Contributing Writers: Azad Ali, Tangerine Clarke,
Nelson King,
Vinette K. Pryce, Bert Wilkinson
GENERAL INFORMATION (718) 260-2500
Caribbean L 12 ife, MARCH 5-11, 2021
By Raghbendra Jha
CANBERRA, Australia,
March 3, 2021 (IPS) – The
COVID-19 pandemic (henceforth
pandemic) has women
particularly hard. In almost
all countries, women constitute
the bulk of the labour
force in the service sector,
which was hardest hit by the
pandemic. Furthermore,
they also represent a disproportionate
share of the
work force in particularly
vulnerable sectors such as
health care. Women also
have disproportionate if not
sole responsibility for home
work including taking care
of children.
In many developing countries
where most families are
engaged in the informal sector
women also had to bear
the additional cost of their
men folk losing their jobs as
workplaces were shut down
because of persistent and
repeated lockdowns.
ht tp: //www. ipsnews.
net/2020/07/impact-covid-
19-women-children-southasia/
Furthermore, there
is evidence to suggest that
during the pandemic, casualization
of the work force
has increased substantially.
Because of their filial responsibilities,
women are disproportionately
represented in
the causal work force. This
has meant a further loss in
incomes for many women.
When analysing women’s
attainments it is helpful
to view it as a sequence of
two steps. First, one could
look at indicators of human
development followed by
women’s actual attainments
in terms of wages, salaries
and representation in key
positions.
Indicators of human
development disaggregated
by gender is available in
the Gender Development
Index (GDI) computed and
published annually by the
UNDP as part of its Human
Development Report.
http://hdr.undp.org/en/
content /gender-development
index-gdi
The GDI views disparities
women and men in three different
dimensions of human
development: health, schooling
and measures of living
standards. The GDI first
calculates Human Development
Indicators using these
three measures for both
women and men separately
and then takes the ratio of
the index for women to the
value of the index for men.
The closer this ratio is to 1,
the more equal is society for
both genders.
Every year the UNDP
computes this index for 167
countries which are classified
into five groups based
on the absolute deviation
from gender parity in HDI
values. This means that
grouping takes equally into
consideration gender gaps
favoring males, as well as
those favoring females.
The latest GDI for the
world as whole is 0.943,
with HDI value of 0.714 for
females and 0.757 for males.
Women marginally outperform
men in the area of life
expectancy; they have equal
attainment as men in expected
years of schooling but fall
behind men in key areas of
mean level of schooling and
gross national income per
capita by gender.
Although the GDI is a useful
measure, of how much
women are lagging behind
their male counterparts and
how much women need to
catch up within each dimension
of human development,
there are a number of areas
in which they are unable
to capture key underlying
trends. For instance, in the
area of nutrition within the
family standard measures
assume that there is equal
access for males and females
within the household. Recent
literature emphasizes that
this may not be the case.
Indeed, female children may
be discriminated against in
comparison to their male
counterparts.
https: //academic.oup.
com/wbro/article/10/1/1/168
4910?login=true
Moreover, in some countries
although enrolment of
females in primary is quite
robust, secondary female
enrolment in school drops
off. See chapter 8 of http://
www. springer.com/gp/
book/9781349953417
By William F. Kenny
I was born in the United
States on June 29, 1935. It was
an America founded on the belief
that every person is free to pursue
life, liberty and happiness.
I grew up with a fervent belief
that my country rewarded those
who tried hard. In many ways,
this belief was reinforced as I
worked my way up the ladder of
achievement.
Many years later, I found
myself in the city of Saigon
in Vietnam. There was a war
going on and I was in the role
of a psychiatrist supporting the
troops. I felt the humanity of
these young men who were risking
their lives. On the other
hand, I saw their commanders
pushing these men to commit
terrible crimes against the citizens
of Vietnam. This was a war
America had to win. Yet, it failed
in so many ways.
As the years went by, America’s
citizenry became just another
group to be manipulated. Decade
by decade, a small group
of men and women became
increasingly wealthy and powerful.
As a result, in my opinion,
the United States of America
evolved into a plutocracy. It’s
people found themselves without
a voice, unable to express
their concerns.
Our Constitution defines
the right of each citizen to be
heard by those in power. Yet for
almost 250 years, Black men
and women were barely recognized
by the governing majority.
Today, despite widespread
oppression, Black America has
been reaching for some level
of acceptance and power. With
unbelievable strength, intelligence
and humanity, Black
America is calling out to address
centuries of injustice.
Some people believe that a
wise king governs best. Others
say democracy is best, if you
can keep it. A plutocracy distorts
the equal spread of power
and influence in the country. All
decisions affecting prosperity,
liberty, freedom and mobility are
systematically distorted to favor
the few.
Currently, there is a great
struggle for the soul of America
which will decide whether we
can recapture our democracy
from the powerful elite.
I believe that the structure of
government is only one facet of
a democracy. Every country, no
matter how strong or wealthy,
eventually faces internal conflicts
and external threats. How
each country handles these
issues and its ability to provide
reasonable living for its citizens
is crucial.
A constitutional democracy is
only as good as its citizens and
its ability to avoid becoming a
plutocracy. For a true democracy
to succeed, we must constantly
be vigilant and willing to care
for and sacrifice for those who
are less successful and more in
need.
It is a hard thing to keep in
mind, but wonderful when each
of us sees everyone as a neighbor
rather than a threat.
William F. Kenny is a member
of Seniors Taking Action, a
group of activists who believe
that political engagement is
essential if democracy is to
flourish.
OP-EDS
In many developing
countries where
most families are
engaged in the
informal sector
women also
had to bear the
additional cost
of their men folk
losing their jobs as
workplaces were
shut down because
of persistent
and repeated
lockdowns.
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Women in Leadership Positions:
An economist’s view of
International Women’s Day
What it means to
live in a democracy
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