Insights
Enhancing Gender Equality in Technology in SIDS BY Margaux Granat
Lifting barriers to gender-responsive infrastructure BY Chengchen Qian
The concept of the green economy centres on integrating key aspects of economic performance – such as poverty reduction, job creation and social inclusion – with those of environmental performance. As such it inherently places a significant emphasis on gender, with women constituting approximately 70 per cent of the 1.3 billion people living on less than US$1 a day and hence the majority of those populations adversely affected by climate change and environmental degradation. Because women tend to be more dependent on common property resources (i.e. water, food or wood) and more vulnerable to the impacts of natural resource degradation than men, environmental protection and green policies can help improve gender equality, with many economic and social co-benefits.
Several studies, indicate that improving gender equality and women’s participation leads such as female education and women’s share of employment, can have a positive impact on economic growth (UN Women, 2014). It can enhance productivity, improve development outcomes for future generations, and increase the quality of societal policies and institutions, including more representative decision making.
Relevance to the SDGs
Sustainable and inclusive societies allow for economic prosperity and equal access to opportunities for all. Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 5 aims to redress the disproportionate impact on women and girls of economic, social and environmental shocks and views women as central actors, recognising that their knowledge, agency and collective action can improve resource productivity and encourage the sustainable use of natural resources.
Explore green growth resources related to SDG 5:
Women-owned SMEs in developing countries face an estimated credit deficit of nearly $1.5 trillion per current estimates. Women entrepreneurs are more likely to face higher interest rates, be required to collateralize a higher share of the loan, and have shorter-term loans. Lack of networks, knowledge, and links to high value markets further limit female entrepreneurship.
Green finance approaches could help unlock the potential of women to participate more in the global economy and mitigate some of the gender-specific risks from climate change impacts. It is estimated that there are about 8 to 10 million formal SMEs with at least one women owner in developing countries and access to green finance is especially difficult for them. In particular, microfinance has been a powerful catalyst for empowering poorer women in rural areas. But as women entrepreneurs grow, they need financial products and services that go beyond their ability to access finance.
Gender considerations also need to be integrated into the design and operationalization of dedicated green finance mechanisms. This can be done by explicitly introducing gender criteria in performance objectives and measurement frameworks which can drive empowerment and gender equality. A number of important financing vehicles now include gender perspectives, such as the Green Climate Fund and the Global Environment Facility.
Economies grow faster and are more productive when more women participate in the labour market. Studies show that if as many women were employed as men, the global GDP would increase by more than 26% by 2025. The IMF found that employing more women in general results in increased productivity and diversity of viewpoints. For businesses, this diversity of viewpoints has been shown to increase creativity in generating new ideas and solutions, leading to improved financial performance. Additionally, women who perform tasks such as water collection and livestock keeping have high levels of local environmental knowledge that businesses can benefit from in their greening of operations. Initiatives such as the ILO’s Women’s Entrepreneurship Development Programme work to empower women in developing countries and support them in starting and growing businesses.
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