Beyond Lomé IV
Future Relations between the EU and the ACP Countries

NGO Discussion Document, March 1997

Chapter 4 - The gender challenge

Introduction

In December 1995, the European Union agreed a comprehensive policy on gender and development, 'Integrating gender issues in European development cooperation'. This set out general principles for gender-sensitive development cooperation which were to guide all European development cooperation policy and practice:

• Gender analysis at macro, meso and micro levels must be mainstreamed throughout the European Community's and Member States' development cooperation;
• Women and men should both participate in and benefit from the development process on an equal basis;
• Reducing gender disparities is a priority for society as a whole;
• Analysis of differences and disparities between women and men must be a key criterion for assessing and goals and results of development policies and interventions;
• Development cooperation must encourage and support changes in attitudes, structures and mechanisms at political, legal, community and household level in order to reduce gender inequalities and in particular: political power sharing and full and equal participation in decision-making must be promoted at all levels; economic empowerment and equal access to and control over economic resources must be strengthened; equal access to and control over social development opportunities must be fostered.

The new policy states that the formulation of all development policies, and in particular macro-economic policies, should explicitly take into account the general principles for gender sensitive development cooperation. The policy commits the European Union to mainstreaming gender analysis in the conception, design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of all projects and programmes. It recognises that special attention needs to be given to positive action to counter major gender disparities.

The new EU-ACP partnership framework must take this comprehensive commitment to gender analysis as one of its main starting points.

Some realities

Women are 70 per cent of the poorest 1.3 billion people. Existing gender relations are characterised by inequality. The division of roles, rights and responsibilities between women and men is biased against women and severely limits their opportunities to achieve their full social, economic, political, civil and cultural rights. Women do not have equal access to, or control of, economic resources. Women do not enjoy equal social status. Women's gender interests are not represented in decision-making structures.

The Green Paper's statement that the EU's primary concern must be 'the integration of the poor into economic and social life and the integration of the ACP countries into the world economy' requires careful and detailed gender analysis. The poorest countries are integrated into the global economy but on very disadvantageous terms. The poorest people are integrated into economic and social life but on very unequal terms; in the case of women the terms are even more asymmetrical. There is a wealth of evidence to show that the process of economic liberalisation has differential implications for women and men: women are forced into situations where they have to work for exploitative wages in ever-crowded and deregulated labour markets; the cutting back of public expenditure and accompanying privatisation of public services has increased demands on women's time, income and energy while, at the same time, reducing women's access to essential social infrastructure.

As the UNDP 1995 Report argues, economic growth on its own is insufficient to ensure equitable and sustainable development. There is no guarantee that economic growth through global free trade will reduce gender-based inequalities. In fact, recent trends, would seem to indicate that the opposite is more likely to occur. It is unclear how the poorest countries can compete globally and with sufficient success to eradicate poverty and inequality. The question of how resources and wealth are distributed must be tackled.

Similarly, gender differences determine to a very large extent the ability of women and men to have their interests represented; the bias against women severely hampers their capacity to perform as equal political actors. Enhancing the accountability and transparency of governments will not necessarily ensure that the interests of both women and men are better represented. Promoting and respecting the full human rights of women and men on an equal basis has to be an explicit objective.

ACP/EU: A new partnership

1. The achievement of gender equality and gender justice should be adopted as a fundamental principle, alongside respect for human rights, democratic principles, consolidation of the rule of law and good governance. These principles should guide the discussions on partnership with the ACP, the socio-economic, institutional and trade and investment dimensions of future cooperation, the criteria for aid allocation and the management of aid. The challenge of achieving gender equality and gender justice in control of assets such as land, credit etc. must be faced up to.

2. The European Commission White Paper and the EU's negotiation position on future ACP/EU relations should take as their starting point the implementation of the EU's policy on gender and development.

3. Future EU/ACP relations should have as a central objective the implementation of the international agreements made at Vienna, Cairo, Copenhagen and Beijing and clearly set out the obligations of each party.

4. The important social, economic and political struggles of women in Southern countries to enhance the development of their countries should be recognised and strengthened.

5. The socio-economic costs of the push for trade liberalisation within Lomé must be analysed from a gender perspective. A gender audit of existing trade agreements, of the impact of deregulation, privatisation and globalisation would indicate how agreements on trade and investment could, if transformed, reduce gender-based inequality and ensure access by the poorest women to economic opportunities.

6. Social investment and aid for trade are inter-linked. Investment in education, training, health care and other essential services enable the poorest women and men to improve their situation and contribute more productively to economic development and to trade. Sustainable and equitable economic growth requires social investment which cannot be left to the private sector.

7. The EU's policy on democracy and good governance should be clarified and deepened; in particular, this policy agenda must be analysed from a gender perspective. Measures which strengthen women's capacity to take part fully in civil society and political life are critical as is support to women's organisations and NGOs in their organising, leadership training, advocacy and policy-dialogue work.

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Updated on April 3, 1997
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