The gender wage gap refers to the “difference between average gross hourly earnings of male-paid employees and female-paid employees as a percentage of average gross hourly earnings of male-paid employees.” It exists because some men and women receive a different amount of money for work of comparable value. This wage gap is both the “cause and consequence” of gender inequality. There are many reasons for the gender wage gap in Kenya, and although they exist in other nations around the world, it is more acute in developing countries. The East African nation is more gender unequal than its counterparts in the developed world, meaning that most women are employed in lower-paid work where they work for longer hours. This is before they have to go home and complete the rest of their daily domestic and childcare responsibilities.
The Kenyan Context
Over the last three decades, efforts have occurred to close the gender wage gap in Kenya, representing a struggle within the East African nation. In 1993, the government Task Force for the Review of Laws Relating to Women originated to help foster women’s equal participation in society and economic empowerment. In 2007, the government enacted the Employment Act, which promised all employees fundamental rights, basic working conditions and pay.
Nevertheless, this legislation has not been fruitful in achieving pay parity for women. In 2019, Equileap published a report on gender equality in Kenya, finding that on average, women earn 32% less than their male counterparts, compared to 23% globally. This disproportion means that the country sits at the 20th position on the Global Gender Gap Index of 2020, behind the other East African nations of Rwanda, Uganda, Tanzania and Ethiopia. Compared to the rest of the world, Kenya ranks 109 out of 153 countries, a 33-position drop compared to 2018.
The informal economy in Kenya is a significant employer for women, with 87% being employed within it. Despite this importance, the sector lacks standard employment contracts, social protection and adequate pay, meaning that women are unable to obtain a decent livelihood, let alone have the same level of income as men.
Reasons Why the Gender Wage Gap Persists in Kenya
Here are the three main reasons why the gender wage gap is prevalent in Kenya.
- The Inability of Women to Effectively Negotiate Their Pay. Women tend to misunderstand or underestimate their own value, compared to men. This means that even if they are successful in the pay negotiation process, they often shy away, being happy with less than what men have satisfaction with.
- Gender Insensitivity Persists in Workplaces. Like the rest of the world, organizations and businesses in Kenya operate in a structured way. As a result, women often join at the bottom of the scale, while men join at the middle or top end. Women also experience disadvantages due to child-rearing responsibilities, pregnancy and maternity leave, all of which can set them back on the career ladder.
- The Presence of Bias in Workplaces. Small and medium-sized enterprises provide formal employment for a large proportion of the Kenyan population. Regardless, less than 5% of these companies have female chairs. Furthermore, in the 1980s, women did not receive benefits as authorities assumed that their husbands would provide their insurance and allowance, a view that many still accept today.
The U.N. estimates that closing the gender wage gap in the East African nation is an essential way to achieving gender-related SDG commitments.” Many organizations have grasped this reality to tackle this issue. They include:
Womankind Worldwide
In 2010, the Kenyan government passed a new constitution which was the first in its history to recognize gender equality. Key statements as part of this included:
- Every person is equal before the law and has the right to equal protection and equal benefit of the law.
- Equality includes the full and equal enjoyment of all rights and fundamental freedoms.
- Women and men have the right to equal treatment, including the right to equal opportunities in political, economic, cultural and social spheres.
Womankind Worldwide started working in Kenya after the promises created in this constitution remained unmet; women are still unable to make key decisions that impact their lives and communities. The organization has vowed to support women’s rights activists in the country so that the barriers that women and girls are facing can reduce.
In reference to the gender wage gap in Kenya, Womankind Worldwide has urged ‘gender responsive’ action for businesses. This includes reviewing existing activities (such as pay and promotion) that undergird institutionalized forms of gender inequalities.
Kenya Female Advisory Organisation (KEFEADO)
In 1994, Dolphine Okech and her daughter Dr. Jane Okech, both of whom were educationalists that committed themselves to gender equality, founded KEFEADO in Kisumu, Kenya. The NGO exists to “promote gender equity, equal opportunities and rights for all” so that it can change cultural attitudes towards issues such as sexual abuse, gender-based violence and employment equality. It is working to develop gender rights policies that bridge pay inequality gaps along with ensuring that institutions respond to the specific needs of special interest groups, namely women and youth. It is also aiming to end disparities in education, health and work.
Regarding the gender wage gap in Kenya, KEFEADO has advocated for gender-responsive budgeting (GRB). In 2020, the organization organized a three-day training for members of the Kisumu county assembly as a way of advocating and fighting for employment equality between men and women. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation funded the event. Overall, the training was a success as this budgeting was fast-tracked.
National Gender and Equality Commission (NGEC)
In 2011, the National Gender and Equality and Commission Act established the NGEC, following Article 249 of the Constitution of Kenya 2010. As a Constitutional Commission, the NGEC focuses on promoting constitutionalism, democratic values and principles, and protecting the sovereignty of the people, especially in relation to the marginalized. This includes women, youth, children, minorities and older members of society.
According to this mandate, the NGEC has successfully mainstreamed issues of gender and women in national and county policies, laws and administrative rules. Gender mainstreaming is a core function of this, and they use it to ensure that the concerns that both men and women experience are frontal in all spheres such as economic, political and societal. One way that it has achieved this is through raising awareness. As per the 2019-2024 Strategic Plan for Gender Equality and Non-Discrimination, the organization proposes that educating and partnering up with the public is a good way to raise consciousness on such issues (including the gender wage gap).
Over these last few decades, the gender wage gap in Kenya has appeared to have worsened. Although this is true to an extent, there is now much more awareness and understanding of the issue. Furthermore, the ascent of organizations fighting for pay parity in Kenya presents an optimistic future, one where pay is gender equality and women are obtaining the same financial remuneration as their male counterparts.
– Harkiran Bharij
Photo: Flickr
The Topic of Poverty in the Election in Brazil
On October 3, 2022, the first round of the Brazilian presidential election ended with no candidate having received a majority of the votes. Two radically opposed candidates will ultimately dispute the race: incumbent President Jair Bolsonaro and former President Luis Inacio “Lula” da Silva. Although both have made promises to curb poverty amid Brazil’s economic woes, Bolsonaro’s rhetoric regarding the issue has noticeably increased in an attempt to garner votes ahead of the runoff election in Brazil on October 30, 2022. Through a mix of policy and speeches, Bolsonaro has sought to reinvent himself as the candidate for citizens living in poverty in Brazil, a role that Lula traditionally held.
About Auxilio Brasil
Bolsonaro’s primary poverty relief program, Auxilio Brasil, is actually a modified version of Lula’s famous Bolsa Familia Program. Auxilio Brasil gives the poorest 17 million Brazilian citizens the equivalent of $71 per month, provided parents ensure their children are vaccinated and in primary school. This was nearly double the amount that Bolsa Familia, the original version of the social welfare program that Lula created, gave Brazilians. In doing so, Bolsonaro can not only claim to represent the fight against poverty in Brazil but co-opted one of his adversary’s most significant works of public policy.
With the election in Brazil looming, Bolsonaro’s anti-poverty program has moved to the forefront of his campaign. After the contest between him and Lula went to a second round, the incumbent said that he would be moving Auxilio Brasil payments scheduled for the end of the month to the first two weeks of October. In addition, he temporarily increased the amount of money given by the program from R$400 to R$600 while giving citizens a gas voucher. Both Lula and impeached President Dilma Rousseff have called the payments a blatant manipulation of public funds, but the Supreme Court has upheld Bolsonaro’s decision.
Bolsonaro and Poverty in Brazil
Bolsonaro has also made poverty in Brazil a key point in his campaign speeches as he attempts to portray himself as a defender of Brazil’s poorest citizens. Visiting Duque de Caixas in Rio de Janeiro, Bolsonaro spoke of the increase in funds under Auxilio Brasil, low gas prices and “no corruption… and high economic growth for the 12th week in a row.” His point, while on the surface praise of his good governance, is also a jab at Lula, who went to jail for his involvement in Brazil’s infamous ‘Lava Jato’ corruption scandal before the annulment of his sentence.
The Fight Between Bolsanaro and Lula
Presenting a strong economy is key to Bolsonaro’s handling of poverty in Brazil, as the economy has suffered greatly during his term. The President’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic left nearly 700,000 people dead, and temporary quarantines hampered the Brazilian economy. In 2020, Bolsonaro saw Brazil’s poverty rate increase from 4.5% to more than 12%, with nearly 9.6 million people sliding into poverty. Lula’s platform has taken advantage of this, promising a total overhaul of Brazil’s welfare system and a debt forgiveness program. Bolsonaro struck back, saying Lula’s program of giving “a barbecue to every Brazilian” was “simply impossible … a lie.”
Ultimately, it will be up to voters to decide whether Bolsonaro has made a convincing argument for why he is the best choice to tackle poverty in the election in Brazil on October 30. The country’s poorest region, the northeast, is the part of the country which voted for Bolsonaro the least, indicating campaigning on the topic of poverty is still vital if he wants to overcome Lula. Currently trailing in the polls, only time will tell if his election strategy will earn him a second term in office.
– Samuel Bowles
Photo: Unsplash
Reducing Poverty in Chiapas Through Education
Poverty in Mexico is a long-standing issue in the nation. The National Council for the Evaluation of Social Development Policy (CONEVAL) says the poverty rate in Mexico stood at 42% in 2018, but some regions noted disproportionately higher rates than others. In particular, poverty in Chiapas stood at almost 80% in 2018. Several organizations are taking action to reduce poverty in Chiapas and empower locals through education and more.
Education in Chiapas
Education is a proven pathway out of poverty, yet in 2020, just 36.3% of the Chiapas population completed primary school, 26.8% completed middle school and 20% completed high school. Furthermore, in terms of tertiary education, only 12.5% of the population had a bachelor’s degree. A lack of educational attainment limits access to skilled and higher-paying job opportunities that could help people break cycles of poverty.
According to Data Mexico, “the illiteracy rate for Chiapas in 2020 was 13.6%. Of the total illiterate population, 37.1% corresponded to men and 62.9% to women.” A lack of literacy links to a lack of access to quality education and contributes to high levels of poverty.
On top of this, the minimum wage in Mexico is only about 172 pesos for a day at work (about $9 USD per day). A lack of livable wages also contributes to the economic struggles of the country’s people.
Efforts to Improve Education
One of the key ways to help reduce poverty in Chiapas is by providing education. There are several organizations, such as Schools for Chiapas, providing education services to the young and impoverished in Chiapas. Schools for Chiapas came about in 1996 to provide education to locals in Chiapas by raising funds to build new schools, especially for Mayan communities. In particular, Schools for Chiapas aims to “support the autonomous, Indigenous Zapatista communities of Chiapas,” its website says.
Another example of a local NGO that is helping to alleviate poverty in Chiapas is Help Chiapas. Set up in 2008, Help Chiapas focuses its efforts on supporting Indigenous populations by creating more secure and prosperous communities to prevent forced migration.
Help Chiapas is achieving this by setting up clinics that provide dental and health care while educating the Indigenous population on essential healthcare practices, among other efforts. It also runs a scholarship program, which launched in 2019, to give Indigenous young people the opportunity to further their education through college learning or trade school. By raising literacy rates and increasing levels of educational attainment, locals can rise out of poverty through access to more opportunities.
To decrease poverty in Chiapas, organizations such as Schools for Chiapas and Help Chiapas need to continue their work in providing new opportunities through education and addressing basic needs through services such as clinics. On a wider scale, efforts from the Mexican government are necessary to ensure long-term success in reducing poverty throughout the nation, but especially in areas like Chiapas, which see the highest rates of poverty.
– Reuben Cochrane
Photo: Flickr
Partners in Health Fights Poverty
Poverty is often viewed as the inability of an individual to provide the most basic needs, such as food, water and shelter. There are many causes of poverty – one of the largest causes is due to poor health care. Worldwide, there are approximately 689 million people facing poverty. More than half a billion people face extreme poverty due to poor health care.
In the summer of 1983, Paul Farmer, not yet a medical student, visited Haiti to volunteer at a local hospital, Mirebalais, in the village of Cange. Upon his arrival, Farmer met Ophelia Dahl, an American advocate and another volunteer at the hospital. Although young and inexperienced, both Framer and Dahl recognized Haiti’s dire call for help. Looking back on her initial viewpoint of Haiti, Dahl reported, “If you had gone to Cange in 1983, you did not have to be a social scientist to say, ‘this is terrible.’ There is no option for health care, not enough food, no housing or school, nothing.”
The Creation of Partners in Health
Despite these daunting challenges, Dahl and Framer agreed to advocate for the country’s lack of health care. As Dahl said, “We are going to Cange, where we already know people and where we have each other. Let’s just see what we can do,” according to the Partners in Health Medium article. Thus, Partners in Health began its journey.
Traveling from Haiti to Boston, Farmer recruited more volunteers, expanding the idea of providing free, organized and efficient health care to desperate villages in impoverished countries. Eventual co-founders of Partners in Health – Todd McCormack, Jim Yong Kim and Tom White joined Farmer in Haiti and began to eliminate the presence of HIV and tuberculosis, according to Medium.
Deadly Disease
Viewed as a death sentence, HIV and tuberculosis were rampant in Haiti; however, Farmer and his team discovered that larger, more developed countries were able to cure these diseases and eliminate their presence. A strong correlation between the economy and health care was the cause of the presence of certain diseases in certain populations.
In 1987, Partners in Health officially established itself as an independent, nonprofit organization.
Partners in Health Fights Poverty
After healing thousands of patients in Haiti, Partners in Health looked onward. Farmer sought to develop an international program offering free, comprehensive health care to impoverished countries. In 1994, Partners in Health expanded into Peru, battling the multidrug-resistant tuberculosis epidemic. Through the creation of the MDR-TB treatment program, Peru saw an 80% cure rate and, yet again, inspired by the success, Farmer looked to the rest of the world.
Four years later, Partners in Health developed tuberculosis treatment plans in Russia and launched the HIV Equity Initiative. Today, this initiative provides antiretroviral therapy to HIV-positive patients in Haiti.
Since its establishment, Partners in Health has provided its services to Haiti, Peru, Russia, Rwanda, Lesotho, Malawi, the Navajo Nation, Kazakhstan, Mexico, Sierra Leone and Liberia. Partners in Health fights poverty through the creation of several organizations and programs that support suffering individuals. According to its website, some examples include:
The Future
With these programs, Partners in Health could lift communities out of poverty, as affected individuals are no longer forced to leave their livelihoods and spend their savings on health care. As poverty lessens, these areas are inspired and pass on their benefits to the next generation. Today, an increasing number of individuals from impoverished countries are involved in the aspects of global health care. Communities worldwide are lifting themselves out of poverty because Partners in Health fights poverty and disease around the world.
– Sania Patel
Photo: Flickr
Efforts to Reform and Decolonize Global Aid
Many activists that believe in decolonizing aid claim that the global aid system has roots in a colonialist framework. This may be the reason humanitarian efforts sometimes manifest unfavorably, in forms like racial inequity. The effort to decolonize aid predominantly means allocating more money, recognition and power to localized efforts and grassroots organizations within affected communities.
Inequities Within Global Development and Aid
Many activists have brought to light the racial disparities within the aid system. Activist Kennedy Odede asserts that in comparison to white-led institutions, limited funding restricts Black founders and their organizations. Odede quotes research that Echoing Green and Bridgespan conducted and says that Black-led organizations have unrestricted net assets that are “76% smaller than their white-led counterparts.” Degan Ali is an African activist and humanitarian leader who believes that the current aid system is rooted in “colonial hierarchies of the past.” As an effect, “the U.N. and international NGOs… who are predominantly Westerners and mostly white people” dominate the global aid.
Governments of the Global South and local communities of color lack representation in the dominating institutions, and thus are largely absent in the decision-making. Odede also points out that these white-led institutions are largely responsible for shaping “the development and social entrepreneurship” of African communities. Ali claims that certain organizations and agencies “monopolizing the spotlight” overshadow the local efforts and responses to crises “that affected communities undertake.” As a result, Odede also quotes that “only 3% of all humanitarian funding goes to local and national NGOs” in Africa.
Colonial Hierarchies and Recipients of Aid
Just as the “colonial hierarchies” within global aid manifest as racial inequity within funding and representation, it can also effectively sustain an image of the “passive recipient” of aid, which is conventionally understood to be lower-income countries in the Global South. Ali and other activists believe that in order to move away from the “passive recipient” image, local communities in the Global South who are the intended recipients of aid must instead receive empowerment as active agents in the development effort. Grassroots organizations and community leaders can surely benefit from the value of being viable delegators of aid, which include making decisions on investment and resource allocation. The involvement of local communities and leaders could improve the effectiveness and efficiency of aid. This is because communities themselves have a better understanding of the kind of aid they might find beneficial.
Grassroots and Localized Organizations in Kenya
Embodying the importance of localization and community-based aid, Degan Ali is one of the many crucial pioneers working to decolonize aid. Ali is the Executive Director of Adeso, a nonprofit NGO based in Kenya that intends to support African communities by providing direct and localized sources for development. Adeso was the first organization to provide Somalia with cash vouchers in 2002 and Ali claims that this decision came from a deep understanding of the local economy and communities’ needs during severe droughts in Somalia.
Kennedy Odede is another humanitarian activist that believes in the importance of community-based change. Odede is the founder and CEO of Kenya’s largest grassroots movement, Shining Hope for Communities (SHOFCO). SHOFCO maintains a focus on Kenya’s urban residents, and it is one grassroots organization that exemplifies the power of localized aid efforts. Through collective action and community organization, SHOFCO directly impacts and empowers 50 impoverished sites in Kenya, including 17 urban slums. The organization developed the SHOFCO Urban Network (SUN) organizing platform which prioritizes community-led development by working closely with local leaders located in every one of their targeted sites in Kenya. Through SUN, the organization was able to provide urban residents with “more than the [Kenyan] government could manage” during the COVID-19 pandemic; this included distributing food relief, masks and sanitizers and “installing hundreds of handwashing stations that reached over 2.5 million people.”
The UN’s Grand Bargain
Degan Ali also established a global target of 20% localization, meaning that 20% of all funding provided by humanitarian and foreign aid agencies does directly to local communities. Ali’s advocacy “evolved into the U.N.’s 25% Grand Bargain commitment” in 2016. This agreement was established “between some of the largest donors and humanitarian organizations” and pushed for 25% of all humanitarian funding to be “allocated to local and national responders by 2020.” This commitment, whether explicitly intentional or not, acts as part of the effort to decolonize aid by furthering the localization agenda.
Signatories (donors and organizations) include “25 Member States, 23 NGOs, 12 U.N. agencies, two Red Cross movements and two inter-governmental organizations.” In 2020, 13 out of the 63 signatories “allocated 25% or more of their humanitarian funds to national/local responders as directly as possible.” A new structure for a Grand Bargain 2.0 was finalized in 2021 and claims to uphold two priorities when addressing humanitarian aid. One of the main priorities includes providing “greater support… for the leadership, delivery and capacity of local responders and the participation of affected communities.”
Looking Ahead
Many activists and grassroots organizations are working towards a better, more equitable solution to humanitarian aid – one that involves greater funding and support for localized efforts. The activists are hoping to promote a new system that coincides with a global movement to decolonize aid. Decolonizing aid through localization has the ability to better tackle poverty and other crises by fostering greater autonomy within communities and directly addressing their preferred needs.
– Ashley Kim
Photo: Flickr
The Indian Rupee’s Resilience
Turbulence in South Asian economies, political upheaval and international events such as the Russia-Ukraine war have caused inflation and a drop in the value of the Indian rupee. The Indian rupee has still performed better in these times of turmoil and global inflation issues in comparison to other Asian and European currencies. The government and the Reserve Bank of India have taken precautions and put controls on imports of goods and overseas investments. The rupee’s resilience has proven to be impressive in many ways and efforts to preserve its value are continuing to impact the cost of living in developing countries in South Asia. Without measures to protect the value of the rupee, inflation could have disastrous effects on the working class and impoverished people whose wages can no longer meet the cost of living.
Increasing inflation and poverty rates are inextricably linked. As the prices of basic commodities increase and the value of a currency decreases, vulnerable populations are unable to keep up with the expenses. The rupee’s resilience will be beneficial in keeping the poverty level relatively stable.
Recent Depreciation
The ongoing war in Ukraine and the subsequent market volatility, combined with U.S. Federal Reserve’s actions to tighten monetary policy have drastically impacted the global market in terms of access to imported goods and depreciation of foreign currencies.
During the month of July, the Indian rupee reached an all-time low. Its value has fallen below 80 rupees per $1 USD as of July 19, 2022, equating to a total value fall of 7.1% since January 19, 2022. Other South Asian countries have followed a similar, worsening trend. For example, Sri Lanka’s currency has fallen almost 80% to 362 Sri Lankan rupees per $1 USD in the same time period. This is due to multiple other factors, including political upheaval and bankruptcy, as the country is facing its “worst economic crisis since independence in 1948.” Less drastically, the value of the Pakistani rupee has fallen about 22% to 216 Pakistani rupees per $1 USD.
Considering the large drops in rupee values and increasing U.S. interest rates, the Indian rupee’s resilience has proven impressive. Falling exchange rates have not caused irreversible damage to the domestic currency as Indian investments are still attractive to foreign investors since the U.S. dollar is simultaneously getting stronger and allowing investors to buy more valuable shares. The Indian central bank has made one of its main goals to maintain a sense of stability and prevent market volatility from impacting its emerging economy. With a stable market and prices, vulnerable populations will be able to access food and basic resources with steady wages.
Effects on Cost of Living
Poverty remains a widespread problem in India, with about 176 million Indians living in extreme poverty as of 2015. The country has made progress in lifting itself from these high rates of poverty with action from the government and Reserve Bank of India, especially amid the COVID-19 pandemic. These measures include “monetary and fiscal policy measures,” increased spending on health and social protection and economic decisions relating to imports and trading with foreign countries.
India relies on imports to provide consumers and its market with services and goods and the depreciating rupee and inflation will undoubtedly prove difficult for the working population of India. Worsening depreciation leads to inflation and higher costs for foreign commodities, including imports such as fuel and oil, imported foods and foreign education. This, in turn, decreases the purchasing power of people’s salaries, which is the most hard-hitting for India’s vulnerable working populations.
However, the depreciation of the rupee “can also support India’s exports as our goods and services become cheaper for foreign importers,” India’s CRISIL analytical company said.
Preserving Value
The rupee has been holding its ground against the dollar due to a fall in oil prices as well as efforts by India’s central bank. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) increased its intervention in the market over the past decade. Currently, it buys an average of $7 billion from the market every month. RBI also announced in July 2022 that it will “allow trade settlements between India and other countries in rupees.”
The Government of India, also known as the Centre, has also taken measures to safeguard the rupee’s resilience to prevent the rupee from further depreciating and impacting consumer markets to an even greater extent. Investments are one of the main focuses in maintaining the value of the rupee against global market uncertainty. The government is considering lowering limits on overseas investments by Indian residents to counteract depreciation and is making efforts to speed up USD remittances that exporters owe. The Centre could also attempt entering a bond index for more securities and inflow to sell back to investors.
Looking Ahead
Minister of Finance and Corporate Affairs Nirmala Sitharaman has shared that inflation is not expected to severely worsen poverty in India as no one will be pushed “below the lower poverty line of $1.9/day, while only 0.02% & 0.04% of the population will go below higher poverty lines of $3.3/day and $5.5/day, respectively.”
The efforts of the government to protect the purchasing power of the rupee are necessary for consumers to continue supporting themselves, especially those that poverty already impacted. In September 2022, Reuters reported that a minimum of 10 Indian states announced [support of more than] 1 trillion rupees ($12.6 billion), mainly in cash transfers and electricity subsidies, for households to combat inflation.”
– Nethya Samarakkodige
Photo: Flickr
Women’s Empowerment Through Rural Delights in Lebanon
The Lebanese non-governmental organization (NGO) Atayeb-Al Rif or Rural Delights in English, is committed to rural development and economic opportunities for women in Lebanon. Since its founding with the funding of USAID, Rural Delights in Lebanon has partnered with worker cooperatives to employ women in processing traditional Lebanese treats and trinkets such as jams, syrups, dried fruits, honey, olive oil and molasses. The organization also offers business training to Lebanese women as part of its services.
About Rural Delights
In an interview with The Borgen Project, May Traboulsy, Chairperson at Rural Delights, commented on its mission of economically empowering Lebanese women; “Our mission focuses on empowering women socio-economically, but also touches on other players in the sector of food processing, such as farmers and refugees, through productive activities as food processing, while enhancing women’s role at the level of their communities as well as at the level of relevant value chains.”
Rural Delights in Lebanon and its emphasis on job opportunities for women could be a welcome step to alleviating national poverty especially as the country is experiencing negative economic growth. The country’s unemployment rate as of 2021 stands at 14.5%, while inflation skyrocketed to 154.8% in the same year.
The alarming economic situation in the country underscores the importance of organizations such as Rural Delights and how they can contribute to alleviating the economic situation in the country by creating economic opportunities for women, a largely untapped resource in the Lebanese economy. Lebanon’s female labor participation rate stands at only 24.5% as of 2021.
Rural Delights in Lebanon, therefore, plays an important role in the economic empowerment of women to reduce poverty through the creation of economic opportunities and entrepreneurial skills Rural Delights in Lebanon focuses on. Traboulsy commented on the importance of women’s economic participation in the same interview by stating that “AAR considers that when women are capacitated to become productive members within their society, this, in turn, provides them with empowered tools that could elevate their livelihood, improve resilience and therefore reduce poverty by translating women’s actions into income-generating activities.” Rural Delights in Lebanon has not only committed itself to reduce poverty through increased female labor participation but its current activities on the ground have achieved concrete results.
The Biocoop Program
Rural Delights in Lebanon has initiated a number of projects achieving concrete economic gains for women in business. The Biocoop program, which USAID funded, has focused on vocational training for women. This project aimed to increase labor skills for women in food processing, hygiene, general health practice, good manufacturing practice and marketing practice. Such a program can reduce poverty through the skills it offers women to succeed in business generating more income-earning opportunities and higher living standards over time.
The Stimulating Markets Program
Rural Delights in Lebanon also launched the Stimulating Markets program from 2002-2006 with funding from USAID. This project meant to create more food processing centers for women to work in and boost production, benefiting 2,500 rural Lebanese women and 36 rural communities. The project also achieved the establishment of 37 food processing centers and five production farms, expanding economic opportunities for women in the process to contribute to poverty reduction.
The Sustainable Opportunities for Fair Trade Project
Rural Delights in Lebanon has not only focused on the establishment of businesses that create opportunities for women but also implemented programs to ensure they remain competitive in the national and regional economy in the long term. The Sustainable Opportunities for Fair Trade project, with funding from the Middle East Partnership Initiative, worked with 22 female worker cooperatives in Lebanon to promote entrepreneurial skills and business acumen for women. The project featured training on managerial work, fair trade practices, international norms and standards, supply management, purchase of production equipment and participation in local and foreign food shows to prepare women to compete in the national and regional economies.
Traboulsy commented on the project and its aims by stating that “In that project, 14 food-processing cooperatives and 8 small-to-medium entrepreneurs were targeted. The project aimed to reduce the producers’ cost of production, expand their market linkages and enhance their know-how and practice in product/ business development.” Such a project shows how Rural Delights in Lebanon has committed itself to both creating opportunities for women itself and going beyond to ensure women possess the skills to succeed and grow their businesses in the long term with respect to the food processing industry being the most productive and contributing to poverty reduction.
The Promoting Sustainable Livelihoods Project
Rural Delights in Lebanon has two major projects currently underway that will conclude at a later date. The first is the Five Year Project (2020-2025), called Promoting Sustainable Livelihoods Project. Traboulsy commented on the project and its goals by stating; “This project is funded by USAID and aims to improve the livelihoods of residents of target municipalities across Lebanon by improving and/or upgrading existing assets through training, technical assistance, infrastructure rehabilitation, and access to markets. The project’s goal is to improve the livelihoods of 31,500 households across 105 municipalities in the North, Bekaa, South and Mount Lebanon areas.” Such a project underscores Rural Delights’ commitment to promoting the sustainability of women-led businesses and workers once opportunities are first created to ensure maximum productivity in the long term to reduce poverty.
The Women’s Economic Empowerment Project
The second project, which launched in 2019 and will last until 2022, is the Women’s Economic Empowerment Project. It received funding from Canada and in partnership with the Maowad Foundation. This project aims to further promote economic opportunities for women and raise awareness about the importance and value of female labor participation in economic development and poverty reduction.
Traboulsy commented on the goals of this project by stating that “The WEP project aims to (1) Increase local awareness and support to women’s rights, notably economic empowerment and right to decent work, (2) boost local recognition of women’s role in non-traditional economic development and (3) foster competences of local women, individuals and groups, to access the market based on competitiveness and innovation in selected value chains.” This project further shows Rural Delights’ goal of promoting the role of women in the economy and recognizing its importance for poverty reduction by achieving higher living standards and more economic development overall when half of a country’s population is part of the workforce.
Rural Delights since its creation in 2002 has launched a number of ambitious projects that have created economic opportunities for women previously unavailable in Lebanon. Given the economic problems Lebanon is experiencing, Rural Delights is providing opportunities at an important time and improving the quality of life for Lebanese on the ground who its activities impacted. As a nonprofit, it can serve as a testament to the importance of a vibrant civil society to have NGOs on the ground doing the work to reduce poverty and improve quality of life, and to have an environment where more NGOs can thrive and accomplish similar goals to reduce poverty.
– John Zak
Photo: Flickr
Renewable Energy in Turkey
Turkey has a population of more than 85 million people which projections have determined will grow significantly over the next 50 years. Turkey is currently experiencing rapid growth in energy demand due to an increase in domestic power consumption. In order to meet energy demand, the Turkish government has prioritized the adoption of renewable energy goals. In an effort to strengthen energy security, the country is taking action to increase renewable energy in Turkey and prioritize clean energy sources such as solar power and wind energy.
Moving Away From Imports
Despite having its own deposits of oil and natural gas, Turkey sources more than 74% of its energy from imports. Local oil production in Turkey meets only 7% of its growing energy demand, which causes the nation to rely heavily upon foreign sources of oil.
In order to combat the high cost of imports, the Turkish government has made energy security and energy diversification a top priority. The country’s first nuclear power plant should open in 2023, and the government has laid forth additional plans to expand its energy sector to prioritize clean energy sources. Sustainable development will help transition the country away from its dependence on Russian oil imports, which have become more costly following United States sanctions against Russia.
Energy Poverty in Turkey
Affordable access to energy is an important part of economic and social development. Sufficient access to electricity in Turkey will help eradicate poverty within the country by ensuring its people will have access to an overall higher quality of education, food security and overall well-being. Recent data suggests that about one-quarter of households in Turkey are energy poor and nearly half of households in Turkey are at risk of facing energy poverty. Expanding renewable energy in Turkey will help these people by making consumer energy prices more affordable. Affordable electricity prices will lead to greater inclusivity for the country’s poor, placing less strain on low-income households.
Reducing the Carbon Footprint
In October 2021, the Turkish Parliament became part of the Paris climate agreement, aiming to reach a goal of net zero carbon emissions by 2053. Turkey has substantial reserves of renewable energy resources which have the capacity to sustain its projected economic growth and future population increases. Turkey is a suitable country for solar and wind power generation due to its mild climate and expansive coastline. Additionally, its mountainous landscape boasts many rivers, which provide the country with suitable locations for hydroelectric dams.
In 2021, Turkey invested $1 billion into increasing the country’s capacity for wind turbines. Wind and solar power plants saved the country $700 million worth of imports over the last 12 months.
A transition to fully utilize Turkey’s clean energy sources will solidify the country’s energy independence and meet its growing demand for electricity. Turkey’s investments in renewable energy continue to save the country millions of euros each month. By increasing its reliance on renewable power generation, the country is reducing its carbon footprint and preparing for a net zero emissions economy.
The Benefits
Turkey’s economy would likely benefit from clean energy expansion by attracting new renewable energy investments and eliminating its costly reliance on nonrenewable imports. The country is close in proximity to Europe, which has been facing multiple disruptions related to its energy supply in recent years. Turkey has the potential to profit from future renewable energy exports to Europe and other regions. By diversifying its energy sector, the country can boost economic development by creating new jobs in manufacturing, installation and other outlets.
The financial benefits of renewable energy in Turkey should bolster economic growth and increase clean energy government incentives. The country aims to continue its investment in sustainable infrastructure, which should increase access to affordable energy. By driving down costs and increasing accessibility, clean energy could help alleviate energy poverty in Turkey. By strengthening the country in these ways, renewable energy in Turkey should help the country sustain long-term economic advantages and increase the quality of life for its people.
– Dylan Priday
Photo: Unsplash
How the US is Providing Aid During Argentina’s Economic Crisis
Despite being one of the richest countries in South America per capita in 2020, Argentina is currently grappling with poverty and an economic crisis. Argentina’s economy has been dramatically up and down for decades but the COVID-19 pandemic and the war with Ukraine and political instability have recently worsened it. Because of these combined factors, Argentinians are currently dealing with rising energy and food prices, state bankruptcies and reduced wages. Inflation is above 70% and could reach 90% before the end of the year. Today, 40% of Argentines live in poverty and about 10% of them could not afford “a basic basket of only food” in 2021. Here is some information about Argentina’s economic crisis as well as how the U.S. is providing aid.
An Alliance
The United States and Argentina have an alliance based on trade and shared priorities. These priorities include “democracy and human rights, counterterrorism and rule of law, improving citizen security, science, energy and technology infrastructure, people-to-people ties, and education.”
In recent years, the U.S. has been assisting with COVID-19 recovery, renewable energy development and promoting women-led small businesses. These measures aim to address as many factors as possible that led to the economic crisis and tackle them one by one.
Since the pandemic broke out in 2020 up until April 2021, the U.S. military has given $3.5 million in recovery aid to Argentina. According to U.S. Southern Command Admiral Craig S. Faller, this aid includes “protective equipment, medical supplies, and monitoring and screening tools.”
National Security
Another way the United States is improving Argentina’s economic crisis is by improving national security. In 2020, the U.S. Department of State gave $3.1 million to Argentina for counterterrorism efforts, including military education and training, improved worker’s rights, reduced child labor and job creation. The U.S. also helped develop the Western Hemisphere Counterterrorism Ministerial (WHCM), an alliance dedicated to reducing terrorism in western hemisphere countries and Argentina has been “a leading participant” and hosted a second ministerial in 2019. In the same year, Argentina became the first country in Latin America to declare Hizballah a terrorist group. In 2020, the U.S. made plans to strengthen security in Argentina through “legal, financial and law enforcement tools,” the U.S. Department of State reported.
Women in Business
Having more women entrepreneurs is critical to the well-being of the economy. In 2019, a “high-level U.S. interagency delegation” came to Argentina to support and grow women-owned businesses, which are “essential for creating economic growth and security,” the U.S. Department of State reported. This visit sparked the launch of the Academy of Women Entrepreneurs in 2021, an online and in-person program that focused on helping 30 Argentine women expand their businesses.
Through poverty, pandemic and inflation, the United States is improving Argentina’s economic crisis by extending COVID-19 relief, improving national security, expanding job opportunities and training and empowering women. In fact, Argentina’s poverty rate dropped by about three percentage points from the first half of 2021 to the latter half of the year. There is still a long way to go, but this alliance has been making progress.
– Ava Ronning
Photo: Unsplash
Everything to Know About Poverty in Ethiopia
Ethiopia is the only African nation to never have experienced colonization, excluding the brief occupation by Mussolini during WWII. This rich lineage goes back further than any anglo-sphere country. From the images of the 1980s-90s famine to the current genocidal crisis in the Tigray region, Westerners may see poverty in Ethiopia, along with most of Africa, through a calamitous lens. While this view threatens to tokenize the pain of a people, it also has the potential to prompt radical change.
In recent years, Ethiopia has made headlines with its record economic growth and industrial advancement. Still, Amnesty International reports that more than 5.2 million people are currently in need of food aid in Tigray, the province at the epicenter of news coverage. Alongside the charges of human rights violations, the COVID-19 pandemic has worsened the already challenging situation. More than 22 million people are living below the poverty line with a 27% poverty rate expected only to rise. The fear of Ethiopian suffering being ignored on a global stage is what resonates in most reports from the area. However, unification through global affairs makes room for a conversation about geopolitical positions. Civil War, poor health services and global shelving continue to hurt Ethiopians and keep the country in constant economic struggle.
Growth in the Private Sector
The widespread famine of the mid-1980s shocked the world with images of Ethiopia’s hunger-ridden communities. As the country developed in the aftermath, the rate of poverty reduction in rural areas remained mild, moving from 30% to 26%. In contrast, urban development led to poverty falling from 26% to 15% in the same period. From 2004 to 2016, the blooming of business and subsequent decrease in urban poverty ensued. By 2015, the Ethiopian government was following economic leaders like China and South Korea in expanding government policy to encourage private business and development. As the private sector expands and more companies look to Ethiopia for cheap labor, poverty has started to drop. The country sought to meet China’s jaw-dropping achievement of lifting more than 800 million people out of poverty and decided to expand infrastructure, education and health through borrowing from state banks and foreign aid.
For a decade the economic growth rate was 10%. Buildings were cropping up all over the country’s capital, Addis Ababa. Ethiopia’s proximity to global markets in Europe and Asia makes it a realistic option for manufacturers of textiles that have started to set up shops in the region. This made Ethiopia one of the fastest-developing African nations and sparked global recognition of the country’s goal of reaching middle-income status for its citizens by 2025.
The Situation in Tigray
A racialized civil war occurred after president Abiy Ahmed postponed the election due to take place in August 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Tigrayan government said this was fundamentally unconstitutional, Abiy responded by withdrawing funding to the region and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) answered with violence. Ethiopian and Eritrean militaries saw this as a political opportunity to get back at Tigrayians for an age-old border dispute.
As a result, ethnic cleansing has devastated communities. Alongside the brutal harm inflicted on the Tigrayan ethnic group, an 18-month-long internet blackout followed in the Northern part of Ethiopia, which is home to more than 7 million people. On November 28 and 29, a massacre of 800 people occurred in Aksum but was underreported due to the communication disconnect. Even the Tigrayian language is becoming a barrier as it is nonexistent on Google Translate. Silos have burned down and mass rapes have already become history.
War deprives people of basic resources that are essential to survival. In a country already struggling to win the fight against poverty, a fight among brothers is not helping anyone. Yet, in a hopeful twist, the Tigrayan rebels released a statement this week saying they are ready for peace talks in a rush to find diplomatic answers to the crisis. This came after last month’s fighting left many marred; again violence erupts and those responsible vacate the spotlight leaving the people without a solution, only scars.
Solutions
Spreading awareness of poverty in Ethiopia is one way to get acknowledgment that leads to holding people accountable. The media does not always cover countries like Ethiopia, but they are important. To help showcase Ethiopia and other countries on the global stage, New Jersey Senator Robert Menendez proposed the Ethiopia Stabilization, Peace and Democracy Act in 2021. This Act will allow the U.S. to help end the civil war and may help the country thrive through financial, technical and diplomatic support, while also seeking accountability for crimes against humanity in Ethiopia.
– Shane Chase
Photo: Flickr
The Gender Wage Gap in Kenya: An Overview
The gender wage gap refers to the “difference between average gross hourly earnings of male-paid employees and female-paid employees as a percentage of average gross hourly earnings of male-paid employees.” It exists because some men and women receive a different amount of money for work of comparable value. This wage gap is both the “cause and consequence” of gender inequality. There are many reasons for the gender wage gap in Kenya, and although they exist in other nations around the world, it is more acute in developing countries. The East African nation is more gender unequal than its counterparts in the developed world, meaning that most women are employed in lower-paid work where they work for longer hours. This is before they have to go home and complete the rest of their daily domestic and childcare responsibilities.
The Kenyan Context
Over the last three decades, efforts have occurred to close the gender wage gap in Kenya, representing a struggle within the East African nation. In 1993, the government Task Force for the Review of Laws Relating to Women originated to help foster women’s equal participation in society and economic empowerment. In 2007, the government enacted the Employment Act, which promised all employees fundamental rights, basic working conditions and pay.
Nevertheless, this legislation has not been fruitful in achieving pay parity for women. In 2019, Equileap published a report on gender equality in Kenya, finding that on average, women earn 32% less than their male counterparts, compared to 23% globally. This disproportion means that the country sits at the 20th position on the Global Gender Gap Index of 2020, behind the other East African nations of Rwanda, Uganda, Tanzania and Ethiopia. Compared to the rest of the world, Kenya ranks 109 out of 153 countries, a 33-position drop compared to 2018.
The informal economy in Kenya is a significant employer for women, with 87% being employed within it. Despite this importance, the sector lacks standard employment contracts, social protection and adequate pay, meaning that women are unable to obtain a decent livelihood, let alone have the same level of income as men.
Reasons Why the Gender Wage Gap Persists in Kenya
Here are the three main reasons why the gender wage gap is prevalent in Kenya.
The U.N. estimates that closing the gender wage gap in the East African nation is an essential way to achieving gender-related SDG commitments.” Many organizations have grasped this reality to tackle this issue. They include:
Womankind Worldwide
In 2010, the Kenyan government passed a new constitution which was the first in its history to recognize gender equality. Key statements as part of this included:
Womankind Worldwide started working in Kenya after the promises created in this constitution remained unmet; women are still unable to make key decisions that impact their lives and communities. The organization has vowed to support women’s rights activists in the country so that the barriers that women and girls are facing can reduce.
In reference to the gender wage gap in Kenya, Womankind Worldwide has urged ‘gender responsive’ action for businesses. This includes reviewing existing activities (such as pay and promotion) that undergird institutionalized forms of gender inequalities.
Kenya Female Advisory Organisation (KEFEADO)
In 1994, Dolphine Okech and her daughter Dr. Jane Okech, both of whom were educationalists that committed themselves to gender equality, founded KEFEADO in Kisumu, Kenya. The NGO exists to “promote gender equity, equal opportunities and rights for all” so that it can change cultural attitudes towards issues such as sexual abuse, gender-based violence and employment equality. It is working to develop gender rights policies that bridge pay inequality gaps along with ensuring that institutions respond to the specific needs of special interest groups, namely women and youth. It is also aiming to end disparities in education, health and work.
Regarding the gender wage gap in Kenya, KEFEADO has advocated for gender-responsive budgeting (GRB). In 2020, the organization organized a three-day training for members of the Kisumu county assembly as a way of advocating and fighting for employment equality between men and women. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation funded the event. Overall, the training was a success as this budgeting was fast-tracked.
National Gender and Equality Commission (NGEC)
In 2011, the National Gender and Equality and Commission Act established the NGEC, following Article 249 of the Constitution of Kenya 2010. As a Constitutional Commission, the NGEC focuses on promoting constitutionalism, democratic values and principles, and protecting the sovereignty of the people, especially in relation to the marginalized. This includes women, youth, children, minorities and older members of society.
According to this mandate, the NGEC has successfully mainstreamed issues of gender and women in national and county policies, laws and administrative rules. Gender mainstreaming is a core function of this, and they use it to ensure that the concerns that both men and women experience are frontal in all spheres such as economic, political and societal. One way that it has achieved this is through raising awareness. As per the 2019-2024 Strategic Plan for Gender Equality and Non-Discrimination, the organization proposes that educating and partnering up with the public is a good way to raise consciousness on such issues (including the gender wage gap).
Over these last few decades, the gender wage gap in Kenya has appeared to have worsened. Although this is true to an extent, there is now much more awareness and understanding of the issue. Furthermore, the ascent of organizations fighting for pay parity in Kenya presents an optimistic future, one where pay is gender equality and women are obtaining the same financial remuneration as their male counterparts.
– Harkiran Bharij
Photo: Flickr