Por Inspiración Femenina
En la página oficial de ONU Mujeres hay una sección de perfiles de mujeres y articulos que han escrito. Hoy queremos compartir con ustedes el de Christine Lagarde, primera mujer en dirigir el Fondo Monetario Internacional.
Según ella hay tres claves para el empoderamiento económica de las mujeres, lo que ella llama las tres L's: learning, labor and leadership (educacion, trabajo y liderazgo)
Aquí están sus opiniones al respecto.
The 3 L’s of Women’s
Empowerment
By Christine Lagarde
Date: 31 August 2014
A former French minister for various economic
portfolios – including finance and employment, agriculture and
fisheries, and trade – Christine Lagarde was the first woman to
become finance minister of a G8 economy and is the first
woman to head the International Monetary Fund (IMF). She calls for opening
the door to women’s learning, labour and leadership in the economy.
The 21st century poses many challenges that require
new ways of thinking, none more important than the economic role of women in a
rapidly changing world.
The global economy is struggling to generate the
growth that can provide a better life for all, and all can contribute, yet
women remain blocked from contributing their true potential. This has a huge
cost: in some countries per capita incomes lag significantly because women are
denied equal opportunity. They represent half the world’s population, but
contribute far less than 50 per cent of economy activity. Indeed, the gap
between men and women in terms of measured economic activity ranges from 12 per
cent in the OECD countries to 50 per cent in the Middle East and North Africa.
What is needed to change this picture is a concerted
effort to open the door to opportunity with what I call the “3 L’s” of women’s
empowerment: learning, labour and leadership.
First learning: education is the foundation upon which
change is built. Learning helps women to help themselves and break the shackles
of exclusion. Nowhere is this more essential than in the developing world: one study of 60 countries estimates that the
economic loss from not educating girls at the same level as boys totals
USD 90 billion a year. Another study suggests that an extra year of
primary school boosts earning potential by 10-20 per cent, and 25 per cent for
an extra year of secondary education.
There is an African adage that goes: “If you educate a
boy, you train a man. If you educate a girl, you train a village.” This is not
only true, it is measurable. For example, women are more likely to spend their
resources on health and education, investing up to 90 per cent of their
earnings in this way compared with just 30-40 per cent for men. This spending
creates a powerful ripple effect throughout society and across generations.
If learning is just the first step, work is the
second: labour enables women to flourish and achieve their true potential.
But at present, when women participate in the
workforce, they too often tend to get stuck in low-paying, low-status and
low-security jobs — many in the informal sector of developing countries’
economies. Is it surprising then that women and girls are the main victims of
extreme poverty, representing 70 per cent of the billion people struggling to
survive on less than a dollar a day? Globally, women earn only three-quarters
as much as men — even with the same level of education and in the same
occupation. Surely one of our most basic norms should be “equal pay for equal
work”!
Recent IMF research shows that eliminating gender
gaps in economic participation can bring increases in per capita income. This
can have a major impact — women control the purse strings in most households
around the world, and more spending by women feeds into higher levels of demand
and economic growth.
How can we promote more opportunity for women in the
workplace? Sometimes it is about changing laws; for example, ensuring that
property and inheritance laws do not discriminate against women. It also means
policies that encourage education and healthcare, and provide greater access to
credit so that women can achieve greater economic independence. This is an area
where the IMF is working hard to help through our analytical and
capacity-building efforts in our member countries.
The playing field also must be leveled in richer
countries. They need more pro-women, pro-family leave schemes; quality,
affordable childcare; individual (instead of family) taxation; and tax credits
or benefits for low-wage workers.
So learning and labour are key. The third “L” is
leadership: enabling women to rise and fulfil their innate abilities and
talents. Here, there is plenty of room for improvement: for example, women
constitute only 4 per cent of CEOs on the Standard and Poor’s list of 500
companies; and only one-fifth of parliamentary seats worldwide.
The irony is that when women lead they tend to do as
good a job, if not a better job. One
study shows that Fortune 500 companies with track records of raising
women to senior positions are far more profitable than the average firms in
their fields. Women also are less likely to engage in the reckless risk-taking
behaviour that sparked the global financial crisis in 2008. They are more
likely to make decisions based on consensus-building, inclusion, compassion and
with a focus on long-term sustainability.
It is true — and it is understandable, given the bias
that exists — that women sometimes lack confidence to match their competence.
But they need to change that mindset and reset the narrative in their favour.
So it is essential that women be ready to “dare the difference” — to take risks
and step outside their comfort zones.
Nonetheless, even those with the drive to succeed
continue to face barriers. So I have come to the view that gender targets and
quotas must play a role in ensuring women a place at the table. We must either
force change or stay mired in complacency.
Whether we are talking about providing primary
education for girls in a village, or executive positions for women in business,
it is time to create a world where all women can meet their potential without
impediment or prejudice and the world will reap the benefits. The three L’s
will help us get there.
- See more at:
http://beijing20.unwomen.org/en/news-and-events/stories/2014/8/oped-christine-lagarde#sthash.QKHbhiyM.dpuf
