Gender Dimension of HD: GDI, GEM

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Gender Dimension of HD GDI, GEM other
IndicatorsAmie Gaye, Policy SpecialistUNDP/HDRO
HDRO/RBA Regional Technical Workshop on Measuring
Human Development Nairobi September - 2007
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Why is Gender dimension of HD important?

• Distinct gender roles responsibilities restrict
  opportunities resources available to women
  men
• Inhibit realisation of womens human rights
• Threaten overall HD
• Gender indicators needed to monitor commitment to
  CEDAW Beijing Platform for Action

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Current HD measures with regard to Gender

• Gender-related development index (GDI)
• Adjusts the HDI for disparities between women
  men in three dimensions
• longevity
• knowledge and
• a decent standard of living

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Current HD measures with regard to Gender

• Limitation of the GDI
• Not a gender (in)equality measure but often
  interpreted as such
• Treatment of income
• Assumption that a relationship exists between
  female share of economic activity female - male
  wage ratios in non-agricultural employment
• Assumption that gender differences in income
  represents difference in access to nutrition,
  housing, etc
• Assumption that unpaid work does not contribute
  to HD

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Use of GDI

• Good use of GDI compare value with HDI value
  -the difference represents penalty due to gender
  the 3 dimensions
• Good way to show gender (in)equality in HD is
• calculate a separate HDI for females and males
  or

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Gender empowerment index (GEM)

• Limitations
• Indicators are biased towards developed countries
  urban elite women
• Treatment of income instead of considering the
  gap in earned income as an indicator of womens
  economic (dis)empowerment, income is adjusted
  downwards by gender gaps in earned income

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Other Gender dimensions Use of single indicators

• Gender based violence (mostly suffered by women)
• Has implication for womens productivity
• Increases women risks to negative health outcomes
• Data available DHS
• Prevalence rate
• Injuries suffered
• Absence from normal activities
• Could be used to analyse costs to victims to
  society
• Data gaps still exist e.g. income loss, cost of
  medical services, etc.
• Use HDR process to fill data gaps (factor data
  collection analysis into budget)

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Other Gender dimensions

• Time use data
• Important for analysing womens mens labour
  intensity implication for their well-being
• How do women men distribute their time over
  productive reproductive activities?
• How do womens market and non market activities
  affect their personal family well-being
• Make use of quantitative and qualitative
  information
• Assets ownership and control over productive
  resources
• data available in many household surveys

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Analysis

• Analyse the underlying causes of gender
  inequalities
• Make use of personal interest stories
• Gender budgeting
• Does the national budget take socially determined
  gender roles responsibility into consideration
• How does a cut in the health budget impact on
  women men?

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Conclusion

• There are several ways to address gender in HDRs
• Gender as a theme
• Mainstream gender into all reports
• Beware that gender discrimination is not always
  obvious
• Move beyond simple disaggregation by sex

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Thank youvisit our web site for a copy of the
Gender thematic guidance note http//hdr.undp.or
g/