GCL EventL Gender Equality and Female Empowerment 1st November 2011

1. Gender and the MDGs
Dr Claire Duncanson
School of Social and Political Science
University of Edinburgh
Global Community Links

2. Millennium Development Goals

3. Strengths
• Explicit inclusion of gender in goal 3 – powerful
symbol of success of feminist movement
(Subrahmanian 2004)
• Moves beyond economic understanding of
poverty – focus on education and healthcare
• Focus on maternal mortality
• Measurement
• Assessing obstacles to progress
• Accountability

4. Maternal Mortality
• 99% of maternal deaths occur in
global South (Freedman 2003)
• In S-SA, lifetime risk of dying in
pregnancy is 1 in 16 (Panos 2005)
• Children 3-10 times more likely to
die within two years of mother’s
death (Fraser 2005)
• Maternal mortality rates
– UK: 8 deaths per 100,000 live births
– Malawi: 1,140 deaths per 100,000
live births (Guardian 2010)

5. Weaknesses
• MDGs = “Major Distraction
Gimmick” (Antrobus, 2005)
• MDGs don’t capture the reality of
poverty as experienced by women
• MDGs neglect Human Rights
Framework of CEDAW (‘79), Cairo
(‘94) and Beijing (‘95)
• MDGs technical tool for a political
problem
• MDGs serve the neo-liberal agenda

6. Way Forward
• Rights-based
approach to MDGs
• Empowerment of
grassroots women
• Tackle gender
inequality (rather
than just adding
women)

7. Further Reading: Monitoring the
MDGs
• UN Women:
http://www.unifem.org/gender_issues/millennium_developm
ent_goals/
• The Guardian: http://www.guardian.co.uk/global-
development/millennium-development-goals
• Buvinic, M., Morrison, A.R., Sjoblom, M. and A. Waafas Ofosu-
Amaah (2008) Equality for Women: Where Do We Stand on
Millennium Goal 3? World Bank, available at
http://siteresources.worldbank.org/INTGENDER/Resources/Eq
ualityforWomenfinal.pdf

8. Further Reading: Critical Perspectives
and Debates
• Barton, Carol and Laurie Prendergast (eds) (2005) Seeking
accountability on women's human rights: Women debate the
Millennium Development Goals, New York: Women's
International Coalition for Social Justice.
• Subrahmanian, R. (2004) ‘Promoting gender equality’ in R.
Black and H. White (eds.) Targeting Development. Critical
Perspectives on the Millennium Development Goals
• Sweetman, C. (2005) Gender and the Millennium
Development Goals