Gender inequalities in Rural Employment in Malawi - an overview

Gender inequalities in Rural Employment in Malawi - an overview

Malawi Country Profile - overview

Year of publication 2011

Pages 60

Product type Book (stand-alone)

Edition 1

Full item page

Synopsis (short abstract) This country profile aims to contribute to a better understanding of gender inequalities in rural settings in Malawi, and to serve as a policy support tool to better integrate gender equity and decent rural employment in agriculture and rural development policies and programmes. Malawi is a predominantly rural country with an agriculture-based economy. Rural areas in the country are characterized by poverty and a lack of decent work opportunities, the majority of which are in the agricultur e sector. Women are often more disadvantaged when it comes to decent work opportunities and face greater difficulty translating their labour into paid work and their paid work into higher and more secure incomes, which would ultimately lead to enhanced food security. Efforts are therefore needed to promote gender equity in policies and programmes, in order to support decent employment in rural areas.

Language English

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The Constitution of Malawi was adopted in 1994 and consists of 23 Chapters and 215 sections. It seeks to enshrine the principle of equality not only in general terms but it is also quite specific in mandating gender equality (section 13), promoting women’s rights (section 24), and prohibiting any kind of discrimination based on gender (section 20), even though it does not legally define discrimination.1 The Constitution also prohibits the National Assembly or any subordinate legislative authorit y from creating any law or taking any action that would abolish or infringe on people’s rights and freedoms as enshrined in the Constitution. In recent years, the Law Commission has reconstituted the special Commission on Gender Related Law Reforms. The programme for 2009 indicated that the new Commission would finalize the development of the Gender Equality Statute.
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This country profile, prepared by the Social Protection Division (ESP) of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), aims to contribute to a better understanding of the types and the degree of existing employment-related gender inequalities in rural settings of Tanzania Mainland and highlight key areas of attention for policy makers conducive to poverty reduction and food security. It constitutes an important added value to existing sources, most notably because it provid es rural-specific information and cross-examines different dimensions of inequality. The country profile assesses the nature and degree of existing gender disparities in employment and income in rural areas, linking them to factors such as education, age and wealth when possible. Tanzania Mainland remains a primarily rural country with an agriculture-based economy and significant rural-urban and regional socio-economic disparities. It is widely recognized that improving the performance of the ag riculture sector is critical for poverty reduction and food security. At the same time, a body of evidence has demonstrated that the underperformance of the agriculture sector is partially due to the existing gender inequalities in access, use and control of assets, resources, and services, including rural employment. Women, particularly in rural areas, are often disadvantaged in terms of decent work and income generating opportunities owing to limited access and control over resources, includin g education and training, land and decision-making powers. Rural women face greater difficulties in translating their labour into gainful and productive work that could ultimately lead to a reduction of poverty and enhancement of food security. Agriculture is the largest sector of employment in Tanzania Mainland, with the vast majority of rural women and men employed in agriculture, mostly as self-employed on their own farms. The present country profile identified persisting gender inequalities in Tanzania Mainland, particularly in terms of access to productive resources, income generating and employment opportunities, time-use patterns and educational possibilities.
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Despite Ghana's great progress in poverty reduction, an important share of rural men and women in the country still lack decent work opportunities. The Northern part of the country and rural areas in general are of major concern. Rural women in particular face greater difficulties in transforming their labour into more productive employment activities and their paid work into higher and more secure incomes. Similarly, the young rural population faces barriers in joining the labour market and mig ration is often a livelihood strategy. Efforts to promote gender equity in labour markets and income generating activities, as well as to support decent employment initiatives in rural areas, are hampered by the lack of comprehensive information on the multiple dimensions of social and gender inequalities, particularly in rural areas. This country profile developed by the Gender, Equity and Rural Employment Division (ESW) of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) addresses the lack of statistics and contributes to a better understanding of the types and the degree of existing gender inequalities in rural settings. The profile serves as a policy support tool for integrating and monitoring gender equity and decent rural employment in agriculture, food security, and rural development policies and programs.