Columnists
Tallying the Costs of Women's Participation
> BY SOON-YOUNG YOON
Copyright © 2002 by The Earth Times. All rights reserved

Nevertheless, scores of village women leaders threw their energies behind the modernization movement without counting the value of their output.

The women's movement has made some progress in awakening women to the value of their own labor. Worldwide, a small but influential number of women activists are paid as professionals, directors of NGOs, public service employees, or politicians. In contrast, the majority of women leaders work as unpaid volunteers who must foot the bill for political participation. And, although men also contribute to the common good, the burden of putting in free time lands squarely with women. For example, at the forthcoming World Summit on Sustainable Development, women from developing countries will receive small grants to cover travel costs and per diem. But in most cases, their work on biodiversity, reproductive and sexual health, and environment management will be offered as unpaid services. The director of Zimbabwe's Operation Green will spend hours analyzing data about sustainable development in preparation for the WSSD. To save money from her per diem, she will embark on a budget strategy familiar to any Third World woman who has attended an international meeting--share a cheap hotel room, skip meals, and walk instead of taking a taxi.

A serious look at the price women pay for social participation is long overdue because the democratic process is at stake. Economic hardships are one reason why women are unequally represented in almost all levels of governance. Some sectors such as trade and environment are particularly slow in advancing gender equity. According to the "Dialogue Paper by Women" submitted to governments in preparation for the World Summit on Sustainable Development, there are currently only 22 women ministers of environment in the world. In the Pacific islands, there are no women heads of meteorological services, and most other government agencies that deal with health and the environment are headed by men. The heavyweight organizations that help govern globalization such as the World Trade Organization are even more exclusive. In l999, the WTO included only 12 women among its 159 trade experts. Economic crises in developing countries related to structural adjustment further reduce political possibilities for women-just when women's involvement is most critical to economic recovery. As Principle 20 of the Rio Declaration, adopted in 1992 at the first Earth Summit, states, "Women have a vital role in environmental management and development. Their full participation is therefore essential to achieve sustainable development."

How would gender equality make a difference in sustainable development and how much would it cost? There are many areas of in which women are experts on how to get the job done: poverty eradication and sustainable livelihoods, restoration of the ecosystem, and sustainable consumption and production. The trick is to make sure women don't lose interest. Here is an idea that might get the UN's attention. It is time to send a "Women in Politics" bill to member states to cover the real value of women's work. A few figures that might be applied in the case of a UN conference include a grassroots leader's "consultancy fee" that should be set at a professional rate of $300 per day-a modest figure compared to most salaries. Then we should add modest overhead costs such as computer use, copying and telephone bills for accessing the Internet. Combined with child-care costs, care for the sick and elderly as well as household maintenance the end result would be about $3,000 per person. Multiply this by the thousands of women who show up at UN gatherings and a multi-million dollar value has been added through women's participation. But rewards, even the non-monetary kind like public recognition, are seldom forthcoming because gender accounts are invisible.

Not all is lost. Gender training and advocacy are making headway among men. One of the most articulate advocates for gender equality is Professor Emil Salim, former Minister of Population and Development in Indonesia and chairperson of the preparatory committee meetings for the forthcoming World Summit on Sustainable Development. He has identified women's empowerment as essential to the prevention of HIV/AIDS as well as the successful achievement of population goals. That rings true for feminists for whom the body is the first ecological territory that needs protection. The state's guarantee that women have rights over their bodies is an important gender policy on the environment. There have also been serious efforts to engender development projects in developing countries. For example, in Argentina, the biological Conservation Regional Economy Pilot Project encouraged the input of local women in data collection related to pesticide use in tobacco production. In the Islamic Republic of Iran, workshops on women's participation in environmental production were held to encourage women to be more involved in preserving natural resources. And in many Asian countries, women's projects have been organized in water and sanitation, reforestation, ecological management, energy production and eco-peace programs.

Some low-cost measures would also boost women's political participation. The women's caucus at UN meetings has called on governments and international institutions to commit to measurable goals and timetables to achieve at least 30 percent women in decision-making by 2003 and a 50/50 gender balance by 2005. Quotas have been shown to work in pressuring governments to take action. They also help create women-to-women networks and build up a critical mass of women leaders. At all UN meetings, governments can do their part by making sure that women's bureaus and ministries are represented on delegations. Politics shouldn't be all about money, but to level the playing field, resources as well as altruism should be shared equally between men and women.