Investing in women good for the world

NAIROBI: If we want real progress and prosperity for all human beings, let’s invest in girls and women where untapped potential lies.
Denmark will host the millennium’s largest global conference on women and girls’ rights, health and well-being between May 16 and May 19, 2016.

It will focus on how to implement the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development as it matters most for girls and women. Particular focus will be on maternal, sexual, and reproductive health and rights – and on gender equality, education, environment, and economic empowerment.

Research shows investing in girls and women is the most effective investment far beyond the individual woman. Investing in women’s economical participation is a direct way to gender equality, poverty reduction and inclusive economic growth.

When an additional 10 per cent of girls go to school, a country’s gross domestic product increases by 3 per cent. And by removing the barriers that prevent women from entering the labour market, work productivity increases by up to 25 per cent.

At the individual level, women spend 90 per cent of their salary on their children and the health, education and well-being of their family while men only spend 30 to 40 per cent. Girls and women constitute over half of the world’s population and contribute greatly to the world economy as consumers, employees and entrepreneurs.

They deliver a large amount of unpaid work inside and outside their homes. Girls and women constitute the majority of the world’s poor, earn far less than men, work longer and are often much worse off when it comes to access to land, natural resources, education and health.

For the world society to experience progress, girls and women need their entitled equal opportunities, which not only benefit girls and women but society as a whole.

Over 200 years ago, all Danish children of whichever background were given the right to free education. Last year, Denmark celebrated the 100th anniversary of the right of Danish women to vote in parliamentary elections.

The latter was the culmination of a long and persistent struggle for women to have a formal voice in society equal to that of men. Women’s influence and opportunities have steadily increased. In 1976, equal pay for equal work became a requirement by law, and in 2011, Denmark got its first female prime minister.

In Kenya, access to free or subsidised education has enabled the country to achieve near parity for girls and boys. Free maternal health services have contributed to reduction in maternal mortality rates.

Notably, Kenya is pushing forward for the realisation of the constitutional provisions on the one third of either gender representation in all elective and appointive positions.

Women are also at the helm of key constitutional commissions and constitute 40 per cent and 48 per cent of magistrates in the Judiciary. Kenya’s national FGM prevalence rate recently recorded the highest drop in national FGM prevalence rates recorded in the world.

Promoting and achieving gender equality ranks high on the agenda for Denmark and Kenya. The ideal of treating men and women equal and giving boys and girls equal opportunities greatly influences the development of both societies.

The pay gap between men and women exists, women are disproportionately exposed to sexual and gender-based violence, and the existence of gender stereotypes occasionally constitutes a barrier to gender equality. Kenyan women still remain under-represented in social, economic and political spheres.

The international framework on women’s rights and gender equality has been and indeed is an important instrument on the road to gender equality. For Kenya and Denmark, it has always been a core element in respective international work to promote these decisions. Six months ago, Heads of State and Government adopted 17 goals for poverty reduction and sustainable development – the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

Crucial for the success of these goals is the extent to which they result in investment in women. The goals deliver promises for the young girl who desperately wants an education, for the millions of women still without access to family planning and proper health care, and for the woman who wants to own the land she is farming and have access to financial services.

Denmark and Kenya are firmly committed to using the 2030 Agenda to push for sustainable societies where everybody will have the opportunity to determine their own destinies.

Together, we are sending this message not only to world leaders but also to all citizens, companies, civil society organisations, research institutions and more: Invest in girls and women – and everybody wins.