More Information: Gender Equality and Development - presentation Women and Men in OECD Countries - PDF Gender at the Development Centre - special website Purchase publications on this topic at OECD Online Bookshop Access publications on this topic on SourceOECD (for subscribers)
Gender Equality and Development Presentation: Johannes Jütting Senior Economist, OECD Development Centre

Event Description:

Gender equality is key for development. In many countries, women are an untapped source to promote economic growth and improve social development. Especially in the developing world, women are frequently kept from receiving adequate education and health care and are often underrepresented in the labor market. Empowering women by improving their living conditions and enabling them to actively participate in the social and economic life in a country thus promises significant returns.

While researchers and policy makers have mostly focused on a set of standard indicators of gender equality (e.g. literacy ratios; labor market indicators; wage differentials), evidence is gradually emerging that cultural practices and social norms (so called “social institutions”) greatly affect the situation of women. In an attempt to measure these hidden influences, the OECD Development Centre introduced in March 2006 the Gender, Institutions and Development Data Base (GID-DB). This comprehensive data collection provides for the first time comparative information on social institutions around the world, ranging from violence against women to family traditions and customary ownership rights.

With this data base, the Development Centre is trying to continuing its efforts to promoting knowledge and policy advice. It recently teamed up with innovative data platforms to reach new communities and user networks.

This presentation will discuss:

• The link between gender equality and economic growth
• The impact of social norms and culture on gender equality
• Possible entry points for better policies
• And finally innovative ways to engage users – WIKI GENDER

Biographies:

Johannes Jütting is senior economist at the OECD Development Centre, where he leads work on gender, employment and social protection. He is currently co-ordinating a work programme on “Policy Coherence for Development and Human Security”, which also looks into measuring and analyzing social institutions that affect gender equality. He holds a PhD in agricultural economics from Humboldt University, Berlin.