Brussels, 08/03/2007 (Agence Europe) - On 8 March, International Women's Day, the European Commission presented its strategy for promoting gender equality in development cooperation. This is not a new concern. The communication on “Gender Equality and Women Empowerment in Development Cooperation” adopted by the College, however, is new in that it provides guidelines on how to improve gender mainstreaming and suggests concrete actions in five key areas for the promotion of gender equality: governance, employment, education, health and domestic violence in specific regions and countries. It is in these key areas that the most flagrant gender inequalities can be seen in developing countries. Equal opportunities and equal access to resources are key factors for sustainable development, the Commission stresses.
In a press release, Development Commissioner Louis Michel stresses the importance of equal opportunities between men and women in eradicating poverty and making development policy more effective. He also says that “gender issues must be considered more thoroughly at all stages when conceiving such policy, inside the EU and in the dialogue with partner countries”. External Relations Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner added: “We support gender equality at all levels - in countries' own national strategies, through work with civil society, parliaments and media”.
In Africa, women make up 52% of the total population, but contribute 75 % of the agricultural work and produce and market 60 to 80 % of food. Over two-thirds of the world's illiterate are women, girls are about 11% less likely than boys to attend secondary school in developing countries. In Sub-Saharan Africa, women earn only 10% of income and own only 1% of assets, 60% of HIV-positive adults are women and among young people, 75% of the newly infected with AIDS are girls. In addition although women are half of the electorate, only 12% of parliamentary seats are held by women. (an)