 222 seats have been filled by women in the Kenyan
Parliament. Only 16 women were elected and six women have been
nominated.
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Kenyan Political Representation and
New Constitution
Parliament
33%
Women
Men
67%
The newly ratified Kenyan Constitution requires that at least 1/3 of all
elected bodies should be represented by women. That is at least 74
out of 222 seats in Parliament.
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Kenya and Education Statistics
PRIMARY EDUCATION
Gross Enrollment Rate (GER)
slightly higher for boys than
girls during all years.
Net Enrollment Rate (NER) is
higher for girls than boys.
SECONDARY EDUCATION
GER for boys is slightly
higher than girls for both
years.
NER is equal for both boys
and girls.
*Shows significant number
of girls drop out after
obtaining primary
education.
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Kenya and University Education
More men
than women
are enrolled
in public
universities,
while the
opposite is
true for
private
universities.
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United States Education
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United States Education
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United States Political Representation
Women hold 90 out of
a total of 535 seats in
the 112th United States
Congress.
Women represent 17
seats out of 100 in the
Senate and 73 out of
435 seats in the House
of Representatives.
112th US Congress
Female
14%
Male
86%
House of
Representatives
Senate
17%
17%
83%
Female
Male
83%
Female
Male
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Kenya’s Growth Rate
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2010: 5.6%
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2011: 4.3%
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2012: Estimated to reach
5.0%
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Another Example in Africa:
Rwanda
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2003: Ratified new
constitution which required
that 30 percent of parliament
members be women
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Today 56 percent of
Rwanda’s members of
parliament are women
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Economy is steadily growing
and is expected to continue
with the growing labor force.
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United States
Generally, women have surpassed men in obtaining education
during the past three decades, but on average, less-educated
women earn lower wages than less-educated men.
– 2011 GAO Report
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U.S. Statistics
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Despite numerous Supreme Court rulings and legislation,
why does data show we are still not equal?
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The number of women went from holding 37 percent of all jobs to
nearly 48 percent during the past 40 years.
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Women accounted for nearly ¼ of the U.S. GDP in 2011
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A Goldman Sachs study shows that a reduction in barriers to
female labor force participation would increase America’s GDP
by 9 percent, the Eurozone’s GDP by 13 percent, and Japan’s GDP
by 16 percent.”
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Center for American Progress
In 2008, women earned 77 cents per dollar earned by men
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Is the U.S. economy stagnating?
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Conclusion
When public policy creates barriers to women from
entering or fully participating in markets, economic
growth and private sector development will be
constrained with…
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Multiple studies have shown that women invest firstly
in their families and communities
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Less investment
Less competition
Lower productivity
Women are better at saving money than men and if
they do spend it, they invest in their families and
communities
The ripple effect
Women are the majority of the educated
population in the United States. With our economy
becoming increasingly knowledge-based, we
must ensure that we can fully capitalize our
educated population by ensuring there are no
barriers through our constitution.
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Questions?