Gender inequality is often seen as a global socio-economic problem. However, it is more widespread and deeply rooted in the developing world including five nations in Eastern Africa, namely, Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania and Rwanda, where researchers funded by IDRC are seeking to identify root causes of gender inequality and offering practical solutions to eliminate them.
Under the auspices of Growth and Economic Opportunities for Women (GrOW), researchers from the five countries have been investigating various aspects of gender imbalances with a view of seeking practical and long-lasting solutions.
The research projects focus on women economic empowerment, unpaid care work, unfavourable labour practices that demean and underpay women, and gender-responsive technical training to push more women into skilled professional specialties.
Unpaid care work disproportionately falls on women limiting their opportunities and choices in life and drives gender gaps in paid work. Despite the urgent need for action, policy responses have been inadequate.
Among others, some of the research projects focus on affirmative action in public procurement that are intended to support more women to secure government contracts. Despite such interventions, few women have benefited from the public procurement because of a myriad of challenges.
What was expected to be a guaranteed source of economic empowerment has fallen short of glory and therefore the need to streamline the programmes to achieve the desired objective. The researchers found out the affirmative actions were mired by corruption, government bureaucracies, inflexible policies and poor monitoring and evaluation processes.
Although Tanzania and Kenya have clear policies and laws prescribing that at least 30 per cent of the total allocation for tenders or procurement should be given to women, youth and people with disabilities, in practice, that is scarcely acted upon.
Through the research projects, GrOW has generated knowledge to determine the best ways to overcome these obstacles. It has provided evidence to inform social and economic policies that improve poor women’s lives while promoting economic growth.
The project has helped to enhance the research capacity of young and Southern-based researchers and the programs promoted the use of research by decision-makers.
However, tackling these challenges require effective communication that appropriately focuses on solutions and appropriate policy interventions.
To ensure the issues are brought clearly and presented to the public for debate, comprehensive, relevant and timely information is paramount. The purpose of this newsletter, therefore, is to create a platform for awareness creation, information sharing and public debate on sustainable women economic empowerment. It will be published regularly, and GrOW-EA grantees are encouraged to send in contributions.
Editorial team
Science Africa
