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Wherever inequality lives, there stands a woman able to turn the tide of adversity into a tidal wave of progress. We simply have to commit to her by providing the strength and the support she needs to grow. This can be achieved by giving her equal placement and opportunity in the world to cater to her future. As of now, she is not given that opportunity, and simultaneously, we are hurting by missing out on her potential.
While the feminist movement has made monumental strides in the past, the campaign for equality still continues today. However, as time goes on, a considerable amount of research states gender inequality still persists throughout the world, undermining peace and security, human development, and poverty reduction. As of now, women make up more than two-thirds of the world’s 796 million illiterate people.
In addition to the adverse ethical and human rights implications this issue generates, there is also a growing concern about the negative economic impact gender inequality may have. Major financial institutions, such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank, have concluded that women’s participation in the economy through investment in their health and education is the answer to this. While other literature on the economic benefits of women’s rights legislation denies that there is any correlation at all.
The head of economic developments most common method of measurement is assessing improvements in Gross Domestic Product (GDP), a measure of a country’s output on account of its population. These differences are evaluated through various countries across different periods of time to ensure a relationship persists. Economic costs are then calculated towards annual income losses and economic growth in terms of reductions in human capital wealth and resources.
Due to a substantial amount of evidence being present on both sides, this topic of the socioeconomic impact of investing in womens rights is a highly controversial one. Reflecting on these issues, and on the significance accorded in international legislation, this essay seeks to analyze gender inequality’s economic cost locally and internationally. To achieve this, we must critically evaluate the following question: Does the level of women’s rights legislation within a country affect the Gross Domestic Product per capita?
First, lets consider the perspective, Yes, the level of women’s rights policies within a country affects GDP per capita. A source that identifies with this perspective is the article, Unrealized Potential: The High Cost of Gender Inequality In Earnings by Quentin Wodon and Benedicte de la Briere. Based on the evidence that the former is a holder of four PhDs in economics, environmental science, health sciences, and theology and a lead economist at the World Bank with more than 500 publications and research covered while the latter has worked on social assistance in MENA (also known as MENAP meaning Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan, and Pakistan) and LAC (Latin American Countries) and is a Senior Economist at the World Bank, one may confirm the reliability of any impending economically supported conclusions drawn.
Wodon and De la Brières belief is that apart from the fact that it is ethically preferred, reducing gender inequality makes economic sense. The main arguments that arrive from this perspective include issues like women and girls being disproportionately affected by the rate at which they can obtain an education. According to the text, this can be found in correlation with certain impacts like the risks of child marriages.
A strength present within the article was their usage of logical point-evidence-explain structure, which they practice further into the report by using evidence from their sources to sufficiently back up specific claims, giving their arguments a sense of logical progression.
A weakness present within the article was how they duly noted decreasing economic disparity as the right thing to do, which is seemingly an opinion that they fail to sustain with other expert beliefs or rationalizations. When referring to gender equality and empowering women and girls as the fifth sustainable development goal, they infer that nations can obtain said aforementioned goal if they take the appropriate steps. This statement is somewhat oversimplified and lacks considerable reasoning as they do not mention it later in the report. The phrases: many countries , discrimination and social norms , and womens bargaining power and voice are broad terms, loosely described and are devoid of substantial evidence to support them. Overall, they did not hold the strength needed and assumed readers had enough background knowledge about such situations from the text.
The article states early on how they estimate a countrys economic growth standpoint using the terms human capital and wealth. The authors expertly define this as the knowledge, aptitudes, qualifications, and other traits found in groups of individuals obtained over their lifespan and used in environments to produce goods, services, or ideas. As seen here, These three categories produced, natural, and human capital, are considered the three main components of the changing wealth of nations, that together with net foreign assets, provide the assets base that countries rely on to produce GDP per capita from year to year.
Defined as a marriage or union before the age of 18, the source states child marriage is a dilemma particularly affecting girls throughout the world. As a problem that impacts 15 million girls each year or 41,000 girls every day in lower-income countries, that conclusion is true. More specifically, this problem can be seen in countries like Equatorial Guinea, Gambia, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, South Sudan, and Yemen- all of which do not specify a minimum age for marriage within their country legislation. In addition to this, these countries regional divisions were found to correlate with the source Wodon and De la Brière use from the World Bank. From The Losses from Gender Inequality by Region report, also authored by Woden himself, was found in 2014 that the Loss in human capital ($ trillions) in the Middle East & North Africa was $3.1 trillion. When accounted for the population ( Loss in human capital per capita ($) ), the region had $11,757 and the % loss in total wealth was 7.4%. Wodon and De la Brière conclude that given that human capital wealth estimates are based on expected earnings, child marriage […] leads to substantial losses. Based on such results, they find that when girls marry early, it reduces the likelihood that they will be able to complete their secondary education, therefore decreasing their future income. In countries such as Egypt, Mali, Nepal, Niger, Nigeria, and Uganda, parents reported that 10-30% of school dropouts by girls were due to child marriage or pregnancy. Further findings show that women who were married as children in 15 countries with already relatively high levels of child marriage, were found to have a loss in earnings in adulthood of 9 % on average. This, therefore, decreases the economic value of a worker’s experience and skills also known as their human capital (assets like education, training, intelligence, and skills). Countries like Canada, Cyprus, Estonia, and Ireland are among the world’s countries with the most educated female workers also have Gross Domestic Products per capita ranging from $78,785 to $34,396 (USD) with Global rankings from 5 to 39 out of 185 other countries.
Secondly, let us consider the perspective, No, the level of women’s rights policies within a country affects GDP per capita. A source advocating this viewpoint is the article, When Do Governments Promote Womens Rights? A Framework for the Comparative Analysis of Sex Equality Policy, which is authored by Mala Htun, a professor of political science at the University of New Mexico, co-PI and deputy director of ADVANCE at UNM, an NSF-funded program to promote women, and a minority STEM faculty, and S. Laurel Weldon, a Canadian-American political scientist, currently a Distinguished Professor of Political Science at Simon Fraser University, and commonly known as a feminist theorist, prized for studies concerning the cross-national evolution of women’s rights.
Htun and Weldons main arguments are that laws that promote gender equality encourage social change and, thus, challenge historical patterns of correlation between the government and the economy. Throughout their report, they alternate between the focus on different causes from state to religion and cultural groups.
Strengths and weaknesses present within the article are seen as soon as the opening paragraph, as it does give a good analogy for how sometimes neighboring countries have two completely different practices when it comes to women’s rights; however, it is also overly dramatic and devoid of evidence. They maintain a narrative that all nations were formed from patriarchal governments that were traditionally against gender equality. Although this is not particularly false, their analysis/approach to this is not absent of emotion.
The article uses a sufficient amount of evidence to back up their claim which states that by simply having womens rights legislation, a countrys Gross Domestic Product per capita isnt affected unless it is being enforced. Supporting this they note how Sweden offers generous parental leave and daycare but has been slow to combat violence against women and that the fact that, even the governments in Latin America have done far more to mitigate violence against women. These issues derive from data that finds Swedens growth domestic product Eur 460 billion or $509,882,400,000.00 USD, which means around EUR 45,000 or $49,879.80 USD per person- one of the European Unions highest. Correlating to the articles point of Sweden’s generous parental leave, The Swedish government has passed laws that parents of both sexes are entitled to 480 days (16 months) of paid parental leave at about 80% of their salary (with a cap), plus bonus days for twins, and they must share. Although they do have legislation concerning that department they considerably lack policies to control the increasing rates of violence against women. Reports find that the number of cases of crimes classified as murder, manslaughter, and assault which led to the victim’s death in Sweden in 2018, remains at a high level with 108 such cases reported. The authors hone in on the fact that there is research that shows a considerable lack of correlation between women’s rights and GDP per capita, as seen in the case of Sweden which has a high GDP per capita but limited legislation on women’s rights and countries with low GDP who do have legislation protecting women’s rights, as presented with Latin America. Htun and Weldon connect this point to the differences in the implementation of womens rights laws that influence the adoption and strength of gender equality laws. Finally the weak implementation of policies, insufficient capacity to enforce laws, and a lack of political will further compound the problem of gender inequality.
Thus, after reflecting on the proposed question, one can understand the logical rationale behind the two perspectives addressed. Although there is substantial evidence weighted equally on both sides, I personally believe the most effective one proves the correlation between GDP per capita with respect to womens rights laws, or lack thereof, in certain countries. With the notion that even if – However, the opposing point debunks this as it proves none of that can happen unless a country is actively advocating for womens rights in order to better enforce said laws. Without that, their implementation of gender inequality does not impact economic health at all. Overall, I believe the potential benefits of investing in womens rights legislation outweigh the disadvantages. Girls and women are the drivers of sustainable development and powerful agents of change. By prioritizing and highlighting the substantial gain that can come from more womens rights policies, including but not limited to economic growth by GDP per capita, we can ensure a more prosperous future. Until the push for equality is recognized not only as a human right but as a push for development by the countrys government and people, the benefit of equal treatment for both sexes will continue to elude our future. However, it must be clarified that the research made for this essay is limited in reach, so one must determine the basis for future research. Building on literature that emphasizes womens rights as a driver of economic growth could further inquire about the changes throughout history as countries adopt more gender-equal legislation, how regional cultures, religions, and practices affect the gender equality spectrum, and many more.
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