Why gender equality in development cooperation?

"All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights..."

International human rights concern everybody in the world: men, women, girls and boys. But in no country in the world are human rights completely fullfilled, nor do women and men have mutual equality of status. Gender inequality can be seen in all areas of life. Women still have a very low status in many developing countries. Women are not able to take part in political and social decision-making in society. They are more often undervalued and overworked than men and more susceptible to discrimination and violence.

Poverty is a gender issue 

Poverty affects the lives of both men and women. All the same, the problems that are caused by poverty throughout the world affect women more often than men: 70% of the world’s poor are women or girls. In many societies women suffer as a result of poverty through, for example, population growth, lack of education and low social status. These problems are intertwined and feed off each other: poverty reduction and gender equality go hand-in-hand. 

Men, too, suffer the consequences of gender inequality. They may feel that they cannot live up to the stereotypical expectations of gender roles and status imposed upon them by society or the local power structure.

Gender perspective improves the quality and sustainability of development projects

A more equal status for women and men is an essential condition for achieving sustainable people-centred development. Attention must be paid to gender equality issues in all development projects, not just in those that specifically deal with gender matters. Consideration must be given in every project as to how the project benefits men on the one hand and women on the other. A project that no one imagines as having any influence on gender status may in practice discriminate against some group of society, for example against women. The project may then unwittingly deepen the inequality between women and men. Projects may not achieve their purposes if attention is not paid to the gender roles and gender-based division of tasks practised in society.

Development cooperation is thus neither of good quality nor sustainable if it does not itself reduce gender inequality. Gender equality and the improvement of women’s status can no longer be seen as an additional optional benefit to be considered in development work only when there is time, or resources or sympathy for it. Well-being is not increased nor is poverty reduced if the equal rights of women and men to participation and development are not promoted at the same time. 

Commitments involve obligations 

All states in the world have recognised human rights and are committed to gender equality and the promotion of the status and rights of women. The Beijing Platform for Action, drawn up at the UN’s Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing in 1995, and the UN’s Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) are particularly important examples of agreements that bind countries throughout the world. These commitments also apply to us, the people who carry out development cooperation. For this reason, too, the rights of women and girls and the promotion of gender equality have been raised to a central position in Finland’s policy for developing countries. Gender equality is one of the main aims of Finland’s policy with regard to developing countries. 

The Strategy and Action Plan for Promoting Gender Equality in Finland’s Policy for Developing Countries 2003-2007, published by Finland’s Ministry for Foreign Affairs, also requires Finnish people taking part in development cooperation and NGOs who receive financial assistance from the Ministry to make sure their activities and goals promote gender equality.

30.04.2004

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