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Gender Issues in the CIS-7 Countries’ PRSPs

Gender Issues in the CIS-7 Countries’ PRSPs. Engendering the PRSP process in CIS-7 countries Gulnara Febres, WBI July 11-15, 200 5 Tashkent, Uzbekistan. Gender Issues in the CIS-7 Countries’ PRSPs. Issues: To evaluate the gender sensitivity of the first round of PRSPs in the CIS-7

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Gender Issues in the CIS-7 Countries’ PRSPs

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  1. Gender Issues in the CIS-7 Countries’ PRSPs Engendering the PRSP process in CIS-7 countries Gulnara Febres, WBI July 11-15, 2005 Tashkent, Uzbekistan

  2. Gender Issues in the CIS-7 Countries’ PRSPs Issues: • To evaluate the gender sensitivity of the first round of PRSPs in the CIS-7 • To identify existing gaps in gender-sensitive approach • Good practices: how to move towards more gender-responsive PRSPs?

  3. Why to Address Gender in PRSPs? • An assessment of gender in the PRSPs is important because of the evidence that gender based inequalities slow economic growth and poverty reduction, and tend to be most extreme in the lowest income countries and poorest households • Failure to conduct poverty diagnosis in a gender-responsive manner runs the risk of ignoring important avenues to poverty reduction.

  4. Gender in the PRSPs Globally: A Stocktaking • IMF/World Bank Review of 2001 sampled 19 I-PRSPs and 4 PRSPs • Examined the degree to which gender issues were included: • In the four core PRSP elements (diagnosis, public actions, monitoring, and consultative process); • In the eight sectoral areas (health, education, labor markets, agriculture, safety nets, infrastructure, governance and financial services)

  5. Gender in the PRSPs Globally: A Stocktaking • Rating system used in the review of core PRSP elements: “0”= no mention of gender issues “1”= brief mention of gender issues “2”= gender issues treated with some elaboration • Scores averaged for each core element

  6. Average Scores by Core PRSP Component:

  7. Results of the Review: • Notable feature: differences in average scores across core elements • General problem (not unique to the treatment of gender issues) : disconnect and the absence of a logical flow from: diagnosis => public actions =>monitoring • Public actions : • did not correspond to any of the problems identified in diagnosis • often identified without any plans for monitoring outputs or impacts

  8. Sectoral Content of the Reviewed I-PRSPs and PRSPs (in %)

  9. Results of the Sectoral Review: • Gender issues were better integrated into the Health, Nutrition and Population sector • The relatively high score for the education sector was primarily driven by the quality of diagnosis • In NO cases were gender relevant or sex-disaggregated indicators identified for monitoring • Only 3 PRSPs included public actions to address the gender-specific constraints identified in diagnosis • Despite the higher expectations of full PRSPs, in average, they were only marginally better than the Interim PRSPs

  10. Coverage of Gender Issues in Core Elements of PRSP in CIS-7 countries Qualitative Rating: 0- No mention of gender, 1 – Brief mention of gender issues, 2 – Gender issues treated with some elaboration

  11. Gender Issues in Core Elements of PRSP by Country in CIS-7 region Qualitative Rating: 0- No mention of gender, 1 – Brief mention of gender issues, 2 – Gender issues treated with some elaboration

  12. Coverage of Gender Issues in Sectoral Areas in CIS-7 countries Qualitative Rating: 0- No mention of gender, 1 – Brief mention of gender issues, 2 – Gender issues treated with some elaboration

  13. Challenges in CIS-7 Countries: • CIS-7 countries are young democracies with a history of accountability to Moscow rather than citizens. Accountability to citizen is an enormous shift. Governments still have low capacity for working with civil society, engaging with service users, and setting up consultative mechanisms. • The Soviet legacy : the political and institutional systems are relatively new. State-building is still underway.

  14. Challenges in CIS-7 Countries • CIS-7 countries are dealing with the shock of collapse rather than a long history of poverty (as in Africa.) • Poor governance environment • Little experience of evidence-based national planning. • Understanding of market-based economics is low, low capacity to implement plans

  15. Challenges in CIS-7 Countries • Data on poverty remains poor. • High level of education but little chance to mobilize this: population tend to have very low expectations of the government, and are apathetic about government initiatives. • Both, government and civil society have faced difficulties in meeting the requirement for a participatory PRSP.

  16. CIS-7 PRSPs: Gender-Sensitive? • The major problem : gender is not addressed as a cross-cutting issue in PRSPs, rather the discussion of gender is isolated to some specific sectors • In most cases, PRSP emphasizes the market economy (paid labor/male dominated) at the expense of the household economy (unpaid labor/female dominated). (Except KR, where a time allocation study is outlined in a 3-page section entitled “Gender Equality).

  17. CIS-7 PRSPs: Gender-Sensitive? • Problems with household survey data: • Unitary household model • Unawareness of sectoral gender issues (e.g. transportation, infrastructure, etc.) • Lack of gender-focused questions • In some cases, the analysis does not take a note of the factors that cause change in household structures to female/male headed households (except AZ, AR, MD), and their implications for stability and sustenance of families.

  18. CIS-7 PRSPs: Gender-Sensitive? • In most cases, the discussion on education does not incorporate an analysis of underlying factors that contribute to non-enrollment, poor performance, and dropouts of boys and girls in education at all levels: • government withdrawal of resources from the sectors, • low quality of teaching, prioritization of boys’ education in some countries (TJ), • use of girls labor for domestic purposes, lack of adequate facilities(TJ), • drop-out of boys for economic assistance to their families (AZ, AR)

  19. CIS-7 PRSPs: Learning by Doing • In CIS-7 countries, a process of consultation amongst government bodies is a new way of working. • Pre-existing government processes are usually hierarchical, while horizontal links are weak. The PRSP process both reveals this weakness and provides and opportunity to strengthen this link:

  20. CIS-7 PRSPs: Learning by Doing • PRSP formulation led to creation of a number of thematic or sectoral working groups (AZ-15; KR-23; TJ-9) • The link between the line ministries and the PRSP process have been problematic (KR: some ministries are linking their work to PRSP for the first time (e.g. transport).

  21. CIS-7 PRSPs: Learning by Doing • Local government is involved in a few cases, but not through membership of the WG (KR: oblasts have been asked to provide inputs). • In some cases, CS groups, research institutes and other stakeholders are members of WG: AZ, KR (MPs, CSOs and the private sector are invited to participate). In Moldova, trade unions and NGOs are members of Coordinating Council.

  22. Trends in Gender Profile of the CIS-7 Region • Female employment as a percent of total number of employed has declined over the last decade (except TJ) – Moldova, Kyrgyz Republic, Uzbekistan and Armenia • High gender wage gap (UZ: 22% (1995); TJ 69% (1999); Armenia 80.7% (2000), Georgia 77% (2000)

  23. Trends in Gender Profile of the CIS-7 Region • Gender disparities in access to some parts of the labor market : women are disproportionately represented in lower paying social sector jobs • Low percentage of women in decision-making positions • Male depopulation (Armenia, Moldova, Georgia, Azerbaijan) due to out-migration of male population

  24. Trends in Gender Profile of the CIS-7 Region • Large gender disparities in access to land, capital and credits • Maternal mortality grew over the past decade (Georgia, Tajikistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan) • Gender disparities in all levels of education enrollment • Human trafficking (Moldova)

  25. “Country Specific” Trends in CIS-7 Gender Profiles • “Missing boys” of Armenia (in the population structure the age group of males from 16-34 is basically missing due to out- migration. The same trend is increasing in Azerbaijan, Moldova and Georgia)

  26. “Country Specific” Trends in CIS-7 Gender Profiles • In Azerbaijan, fertility rates decreased dramatically in all age groups except from that of 15-19 years. For this age group, fertility has increased by two times  worrying implication for the education and health of teenage girls.

  27. “Country Specific” Trends in CIS-7 Gender Profiles • In Kyrgyz Republic, tradition of bride stealing is widespread with estimated 15-30% of all girls kidnapped. There is an increasing trend for girls to marry younger  girls under 17 do not have legal rights until the marriage is registered a few years later.

  28. “Country Specific” Trends in CIS-7 Gender Profiles • Tajikistan has the largest and fast growing gender gap in enrollment rates in the region and one of the highest maternal mortality, infant mortality and under-five mortality rates (66%; 89% and 126% respectively)

  29. “Country Specific” Trends in CIS-7 Gender Profiles • In Azerbaijan, almost 12% of the population are refugees and IDPs  households where the head has refugee or IDP statusare more likely to be poor.

  30. Are the PRSPs in CIS-7 Gender- Sensitive? Unless these differences and their impacts on the lives of women and men are analyzed, understood and captured fully by all poverty interventions, it would be very difficult to tackle poverty in the Region

  31. Institutional Location of PRSPs in CIS-7 • A key issue for ownership and the success of the PRSP process is the power of the agency that formulates and carries forward implementation of the strategy • The power of the agency can be seen in terms of : • Political power • Resource allocation power

  32. Lead Agency in Formulating PRSPs in CIS-7 countries

  33. Lead Agency in Formulating PRSPs in CIS-7 countries

  34. Who is in charge of the PRSP Process in CIS-7? • MoF is leading the PRSP process in Armenia and Azerbaijan – resource allocation power is important • MoF provides de-facto leadership in Kyrgyz Republic and Tajikistan • Georgia, Moldova, Kyrgyz Republic and Tajikistan have established Presidential Units or equivalent, to ensure that the PRSP process has high level political backing.

  35. CIS-7 PRSPs • Ownership of a policy process may be evidenced through willingness to commit resources to its implementation. • Often the link between the PRSP process and the budget is extremely weak. • Weak prioritization and lack of realistic resourcing.

  36. Potential Opportunities • Undertake a critical review of the extent to which gender is effectively integrated in PRSP • Gender disaggregated data should be addressed as a priority in order to enhance the development of gender sensitive PRSPs

  37. Potential Opportunities • Pro-actively ensure gender balance in participatory processes at different levels and different stages of PRSP planning, implementation and monitoring. • Various national women’s machineries and institutional structures within the government should be included in the consultation process to (1) facilitate consultations with poor women in local communities; (2) suggest high priority actions directly.

  38. Women’s Machineries in CIS-7 • The National Gender Policy and the State Commission for Family, Youth and Women’s Affairs in Kyrgyz Republic • The National Commission on Work with Family and Women, and the Committee on Work with Women and Families in the Parliament in Tajikistan • The Secretariat on Social Protection of Family, Motherhood and Childhood of the Cabinet of Ministers and the Women’s Committee in Uzbekistan • State Committee for Women Affairs, Azerbaijan

  39. Potential Opportunities • Strengthen institutional capacity for gender mainstreaming and institutionalize gender in all policy-making/management structures • The major policies, plans, strategies and budgets of the sectors involved in the PRSP (e.g., Finance, Regional Administration and Local Government, Agriculture, Education, Water, Transport, Health), should incorporate gender issues at all levels.

  40. Potential Opportunities • Address institutional gaps in operationalizing gender as cross-cutting development issue. This includes the establishment, positioning, funding, and institutional capacities of the national Gender Machinery and sectoral gender focal points • Set participatory mechanisms for coordination of development processes to create collective vision, maximize resources available and minimize duplication of effort

  41. Potential Opportunities • Capacity building, funding, and information sharing with civil society organizations and communities; empower gender equality advocates, NGOs and CBOs. • Promote public debate, awareness raising and policy discussion on issues such as the gender implications of culture, the existing macro-economic frameworks (globalization, liberalization, privatization), and the importance of balancing the division of reproductive and productive labor between men and women.

  42. Potential Opportunities • Continue to make space for women’s and men’ different priorities and views to be articulated and acted upon • Strengthen and institutionalize consultative mechanisms and processes to involve all stakeholders, including NGOs, elected officials at all levels, women and men from the public and private sector. • The PRSP Sourcebook includes a chapter on gender containing many specific suggestions on how to incorporate gender issues into the PRSPs

  43. Potential Opportunities • Consultations with donors who are supporting PRSPs: WB, IMF, DFID, USAID, UNIFEM, etc. Within the WB, regional gender coordinators and the staff of the Gender and Development Group in PREM are available to provide country- and sector specific guidance, gender focal points in each of the Country Offices can be involved.

  44. Potential Opportunities • Although PRSPs are national documents, regional issues (trade, security, shared resources) are of vital importance to all CIS-7 countries. WBI’s role: through Regional Forums, workshops and clinics promote regional cross-fertilization between PRSP and non- PRSP countries in the region. • Most of the documents are available on the web for public access.

  45. Good Practice Examples • The Azerbaijan PRSP provides: • A good description of the demographic characteristics of the poor, including how the effect of high mortality, internal displacement and large scale out migration of adult males have resulted in a large proportion of the population living in female-headed households. • The PRSP examines differences in incidence of poverty by headship and finds that poverty rates are the same in male- and female-headed households. • Participation of the poor to help define ways of reducing poverty: meetings were held with poor people and representatives of civil society in several regions of the country.

  46. Good Practice Examples: Azerbaijan PRSP Azerbaijan PRSPgives a good analysis of poverty profile by (1) category of the population (urban vs. rural, male vs. female, age groups); (2) regional differences; (3) by characteristics of household and head of household • Section on the IDPs (12% of the population) has an extensive analysis of the situation with the IDP women. Poverty rates of 55% when the head of household has refugee status and 63% if the head has IDP status; health status (40,000 of IDP women suffer from various deceases), shows the extent to which health indicators for IDPs are below the national level; literacy level.

  47. Good Practice Examples: Azerbaijan PRSP Concludes that: • Households where the head of household has higher education are less likely to be poor. Poverty rates of 42% compared to 54% for HH where the head of HH has less than secondary education. • The urban population has consistently higher poverty rates than the rural. 55% versus 42%.

  48. Good Practice Examples: Azerbaijan PRSP Special section in Azerbaijan PRSP poverty analysis is devoted to Gender and Poverty issues, where it looks at the results for individuals. • Females and males have more or less the same likelihood of being poor (women have a 50% poverty rate and men 48%) =>there is no clear indication of a gender dimension to poverty.

  49. Good Practice Examples: Azerbaijan PRSP • Poverty cannot be measured purely on the basis of income indicators : men and women are affected in different ways by other aspects of poverty. For example, employment data suggests that females have a higher risk of unemployment. Employment of men exceeds the rate for women by 13 % (67.3 % vs 53.9%), despite the fact that the retirement age for females is 5 years lower.

  50. Good Practice Examples: Azerbaijan PRSP Labor Market: • women concentrate in the social services sector, such as health and social care, education and other public services. • Female wage levels are much behind the levels for males. Thus, while there is no clear evidence that women have a higher income poverty risk, there is evidence that they are more disadvantaged in the labor market.

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