Mer og bedre økonomisk vekst med likestilling i finanssektoren

Norad is pleased to invite you to a conversation between Geraldine Fraser- Moleketi and Assistant Director Christian Fougner on how to close the gender gap in the financial sector. The meeting is hosted by the Department for Economic Development, Gender and Governance.

Background

Although Africa is rising at a predicted six percent growth this year, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has reported a 61 % loss in human development due to gender inequality. This illustrates a potential to dramatically improve human development for more than 50 % of Africa’s population.

-We believe that investing in women and girls is smart economics and impacts everyone positive, says Geraldine Fraser- Moleketi.

In January 2014 AFDB launched its gender strategy, envisioning an Africa where African women participate fully in decision making, have easy access to knowledge, where women’s skills and innovations are optimised and their capacities tapped to contribute to greater economic opportunities

The strategy suggest action directed at several levels

• Empowering women as economic, political, and social actors in order to change policy choices and make financial institutions benefit from a broader range of perspectives
• The fact that only 20% of women in Africa have bank accounts means the vast majority operates outside the financial sector. Therefore they do not have the opportunities nor the security financial institutions offer. Greater control over household resources by women, either through their own earnings or cash transfers, can enhance countries’ growth prospects by changing spending in ways that benefit children. Evidence from countries as varied as Brazil, China, India, South Africa, and the United Kingdom shows that when women control more household income—either through their own earnings or through cash transfers—children benefit as a result of more spending on food and education (World Bank, 2011). 
• If women farmers have the same access as men to productive resources such as land and fertilizers, agricultural output in developing countries could increase by as much as 2.5 to 4 percent (FAO, 2011). Elimination of barriers against women working in certain sectors or occupations could increase output by raising women’s participation and labor productivity by as much as 25 percent in some countries through better allocation of their skills and talent (Cuberes and Teignier-Baqué, 2011).

Geraldine Fraser-Moleketi

Mrs. Geraldine Joslyn Fraser-Moleketi is the Special Envoy on Gender of the African Development Bank. Previously, she occupied the position of the Director of the United Nations Development Programme’s (UNDP) Democratic Governance Group, overseeing the organization’s related strategic and policy work in 197 countries and territories around the globe. She was also appointed by the Secretary General of the United Nations as a board member of the United Nations Institute for Training and Research.

Prior to joining UNDP, she served successive terms as Minister for Public Service and Administration in South Africa (1999 to 2008) and as Minister for Welfare and Population Development (1996-1999). She also served as National Deputy Elections Coordinator for the African National Congress from 1993/1994 in the lead up to South Africa’s first democratic elections of April 1994.