MOST economic adjustment programmes being adopted in Africa, especially where they are externally funded, have tended to worsen the condition of women, the Deputy Minister of Labour, Manpower Planning and Social Welfare, Cde Florence Chitauro said.
Opening a two-day seminar titled, “Do it herself — Women and technological innovation” in Harare yesterday, Cde Chitauro said that sustainable development could only be achieved when communities where involved in the design of technologies appropriate to their skills, income levels and environments.
“By improving the socio-economic status of women and enabling them to be more productive, not only does the economy benefit, but the communities as well. An improvement in productivity of rural women will also have a significant impact on household food security,” she said.
About 17 to 28 percent of developing countries’ households were headed by women and this figure far exceeded 40 percent for Southern Africa and the Caribbean, she said.
Generally, households headed by women were among the poorest in any society because women were usually less educated, had less employment opportunities, and had no access to credit, technology and information.
Therefore, when austerity measures were introduced, they tended to fall heavily on women and their households.
Cde Chitauro urged all intermediaries of technical assistance programmes such as extension workers, project staff, consultants, and technologists to first assess indigenous knowledge and the needs of women technology users.
This would guard against the wholesale transfer of intermediate technologies to developing countries.
“Efforts should be devoted to assisting in improving what women are already doing,” she said, adding that women constantly used their knowledge to make rational economic and technical choices and changes appropriate to their environment.
She said women’s contributions could only be recognised if the agents of technological change realised that technology was not only hardware, but that it could also be the skills, expertise, techniques and organisation connected with the production purpose.
Currently, no documentation existed on women’s local technical knowledge, she said.
The seminar has drawn participants from Sierra Leone, Ghana, Sudan, Kenya, Uganda, Zimbabwe, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, and is being facilitated by the Intermediate Technology Development Group.
LESSONS FOR TODAY
Gender equality is a right and fulfilling this right is the best chance we have in meeting some of the most pressing challenges of our time — from economic crisis and lack of health care, to climate change, violence against women and escalating conflicts.
Women and girls, everywhere, must have equal rights and opportunities, and be able to live free of violence and discrimination.
While more women have entered into politics in recent years, including through the use of special quotas, they still hold a small percentage of parliamentary seats, far short of parity.
In most cases, women don’t experience obvious forms of discrimination or sexism. Instead, they face an undercurrent of condescension that leads to a feeling of isolation in work places and other spheres traditionally believed to be male spaces.
Empowering a woman with knowledge is just the beginning of a long journey to business success.