By Kim Hak-Su
The Asia-Pacific region loses billions of dollars every year
because of discrimination against women. The Economic and Social
Survey for Asia and the Pacific 2007, released by the United
Nations' regional arm on April 18, has found that employment
obstacles for women cost the region US$42-47 billion a year. A
further US$16-30 billion is lost every year because of the gender
gap in education.
The United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and
the Pacific (UNESCAP) decided to conduct research on the costs of
gender inequality to build a bridge between social and economic
policies. We wanted to show that restricting women's access to
education, work and health services, which often is seen as a human
rights problem, also causes significant economic loss.
For example, the survey has found that if women's participation
in India's economy was on par with that in the United States, its
gross domestic product (GDP) would rise by 1.08 percentage points a
gain of US$19 billion. Significant gains could be achieved in
Malaysia and Indonesia, too, though the same cannot be said about
China because the female workforce's participation in the country
is already high.
Education is another area that can help achieve huge economic
gains by removing gender discrimination. In the Asian-Pacific
region, enrolment of girls in primary schools is as much as 26
percent lower than that of boys.
The irony is that when you educate a man, you educate just a
person, but when you educate a woman, you educate a whole family.
Women tend to invest more in children's health and education. So
the returns from educating women are obviously much higher.
Denying women total access to health services extracts a heavy
toll on the economy too. In some economies in the Asia-Pacific
region, one in every 10 girls dies before reaching her first
birthday, and one in every 50 women dies during pregnancy or in
labor.
It is true that the Asia-Pacific region has made significant
progress during the past half a century. The average life
expectancy of women rose from 44 years in the 1950-55 period to 70
years in the 2000-05 period. And the infant mortality rate fell
from 171 deaths per 1,000 live births in 1955 to 52 deaths in 2000.
Also, the adult female mortality rate has dropped by more than 40
percent since 1960 in most of the economies in the region.
Other positive developments in the region include the rising
literacy rates among women and their growing participation in
politics, with a 50 percent increase in the number of woman
parliamentarians since 1997. But much more needs to be done and can
be done by taking fairly simple and low-cost steps such as parents
not hesitating to send their daughters to school. Local
administrations can help a great deal by building schools close to
villages, providing separate toilets for girls, and allowing more
women to enter the teaching profession. Educating the girl child,
after all, is one of the best ways to liberate women from their
present state.
To improve health services for women, it is very important that
we address the problems of malnutrition and infant and maternal
mortality. Providing free lunch in schools for children and special
nutritional packages for pregnant women will go a long way in
improving their health.
Mobile clinics in remote areas and community-based emergency
transport could drastically reduce mothers' and infants' deaths.
Women are often denied access to healthcare because of cultural
practices and misconceptions. Enacting laws to ensure women enjoy
equal rights to proper healthcare is therefore crucial.
Governments in the region should play the leading role, with the
public sector acting as a role model, to reduce discrimination
against women in recruitment, salaries and promotions. Also, they
should pass laws against harassment at workplaces in place.
But perhaps the most important factor in the fight against
gender discrimination is changing men's attitude and behavior
toward women. It has to start early, in boyhood. Enlightened
fathers, husbands and brothers are more likely to respect
daughters, wives and sisters.
Professor Amartya Sen, economics Nobel laureate, said at a
meeting with UNESCAP staff last month that though social progress
could be served by economic growth, the reverse was equally true,
that is, economic growth, too, could be spurred by advances in
social policy.
Indeed, if financial and social policymakers can see the
complementary nature of their interests, there can be a better
future not only for women and girls, but also for everyone across
the entire Asia-Pacific region.
The author is UN Under-Secretary-General and Executive
Secretary of the Bangkok-based Economic and Social Commission for
Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP).
(China Daily?April 27, 2007)
