Costa Rica was ranked 32nd out of 144 on the 2016 Global Gender Gap Report. With a score of two representing maximum gender equality, Costa Rica scored 0.736, moving up six positions since the 2015 report. While this report evaluates the gap between women and men in economics, political empowerment, education, health and life expectancy, from an economic standpoint Costa Rica is making great leaps toward equality. With traditional family roles shifting and more Costa Rican women working outside of the home, opportunities have had to be available over the last decade to accommodate this change and growth. While conditions are far from perfect and equal pay is still a hot topic, women occupy more leadership roles in business, politics, education and agriculture, creating a significant influx of female empowerment in this Latin American country.
Female Leadership
Costa Rica is one of five Latin American countries that have adopted gender parity policies, aimed at increasing the number of women in national parliaments.
In 2011, Costa Rica elected its first female president. Laura Chinchilla Miranda won the presidential election and was more than 20 percentage points ahead of the runner-up. Her term ended in 2014, but her presence in a position of power marks the great strides being made toward gender equality and women’s empowerment in Costa Rica. With the 2018 election approaching, the representation of women has significantly increased, with women in Parliament exceeding 40 percent. These are historic numbers.
Among government leadership, there has also been an increase of female representation in the police force. Over the past three years, Costa Rica’s police force has gone from 3 percent to 17 percent female officers in the agency. With leadership in Parliament and on the streets, Costa Rican women are being represented more and more.
The Gender Equality Seal
Costa Rica has created a seal to verify and certify gender equality in the workplace. The Gender Equality Seal is a recognition given to public and private organizations. Its goal is to implement a system that will guarantee gender equality in each organization’s internal processes and labor relations. Existing gaps between women and men must be identified and a work plan to close those gaps must be created. The system is implemented in four areas: human resources, integral health, social co-responsibility in care and workplace environment. The seal seeks to empower women by offering them more opportunities in the workplace with equal pay as well as opportunities for high-level executive positions.
In 2016, 45 organizations participated in The Gender Equality Seal and signed a letter of commitment towards gender equality.
Coffee
More than 500 million people around the world are dependent on coffee for their livelihoods. Costa Rican coffee has been considered among the best in the world. As one of the country’s top three exports, coffee is a major source of revenue and a staple in the economy. Although coffee farmers can be paid extremely low wages for their work, there has been an influx of female-centered organizations seeking to remove the gender gap and allow women to make a living through coffee farming.
The International Women Coffee Alliance Costa Rican chapter, Women in Coffee Alliance of Costa Rica (WCACR), provides women in coffee a voice and vote in political decisions regarding the commodity. Formed in 2005, WCACR seeks to create sustainable developments in each community that are environmentally, economically and socially viable. They also offer opportunities for women in the coffee industry to learn more about the production of coffee and the marketplace.
Organizations like ASOMOBI, the Association of Organized Women of Biolley, make a point to advertise that their coffee is produced by women in an effort to strengthen gender equity and empower the women of this cooperative.
Today, with more than 30 associate members of the chapter including millers, producers, exporters and roasters, they represent 17 companies and organizations from Costa Rica’s seven coffee-producing regions.
Although Costa Rica is moving in the right direction, with equality in the workplace and gender salary as a topic of discussion among leaders and influencers, they still have a long way to go. But as politics change and leaders invest more energy into promoting an equal and thriving country, there is hope that women’s empowerment in Costa Rica will continue to be on the rise.
– Kailey Brennan
Photo: Flickr
Women’s Empowerment in Cote d’Ivoire
A predominant problem in the African country is gender inequality. Cote d’Ivoire’s functioning society is based on traditional gender roles. Women are treated more poorly than men in all aspects of life, and in many cases, men use violence in order to control the women in the household.
Gender inequality is even more glaring when it comes to education within the country. Whilst up to 53 percent of males have had an education and are literate, only 33 percent of females have had that same opportunity. This is the result of an ancient point of view that persists within Cote d’Ivoire’s society and that places more value on boys than girls. Parents are more likely to educate their sons instead of their daughters. Lack of education causes an increase in adolescent pregnancies and the spread of STD’s such as HIV-AIDS.
More worrisome is that female genital mutilation (FGM) is still a practiced tradition. The practice consists of the removal of the female external genitalia and is usually practiced for cultural reasons closely related to gender inequality. FGM has been historically performed as a way to suppress women’s enjoyment and freedom. It is a major issue, and it is, in fact, a violation of human rights. Cote d’Ivoire has one of the highest prevalence rates of FGM in West Africa.
UNICEF has taken steps towards eradicating the practice. By creating awareness through local radio and television stations, starting campaigns in order to raise money and creating women’s committees to eliminate FGM, UNICEF is taking big steps towards women’s empowerment in Cote d’Ivoire.
That same inequality is also reflected in the workplace and in the economy. Women’s employment positions in Cote d’Ivoire seem to be limited to the agricultural sector. Men dominate civil and business-related positions, whilst women are limited to collecting vegetables and selling them at local markets. Employers are biased towards men, due to the fact that they consider women to be weak and want to avoid pregnancies in the workplace. In addition, women’s lack of education compared to men reduces their employment opportunities. In order for this to change increased awareness of women’s empowerment in Cote d’Ivoire is needed.
Women’s empowerment in Cote d’Ivoire is taking a step forward by creating job opportunities for women. Such opportunities include working for the government, within business-related workplaces and in administrative positions.
The U.N. office in Cote d’Ivoire has helped launch the National Council for Women. This council will help the government in making decisions on women related issues. Women’s empowerment in Cote d’Ivoire is a work in progress, but such initiatives have already changed the lives of many women and will continue to do so in the future.
– Paula Gibson
Photo: Flickr
NGOs Encouraging Women’s Empowerment in Bolivia
Such a variety of cultures and ethnicities leads to different religions, sociopolitical points of view and traditions. But among these differences, there is something tragic that remains a part of modern Bolivian society: abuse of women and children.
The main problem that women face in Bolivia is trafficking and forced prostitution. Sexual exploitation in the Latin American country is a serious situation that requires immediate action from the government. Young girls and women are taken away from their households in rural areas and are sent overseas to urban areas to be sex workers. Spain, Russia, Brazil and Peru are the countries that most women end up in.
On a smaller scale, women suffer abuse in their own households from their own husbands. The United Nations is working hand in hand with the Bolivian government to improve the situation and encourage women’s empowerment in Bolivia.
Men are more empowered than women in Bolivia. Habitat Bolivia is one of the organizations that is fighting this inequality and is working to empower women within their homes and families. The abuse of women and children in Bolivia is the second highest priority after poverty.
More than 300 women and men have completed a program run by Habitat Bolivia. The program covers gender equality, how to tackle leadership roles, human rights and housing. The next step for the graduates is to apply this new knowledge in their communities and lives.
Women’s empowerment in Bolivia is also important in the workplace. Women participating in community associations or taking on leadership roles is almost unthinkable in Bolivian society. This lack of support makes women less empowered in the workplace and gives them fewer opportunities for advancement.
Seeds is an initiative promoted by the United Nations’ office in Bolivia. The program is based on the idea of creating employment opportunities in good conditions for Bolivian women. Seeds helps women by lending them money to start businesses and create awareness about the issue. Seeds has helped over 1,000 Bolivian women get loans, build financial assets and exercise their rights.
Yes, Bolivia still has gender inequality throughout its society, but everyday help from different NGOs as well as the Bolivian government itself is changing women’s empowerment in Bolivia for the better.
– Paula Gibson
Photo: Flickr
Assessing Credit Access in Morocco
According to the Moroccan government’s own estimates, extreme poverty has been eradicated in recent years. The percentage of the population living below the national poverty line was around 4.8 percent in 2014.
One signal of a healthy economy is access to credit. Below are some of the current strategies for improving credit access in Morocco.
Agricultural Credit Access in Morocco: The “Meso-Credit”
As is the case in many countries, rural areas in Morocco have a tougher time gaining access to credit — oftentimes, their residents don’t even bother trying. Innovations for Poverty Action reports that 50 percent of the rural households surveyed indicated that they needed credit in the previous year but never actually requested it.
To meet the needs of the 40 percent of Moroccan farms that are midsized, the Group Crédit Agricole du Maroc offers an innovative “meso-credit” portfolio. Midsized farms are considered too small to take a traditional banking approach but too large for a microfinance approach. Meso-credits are generally loans given to agricultural small and medium enterprises (SMEs) consisting of less than €9,300, with good success and repayment rates.
When the midsized farms can access credit, they can survive, thrive, expand and hire, which ultimately will reduce rural poverty in the area.
The World Bank’s Contribution
In May 2017, the World Bank announced a $350 million program to fund financial intermediation reforms in Morocco.
The program has four main goals:
Low-income households are expected to benefit from these reforms, as are female entrepreneurs. The reforms allow women to gain access to more sources of financing and electronic payment systems, which remove social and economic barriers that previously stood in the way of women.
The Takeaway
Many projects are underway to help improve Moroccan investors’ access to credit in a responsible and growth-oriented way.
Hopefully, these efforts—and others like them—will improve credit access in Morocco, get development projects off the ground and lift even more Moroccans out of poverty.
– Chuck Hasenauer
Photo: Flickr
USAID Leads the Success of Humanitarian Aid to Ghana
Nutrition
As of 2016, 1.2 million Ghanaians still experienced food insecurity and chronic undernutrition. Furthermore, there is a high prevalence of stunting, recording 37 percent of children in the Northern Province alone. There are also many reported cases of wasting, particularly in the Upper West area of Ghana.
To combat these issues, Ghana joined the national Scaling Up Nutrition (SUN) Movement in 2011 to improve nutrition among its population. With USAID’s support and donations, Ghanaians focused on improving the country’s nutritional funding and the way in which rations are measured and prioritized.
Furthermore, USAID’s Feed the Future targets the northern, impoverished regions of the country. It hopes to make the food value chains affordable, strengthen vulnerable communities and improve the nutritional state of women and children.
In 2014, USAID applied three Feed the Future chain projects to lead the success of humanitarian aid to Ghana:
Data between 2008 and 2011 indicates progress among all Ghanaian children under the age of five. The total prevalence of stunting decreased from 28 percent to 23 percent, while wasting dropped a total of 3 percent. The occurrence of anemia among children dropped more significantly from 78 percent to 57 percent. With USAID’s new programs, these numbers are predicted to decline even more drastically.
Health Professionals
UNICEF fights to break the Ghanaian norm for mothers to give birth at home, without a health professional. According to a study done in 2012, only 57 percent of births were attended by a midwife or health clinic professional.
A Ghanaian birth attendant named Kasua Musah works alongside UNICEF and the Ghana Health Service to break tradition and advocate for in-clinic deliveries.
Together, they utilize the community radio, along with street theatre and home visits to promote safe birth. The combination of these methods reached out to around 360 communities, including four of the more destitute regions.
As a result, they altered tradition within the Central Region and increased the number of patients in the maternity ward sector of the region’s largest hospital. Even further, the radio empowered those who had negative experiences with the clinic staff, enforcing improvement and new training methods.
Further training was provided for midwives, ensuring the betterment of at-home births. Overall, Ghana improved the patient-to-nurse relationship.
Lowering the child and female mortality rates through improved birthing processes, but also through augmenting nutritional programs, is what propelled the success of humanitarian aid to Ghana.
– Brianna White
Photo: Flickr
The Success of Humanitarian Aid to Eritrea
The idea behind his policy of non-acceptance is hinged on the accusation that foreign aid is inherently corrupt and intended to subjugate its recipients. Although this presumption may not be totally false, it is at the very least ironic given that the country’s government is one of the most oppressive and corrupt regimes in modern history.
In its current state, Eritrea is facing a serious threat to national security and well-being with the U.N. estimating that 5,000 Eritreans are fleeing the country each month. Considering these estimates, President Afwerki would do well to question whether or not his policy of non-acceptance is even sustainable.
The reason behind this mass migration has much to do with a fledgling agricultural sector, the product of an idealized self-reliance. Since nearly all humanitarian aid to Eritrea has been refused by the country’s leading officials, the state has experienced an overall rise in poverty and an intense degradation of trust between civil society and government.
The result has led to multiple citations by the U.N. for human rights abuses and fueled continuous civil strife and dissent within the country, causing many foreign watch-dogs to wonder how long it will be before Eritrea is once again embroiled in war. International accusations of negligence against the Eritrean government, however, has prompted some reassessment by Afwerki and led to his acceptance of an allotted 200 million euros from the European Development Fund over the course of four years (2016-2020).
The aid has been slotted to go toward the development of the energy sector with a focus on the improvement of agricultural infrastructure. Additionally, E.U. aid is conditioned upon the implementation of certain recommendations by the U.N. which aim to reduce the occurrence of government perpetrated human rights abuses.
Though the aid that is accepted by Afwerki is small, the impacts are already noticeable. One such example is an E.U. funded project that has distributed solar energy to rural regions of Eritrea. The success of humanitarian aid to Eritrea offers hope that the country might still have the ability to pull itself out of impoverishment.
– Katarina Schrag
Photo: Flickr
Women’s Empowerment in Papua New Guinea
Achieving gender equality is a common challenge for developing nations. This is certainly the case in Papua New Guinea, where a majority of women and girls are victims of violence. Authorities in Papua New Guinea have historically turned a blind eye to violence against women. However, countless organizations are working to make women’s empowerment in Papua New Guinea a reality.
In 2013, Papua New Guinea passed the Family Protection Act to protect women and children against domestic violence. Unfortunately, the parameters of the act are rarely upheld due to a largely corrupt police force. Authorities often charge illegitimate fees before acting, which most women cannot afford. Corruption makes women’s rights difficult to protect at the government level, so aid organizations and NGOs have had to step in.
The U.N. Development Programme (UNDP) has many goals, including bettering the treatment of women and children in the developing world. Government involvement by women is discouraged in Papua New Guinea, but since the UNDP’s intervention, three women have been elected to Papua New Guinea’s parliament. Twenty women have been elected to serve in local government positions, finally giving women a political voice.
Forty percent of men in Papua New Guinea are employed in the formal sector versus only 24 percent of women. These few employed women earn only half the salary that men make. Since 2015, U.N. Women has sought economic justice for women in Papua New Guinea by improving local markets via the Safe City Program. Eighty percent of market vendors in Papua New Guinea are women, and 55 percent of these women have experienced sexual violence and other forms of exploitation, such as robbery.
By creating a vendors’ association and a mobile bill-paying system, the Safe City Program is making markets safer for women. Dark public toilets were once areas of rampant sexual violence, but the Safe City Program has remodeled outdoor markets to be more organized and have better lighting in order to discourage violence. In new, safer markets, women have the opportunity to pursue economic empowerment.
Papua New Guinean women created and run Meri Toksave, an organization seeking gender equality in their country. Meri Toksave means “information for women” in Tok Pisin, the language spoken throughout Papua New Guinea. The goal of this group is just that: provide women with the knowledge to achieve women’s empowerment in Papua New Guinea. In 2014, Meri Toksave created the “Directory of Emergency Services for Those Affected by Family and Sexual Violence,” which was distributed across the entire country.
While nationwide discrimination often stifles the fight for women’s rights, gender equality in Papua New Guinea is possible and necessary. Through the efforts of local women and with the help of aid organizations, women’s empowerment in Papua New Guinea is taking shape. Women are serving in government positions and safely seeking economic betterment in larger numbers than ever before, and hopefully even larger numbers in years to come.
– Mary Efird
Photo: Flickr
Five Development Projects in Cabo Verde
Cabo Verde is a chain of islands off the coast of Senegal, West Africa. Despite having only 10 percent arable land, limited mineral resources, mountainous terrain and an arid climate, Cabo Verde has been developing rapidly. This is mainly due to the booming tourism industry and development projects in Cabo Verde.
Being a small island nation, there are a few challenges with development. The money spent on transportation between the nine inhabited islands is quite high. Several infrastructure constraints exist which make the delivery of public services and energy in need of improvement. Due to Cabo Verde‘s climate, the agriculture industry is not able to reach its full potential. Lastly, being an island in the Atlantic Ocean, it is susceptible to climate change, rising sea levels and natural disasters.
In light of these challenges, five development projects in Cabo Verde have been created to boost the economy, increase tourism and ensure the well-being of the residents on the islands.
As a middle-income country with a relatively low poverty rate, Cabo Verde is able to design projects like these to continue promoting growth and achieve goals. These development goals will boost the economy, increase tourism and ensure the well being of the residents and visitors on the islands and keep the poverty rate low.
– Lorial Roballo
Photo: Flickr
Women’s Empowerment in Madagascar
Stereotypes and traditional customs are still practiced in Madagascar. An example of a custom is moletry, the act of marrying a young girl to an older man in exchange for a gift or money to the bride’s family. These traditions often prevail due to the economic situations of many families and women, in particular. Many women in Madagascar lack the resources, or employment, to survive independently.
In 2005, Moana Essa Raseta aimed to change this fate. As the first female Governor of Ihorombe, a region in southeastern Madagascar, Raseta shifted the focus from the welfare of cattle in the region to that of women and children.
Through promoting education, Raseta aimed to break the stereotypes of Madagascar that viewed educated women as material only for an unwed and childless future. Initiatives were implemented to show women how to grow rice, sew and engage in social protection projects, which bolstered women’s empowerment in Madagascar. Some residents even learned how to save money, by keeping a portion of their income for themselves and their children, instead of giving it all to their male counterparts.
While Raseta is one of the few to break the barriers for women, it is still tough for women in Madagascar to become involved in politics. In 2014, Madagascar ranked 73rd in the world for women in parliament back in 2014. Currently, women represent only 23 percent of the national parliament.
Since 2013, the USAID MIKOLO project in Madagascar has been empowering women to adopt healthy behaviors and reduce maternal, infant and child morbidity rates. The women of Masiakakoho, a remote village in southeast Madagascar, use the skills they have learned to teach other villagers about health. These villagers are encouraged to use their community-based health services with women leading and men supporting.
Although progress has been made, there is still more to be done to promote women’s empowerment in Madagascar. In time, more women will have better access to work and independence throughout the country.
– Tara Jackson
Photo: Flickr
Infrastructure in Kosovo: Leaving the Past Behind
Located in the center of Europe’s Balkan Peninsula, the territory now known as Kosovo has historically been a hotbed of strife, driven by border disputes and ethnic tensions. The Romans conquered the indigenous Illyrian or Thracian tribes in the first century of the common era; Slavic people began settling the province in the sixth century as the region fell out of the then-Byzantine sphere of influence. This new population would go on to form a central part of a Serbian empire until the 1300s when the Ottomans wrested Kosovo away from Serbia proper. Deepening ethnic tensions came to a head during the Balkan Wars that kicked off the 20th century.
Violence exploded again between Serbs and Albanians in the 1990s. The war in Kosovo in 1998-99 pit Yugoslav and Serbian forces against the Kosovo Liberation Army, comprised of ethnic Albanians with NATO air support. The conflict resulted in tens of thousands of displaced and thousands disappeared. The humanitarian crisis that was caused by mass displacement was witnessed by many humanitarian actors.
The war destroyed both homes and infrastructure in Kosovo, hampering economic growth and the development of a peaceful modus vivendi between the different ethnic groups living in the region. Since its unilateral declaration of independence, the government of Kosovo has made the rehabilitation and revitalization of infrastructure and institutions a key priority, particularly the development of roads, education, good governance and competitive industries.
With help from the international community, progress has been made towards rebuilding the war-torn infrastructure in Kosovo. In partnership with the U.S. government and the World Bank, the country developed plans to build a new coal-fired power plant and rehabilitate an older facility in order to strengthen its electrical grid and improve access for its people.
The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) is also active on the ground with a key mission being to improve access to education. USAID contributes to restoring and expanding educational infrastructure and increasing private-sector participation in rebuilding the infrastructure needed for the nation’s economy to thrive. It also focuses on encouraging inter-ethnic cooperation from an early age.
Despite these improvements, Kosovo remains the second-poorest country in Europe. Unemployment hovers at around 33 percent overall, but at 60 percent for young adults. The majority of the population depends on subsistence or near-subsistence farming outside of urban areas. They contend with inefficient agricultural practices and poor availability of equipment and technical expertise.
However, with the continued determination of the national government, assistance from international actors like USAID and private foreign investment in infrastructure in Kosovo, the country’s violent past may be just that — the past.
– Joel Dishman
Photo: Flickr
Three Ways Women’s Empowerment in Costa Rica is on the Rise
Costa Rica was ranked 32nd out of 144 on the 2016 Global Gender Gap Report. With a score of two representing maximum gender equality, Costa Rica scored 0.736, moving up six positions since the 2015 report. While this report evaluates the gap between women and men in economics, political empowerment, education, health and life expectancy, from an economic standpoint Costa Rica is making great leaps toward equality. With traditional family roles shifting and more Costa Rican women working outside of the home, opportunities have had to be available over the last decade to accommodate this change and growth. While conditions are far from perfect and equal pay is still a hot topic, women occupy more leadership roles in business, politics, education and agriculture, creating a significant influx of female empowerment in this Latin American country.
Female Leadership
Costa Rica is one of five Latin American countries that have adopted gender parity policies, aimed at increasing the number of women in national parliaments.
In 2011, Costa Rica elected its first female president. Laura Chinchilla Miranda won the presidential election and was more than 20 percentage points ahead of the runner-up. Her term ended in 2014, but her presence in a position of power marks the great strides being made toward gender equality and women’s empowerment in Costa Rica. With the 2018 election approaching, the representation of women has significantly increased, with women in Parliament exceeding 40 percent. These are historic numbers.
Among government leadership, there has also been an increase of female representation in the police force. Over the past three years, Costa Rica’s police force has gone from 3 percent to 17 percent female officers in the agency. With leadership in Parliament and on the streets, Costa Rican women are being represented more and more.
The Gender Equality Seal
Costa Rica has created a seal to verify and certify gender equality in the workplace. The Gender Equality Seal is a recognition given to public and private organizations. Its goal is to implement a system that will guarantee gender equality in each organization’s internal processes and labor relations. Existing gaps between women and men must be identified and a work plan to close those gaps must be created. The system is implemented in four areas: human resources, integral health, social co-responsibility in care and workplace environment. The seal seeks to empower women by offering them more opportunities in the workplace with equal pay as well as opportunities for high-level executive positions.
In 2016, 45 organizations participated in The Gender Equality Seal and signed a letter of commitment towards gender equality.
Coffee
More than 500 million people around the world are dependent on coffee for their livelihoods. Costa Rican coffee has been considered among the best in the world. As one of the country’s top three exports, coffee is a major source of revenue and a staple in the economy. Although coffee farmers can be paid extremely low wages for their work, there has been an influx of female-centered organizations seeking to remove the gender gap and allow women to make a living through coffee farming.
The International Women Coffee Alliance Costa Rican chapter, Women in Coffee Alliance of Costa Rica (WCACR), provides women in coffee a voice and vote in political decisions regarding the commodity. Formed in 2005, WCACR seeks to create sustainable developments in each community that are environmentally, economically and socially viable. They also offer opportunities for women in the coffee industry to learn more about the production of coffee and the marketplace.
Organizations like ASOMOBI, the Association of Organized Women of Biolley, make a point to advertise that their coffee is produced by women in an effort to strengthen gender equity and empower the women of this cooperative.
Today, with more than 30 associate members of the chapter including millers, producers, exporters and roasters, they represent 17 companies and organizations from Costa Rica’s seven coffee-producing regions.
Although Costa Rica is moving in the right direction, with equality in the workplace and gender salary as a topic of discussion among leaders and influencers, they still have a long way to go. But as politics change and leaders invest more energy into promoting an equal and thriving country, there is hope that women’s empowerment in Costa Rica will continue to be on the rise.
– Kailey Brennan
Photo: Flickr