Tag: gender
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Nov 22, 2011
Gender Equality: What Gaps Remain?
The World Bank has released The 2012 World Development Report on Gender Equality and Development. This report discusses gains women have made in gender equity, points out areas where change is still necessary, and sets four priorities for action:
- Reducing excess female mortality and closing education gaps where they remain
- Improving access to economic opportunities for women
- Increasing women’s voice and agency in the household and in society
- Limiting the reproduction of gender inequality across generations.
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May 5, 2011
Where is the United States Government Going on \'Gender\'?
I’ve been watching the ebb and flow of the gender equality movement for many years now. I’m glad to see that the ebbing, including the social backlash of the 1980s and the political chill of the 1990s, has been replaced by positive policy “flow”—if not flowering—in the U.S. government’s commitment to achieve gender equality in development assistance and diplomacy. Just recently, we’ve seen some clear signs that the Administration recognizes that gender equality and women’s empowerment are central to development, peace, and security. Just last week, the Global Health Initiative leaders discussed the new Supplemental Guidance on Women, Girls and Gender Equality , which was developed by an Interagency Working Group. * The ten key implementation elements of the draft GHI guidance on women, girls, and gender equality are: 1. Ensure equitable access to essential health services at facilities and in the community 2. Increase meaningful participation of women and girls in health programs (give voice) 3. Prevent and respond to gender-based violence 4. Empower pre-adolescent and adolescent girls 5. Engage men... Read More » -
Apr 26, 2011
Focusing on Women, Girls, and Gender Equality: Let’s Not Forget Female Health Workers
This blog was originally published on the Global Health Council blog . The Obama administration's Global Health Initiative (GHI) has taken the bold step of putting the principle of "women, girls, and gender equality" at the top of the list. Later this week, the Global Health Council is hosting a discussion on the release of the GHI Supplementary Guidance Document on Women, Girls and Gender Equality. We hope that the GHI will take its focus on women and girls a step further in this guidance and provide the means to address gender inequality in the health workforce to improve the recruitment, productivity, and retention of female health workers. Gender equality in human resources for health (HRH) means that women and men have an equal chance of choosing a health occupation, developing the requisite skills and knowledge, being fairly paid, enjoying equal treatment, and advancing in a career. When gender inequalities and discrimination operate in the workforce outside of the awareness of HRH leaders and managers, these inequalities may impede entry in health occupations or contribute to attrition, absences from work, lower productivity, poor health, and low morale of... Read More » -
Oct 11, 2010
Mobile Phones: Changing Girls\' Lives One Call at a Time
Last week, my BBC news feed randomly juxtaposed two headlines: Initiative Aims to Supply Millions of Mobiles to Women Hundreds of Kenyan Teachers Sacked over Sex Abuse At first glance, these headlines appear unrelated, but in fact they are deeply intertwined. According to the first article a woman in sub-Saharan Africa is 23% less likely than a man to own a mobile phone. In the Middle East, that statistic is 25%, and in South Asia, it is even worse: 37%. This all adds up to the reality that in developing countries, 300 million fewer women than men have mobile phones. Last week, United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Cherie Blair, wife of former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, launched mWomen, a new initiative that aims to halve that gap in three years. So why are mobile phones so important? What do they have to do with gender equality? Of course, owning a mobile phone offers women some obvious benefits. Phones can support women-owned businesses and independence; phones can link women to essential health and education information or to services. Beyond all this, in a world where one in three women experience some form of... Read More » -
Sep 15, 2010
“What about men?”
On a recent trip to Malawi, I visited the rural community of Matapila outside of the capital, Lilongwe, where a theater group was performing a series of short plays on how couples negotiate sex and make decisions about if and when to have children. After the plays, during a Q&A session, an older man stood up and elicited chuckles from the audience when he asked, “What about men?” He continued, “Family planning is all for the women. All the education is taught to women and all of the methods are for women, but what about us? We want to be involved with family planning, too.” That so many people in the audience found the man’s comments amusing was telling. In Malawi, information and education on contraception and family planning is largely geared toward women. Often, these services are offered in spaces that are largely seen as women-only sections of health clinics during prenatal, postpartum, or pediatric visits. Despite the audience’s laughter, the man’s question, “What about men?” is a serious one. The question made me think back to a scene a fellow colleague in Malawi had described to me. She told me she... Read More » -
Aug 19, 2010
Child Marriage: What You Can Do Today to Prevent It
In developing countries, one in seven girls marry before the age 15, and 38% marry before age 18. Most international conventions (including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, and the African Charter) define child marriage as marriage before the age of 18. It is a harmful traditional practice, a public health problem, and a violation of human rights. Child brides are denied their right to decide for themselves when and whom to marry; they’re forced to engage in sexual relations, usually with older husbands. They are robbed of their childhood, compelled to assume responsibilities and handle situations for which they are physically and psychologically unprepared. Child brides enter the institution of marriage with little or no information about their sexual and reproductive health, including contraception, safe motherhood, sexually transmitted infections, including HIV/AIDS. Lacking status and power, they are often socially isolated and at increased risk of experiencing domestic violence, and many remain... Read More » -
Mar 8, 2010
Salute to Women Health Workers
I salute the Women of the world today on the occasion of International Women’s Day 2010. As we mark the day, I cannot resist to make reference to Dr. Mahmoud F. Fathalla, a renowned Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology, who eloquently stated that:
“…Maternal deaths in developing countries are often the ultimate tragic outcome of the cumulative denial of women's human rights. Women are not dying because of untreatable diseases. They are dying because societies have yet to make the decision that their lives are worth saving...”
A food for thought as we "celebrate."
SALUTE to Women Health Workers!
—Uche Ekenna, IntraHealth Senior Program Manager
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Mar 8, 2010
Gender Equality at IntraHealth on International Women\'s Day
IntraHealth is committed to promoting gender equality as an integral part of development, recognizing that if gender-based disparities and inequalities are not addressed in human resources development and health service delivery, they may undermine the achievement of health program, service and development objectives. Gender differences and inequalities are embedded in structural inequalities that translate into unequal opportunities for education, economic development, access to health care and ultimately, unequal access to good health based on gender. IntraHealth works with partners, clients, state institutions, policy makers and civil society to develop appropriate strategies to eliminate gender-based discrimination, gender-based violence and gender-based barriers to service access, use and quality. IntraHealth’s gender strategy, which we adapt to local needs and opportunities, has three major components: End discrimination and promote equal opportunity and treatment in employment, training and education in human resources (HR) projects to address women’s often more vulnerable position in the labor market. Respond to gender-based violence.... Read More »
