• Gender and the MDGs

Gender and the MDGs

Gender equality is important for both intrinsic and instrumental reasons. It has a bearing on family harmony and on wellbeing in many dimensions. It involves policy-making with respect to society as a whole, including education, labour and financial markets, economic and political empowerment, institutions, and economic growth. This journal highlights the importance of improving gender equity for pro-poor growth and improved wellbeing of poor families, with references to recent research literature and sharing of important and policy-relevant results.

The 12 articles contribute to a better understanding of the importance of recognising the crucial role of gender inequalities as barriers to economic and social development, and thus of undertaking policy and institutional reforms that will more effectively reduce poverty and social injustice. The lead essay provides a summary of current knowledge about the relation between gender, labour markets and poverty, explaining why there are no easy generalisations about the poverty implications of women’s paid work. Additional articles provide a focus on the links between gender, institutions and development; better data can help improve policy analysis. In addition it is argued that gender inequality is a major barrier to economic growth and poverty reduction, calling for bold policy action to challenge social institutions

Articles in this journal include:

• poverty as a gendered experience: the policy implications
• poverty, employment and globalisation: a gender perspective
• gender equality is good for the poor
• reducing the gender gap in education: the role of rural wage labour
• microfinance for gender equality: a dilemma?
  
  
  

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