A Strategy for Women and Gender Equality in Development Cooperation

Contents

• 1. Introduction
• 2. Summary
• 3. Development and gender equality
• 4. The road ahead
• 5. Priority areas
  • 5.1.1 Formal gender equality
  • 5.1.2 Human rights
  • 5.1.3 Violence against women
• 5.2 Decision-making processes
  • 5.2.1 Development processes
  • 5.2.2 Democratization processes
  • 5.2.3 Conflict prevention and peace processes
• 5.3 Economic participation
  • 5.3.1 International economic framework
  • 5.3.2 Economic reforms
  • 5.3.3 Industrial development
• 5.4 Education
  • 5.4.1 Basic education
  • 5.4.2 Higher education
  • 5.4.3 Adult education
• 5.5 Health
  • 5.5.1 Primary health care
  • 5.5.2 Reproductive health
• 5.6 Management of natural resources and the enviroment
  • 5.6.1 Traditional knowledge
  • 5.6.2 Nutrition and health
• 6. Quality assurance and reporting

1. Introduction

Report No. 19 to the Storting (1995-96) "A changing world. Main elements of Norwegian policy towards developing countries" is based on the growing recognition that it is necessary to strengthen the position of women and promote the equitable distribution of rights and opportunities for women and men. Development cannot be sustainable if women do not participate fully in all aspects of this process and share in the benefits of progress. In Report No. 19 to the Storting, one of the primary objectives for Norwegian development cooperation is to strengthen the position of women and promote gender equality. Efforts to promote equality between women and men must therefore be intensified and improved in Norwegian development assistance activities.

The necessity of integrating women's concerns into Norwegian development assistance was first emphasized in Report No. 94 to the Storting (1974-75) concerning Norway's economic relations with developing countries. In 1984-85 the then Ministry of Development Corporation designed a strategic aid plan for women in development and Norway became one of the first countries in the world to apply such a strategy. In Report No. 51 to the Storting (1991-92) concerning trends in North-South relations and Norway's cooperation with developing countries, considerable emphasis was placed on women and development.

The overriding objective of Norwegian development cooperation policy is to contribute towards an improvement in economic, social and political conditions in developing countries within the framework of sustainable development. To achieve this objective, one of the five main areas targeted is the promotion of equal rights and opportunities for women and men in all areas of society. It is not enough for development assistance to apply to individual projects directed towards women. Equal rights and opportunities for women and men must be integrated into all aspects of development cooperation. It is not a question of simply changing the attitudes and behaviour of individual women and men. If the process of creating equal rights for women and men is to succeed, a radical development process at a national level is required. This in turn requires political will. It is a question of a long-term change stemming from society's need to utilize the knowledge and experience of both women and men. Gender equality is a national concern and not just a matter of women's rights, as Norway has already discovered by its own experience. Norway is a world leader as far as gender equality is concerned, and this creates expectations as regards Norway's involvement in international development cooperation. Nonetheless, Norway has not reached the finishing-post, but is in the middle of a development process leading to an equitable society.

This strategy is meant as a guide to the administration of development cooperation in Norway and abroad and a documentation of Norwegian priorities with regard to women and gender equality vis-à-vis development cooperation partners in the North and South. It provides background information on how Norwegian authorities may assist developing countries in implementing policies to promote gender equality. The strategy is intended to apply to both bilateral and multilateral assistance and to show these channels as integral parts of a whole. The strategy also applies to humanitarian assistance and is intended to enhance the effect of Norwegian development assistance funds.

2. Summary

Rights:

Development assistance is to contribute towards formal gender equality.

Development assistance is to contribute to the accession by all countries without reservation to the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women.

Development assistance is to follow up the principle that women's rights are human rights.

Development assistance is to focus on measures to reduce violence against women.

Development assistance is to ensure that the discussion of women's rights is an obligatory part of Norway's dialogue with a partner country.

Decision-making processes:

Development assistance is to stress the importance of women participating at every decision-making level in the development process.

Development assistance is to help to ensure that women are involved in the planning and implementation of development assistance projects.

Development assistance is to stress the importance of women being included in delegations to international conferences and that the proportion of women on the staff of international organizations increases.

Development assistance is to support the political participation of women so that new social systems are formed as much by women as by men and that women are included in local decision-making processes.

Development assistance must ensure that both women and men are mobilized to vote in elections.

Development assistance must document the constructive role of women in the efforts to create peace and avoid violent conflict.

Economic participation:

Development assistance is to ensure that women are able to take part in economic development on an equal footing with men.

Development assistance must contribute towards safeguarding the gender perspective in the development of international trade regimes.

Development assistance is to play a part in acquiring more knowledge about the effect of the reform processes on women and men, and Norway gives priority to the task of ensuring that women's concerns are safeguarded in development programmes.

Development assistance is to support the development of a policy for trade and industry which ensures that women take part and to help to direct attention towards women's work and their use of time.

Development assistance is to contribute to efforts in the agricultural sector to give women rights to the land they cultivate and income from its yield, and access to agricultural advisory services, credit and public support schemes.

Education:

Development assistance is to focus primarily on ensuring that girls can exercise their right to basic education.

Development assistance is also to contribute towards ensuring that women receive higher education and vocational training.

Development assistance must increase women's literacy and counteract the marginalization of women by modern technology.

Health:

Development assistance must contribute towards the development of good primary health care, which is crucial to women's health.

Development assistance is to ensure that health cooperation includes a focus on women's reproductive health and to support the right of women to decide how many children they want to have and when to have them.

Development assistance must direct attention towards sexually transmitted diseases such as HIV/AIDS.

Management of natural resources
and the environment:

Development assistance is to safeguard the interests of women affected by environmental degradation and the negative impact of interference with the natural landscape.

Development assistance is to actively make use of women's traditional expertise with regard to nature and the environment.

Development assistance is to ensure that women's knowledge about local nutritional and health needs is preserved in the development process.

3. Development and gender equality

Equality between women and men is essential to sustainable development. Women in developing countries, experience of bilateral and multilateral development cooperation, research and analyses have all contributed towards greater recognition of this fact. The World Bank has established that the most important socioeconomic investment is an investment in the education of girls. The major UN conferences and a number of global reports have concluded that full development cannot be achieved unless women and the resources they represent are integrated into the development process. As a result, there is a broad international consensus that gender equality contributes to and is essential to sustainable development.

The overriding objective of Norwegian South policy is to make a contribution towards improving economic, social and political conditions in developing countries within the framework of sustainable development. Combating poverty is an underlying principle in Norwegian development assistance, and the resolution of this problem requires both economic growth and social development. Successful growth and social development cannot be achieved without the contribution and participation of women. The UNDP Human Development Report 1996 focused attention on the connection between economic growth and human development, and concluded that lasting economic growth is dependent on investment in human resources. The report also pointed out that the oppression of women has a particularly negative impact on human development.

Poverty is a greater problem for women than for men. Approximately 70 per cent of the world's poor are women, and poverty has a more serious impact on women than on men. The feminization of poverty has become a concept as women make up a growing proportion of the world's poor. This is a result of the gender specific distribution of work and responsibility in the home. In most societies, the heaviest burden is borne by women. Women are poor because they have no money and because they do not receive an education or vocational training, and they have no access to power or productive resources. Poverty-oriented assistance must be oriented towards women. It is therefore important to use gender impact analyses as a basis for measures to reduce poverty. The feminization of poverty is a serious challenge which must be met by development cooperation initiatives as soon as possible.

The majority of the world's refugees are women. Humanitarian assistance is therefore often clearly targeted on women and children. However, it is still necessary for the administrators of Norwegian humanitarian assistance to ensure that development assistance is focused on women, and that the content and form of the assistance in practical terms is based on women's local experience.

Women make up half of the world's population, but in most countries they have fewer opportunities than men to influence, participate in and benefit from any progress. There is an imbalance between the burden of work borne by women compared with men and their access to resources and power. In many societies, women's ownership and inheritance rights are not on a par with those of men. Women also have less opportunity to find paid work or to participate in decision-making processes. There are far more poor women than men in the world, and of the 900 million people who are illiterate, 75 per cent are women. The UNDP Human Development Report 1995 shows that women have longer working days than men in virtually every country in the world. The women of the world hold a total of 10 per cent of the seats in national assemblies and 6 per cent of government positions. There are few women in executive posts in public administrations, trade and industry or international organizations.

Special initiatives and measures focused on women can compensate for disparities that leave women at a disadvantage relative to men. However, this is not enough if development is to be achieved that gives women and men equal rights, opportunities and obligations in all areas of life. This kind of development requires fundamental changes in a society. To achieve an equitable society, attention must also be focused on the responsibilities and role of men. Women and men must pull together to create a better and more equitable society. This means that gender equality must be integrated into all development cooperation efforts. An approach of this kind makes demands on all those involved in development administration in terms of general knowledge of cause and effect in this context. Working to achieve gender equality through development cooperation is time-consuming, and adequate resources must be made available to achieve success.

4. The road ahead

The situation of women has long been a concern of Norwegian development cooperation. Over the last twenty years, Norwegian development cooperation allocations have been used to fund a number of women-oriented multilateral and bilateral projects. Through its bilateral development cooperation activities, Norway has conducted a dialogue with national authorities and women's organizations to promote the integration of the gender perspective into development work. In the priority partner countries, support has been given via the country programmes for measures implemented by recipient authorities and via other channels of funding for local NGOs.

Women's concerns have figured prominently on the international agenda throughout the 1990s because of the major UN conferences. The results that have been achieved here must be followed up in both a bilateral and a multilateral context. Serious violations of women's rights over time in a particular country will be liable to have consequences for the volume and direction of Norwegian development assistance to that country. Norway's dialogue with the recipient country is of primary importance in this regard. It is essential to use dialogue and consultations to agree on priorities in a given country, in order to exert an influence and to ensure the implementation of gender equality objectives. Norwegian development cooperation can be an effective means of influencing political processes within countries and regions. With regard to many developing countries, this may mean that in dialogue with a partner country Norway has to raise difficult issues of a traditional, religious or cultural nature so as to be able to focus on women's rights. It is equally important that these concerns are incorporated into the various levels of planning in the recipient countries within the public administration and in civil society. At the same time, it is important to ensure that women take part in the planning and implementation of development measures.

In multilateral development cooperation organizations, the Norwegian authorities have utilized different instruments to gather support for a gender sensitive profile. Norway has been able to follow up issues by making financial contributions to the implementation of measures and projects. Norway has financed and supported the establishment of separate women's divisions and women's adviser positions in the organizations. Norwegian representatives have also been careful to emphasize the importance of the gender perspective both in informal situations when they have been in contact with representatives of the multilateral development assistance organizations and in formal meetings. Norway has cooperated closely with the other Nordic countries in this area. Together, these methods have helped to build up an essential political foundation in the various organizations at the core of which is the importance of involving women at every level of the development process.

The fact that heavy-weight multilateral actors such as the World Bank and the UN Development Program have produced reports stressing the importance of women's participation in a country's development has led to a growing international awareness of this issue. The major conferences on specific topics arranged by the UN in the last few years, such as the International Conference on Population and Development, the World Summit for Social Development and the Fourth World Conference on Women, have all stressed the importance of women participating in the development process and have helped to generate an international consensus on the importance of gender equality. The action plan from the Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing focuses in particular on the national responsibility for advancing the position of women. Norway has an important role to fill in encouraging countries to follow up this responsibility by means of multilateral and bilateral assistance activities.

The results achieved through multilateral processes have given a new legitimacy to the gender perspective in development processes. If the effort to develop a society based on gender equality is to be successful, this achievement must be exploited and continued in bilateral development cooperation. It is important to document the impact of the gender dimension in social development, and contact with research communities, including any support for research activities related to this topic, is a key instrument in achieving the goal of development assistance which is sensitive and responsive to gender concerns.

Financial transfers are not necessarily the most important tool to assist a country in choosing a path of development which safeguards women's interests and has a positive impact on gender relations. Norway must play its part in raising the level of knowledge about these relations in recipient countries. It is particularly important to establish contact with civil society and organized groups who work locally to improve women's opportunities and rights. NGOs have expertise and enthusiasm which complement the cooperation conducted between states. Women's organizations have also been actively involved in developing transnational networks. Organizations also generate interest at grass-roots level in a way that is not possible for public authorities. NGOs can serve as an appropriate channel for contributing both to institutional development and to the transfer of expertise to the people of a society. Whether measures to promote institutional development are channelled via a private or a public organization, it is important to be aware that such measures are not gender neutral, and that they must be targeted in such a way as to strengthen the position of women.

Institutional development is an important priority area for Norwegian development assistance as it enhances the ability of the recipient country to manage its own development. Norway should continue to give priority to support for the development of institutions and organizations which have a particular responsibility for improving the situation of women. This is an area which lends itself to cooperation between Norwegian institutions and institutions or organizations in the partner country.

Recipient responsibility is a fundamental principle governing the activities of both Norwegian development assistance and of international development assistance organizations. Policies adopted by national assemblies or governing bodies must be translated into concrete action in collaboration with national authorities. Norwegian development assistance policy is conducted in the form of state-to-state cooperation or through multilateral financial and development assistance organizations. The development of a country, however, depends entirely on that country's own policy. Recipient responsibility means that the recipient is responsible for planning, implementing and following up development assistance measures. The recipient's commitment is therefore essential to the success of such measures. The role of development assistance is to encourage and support the relevant parts of developing countries' own development plans. The principle of recipient responsibility means that the Norwegian authorities must present clear attitudes and views on priorities when engaged in dialogue directly with the recipient country at a local or central level or in multilateral fora.

When decisions are made on priority as regards the various sectors, various projects within the sectors and the content of those projects, the gender perspective must be given consideration. In international development cooperation, country strategies and sector strategies must be based on a thorough analysis of the relationship between women and men. Information on the respective positions and status of women and men in a society and the relationship between the sexes is important in order to form a holistic picture of the distribution of resources and responsibility, advantages and rights, and power and privileges. Before bilateral assistance projects and programmes are set in motion, gender impact assessments are to be carried out so as to make it possible to assess the possible consequences for women and men respectively. An assessment of this kind will clarify whether the recipient should carry out a gender impact analysis. Gender impact assessments and analyses should also be important elements in the work of multilateral organizations. The needs of women and men must also be assessed in relation to the substantial Norwegian contribution to refugee and emergency relief work.

Norwegian development assistance must strive towards better coordination of measures implemented in bilateral and multilateral contexts. The donors, comprising various actors such as multilateral organizations, donor states and national and international NGOs, must cooperate more closely at a local level so as to underscore important common motives. This will enhance the impact of the development assistance and is a prerequisite if the objective of gender equality is to be reached.

5. Priority areas

Norwegian development assistance is to contribute to the promotion of

• equal rights and opportunities for women and men in all sectors of society.

The basis for this strategy lies in the Government's wish to " make systematic efforts to ensure that the women's and gender equality perspectives are integrated into international development cooperation and in Norwegian aid" (Report to the Storting no. 19, 1995-96). This is in keeping with the recommendations (para. 38) made by the UN Conference on Women in Beijing that the gender perspective must form the basis of policies in all sectors and areas.

What should be given priority in Norwegian development assistance in the years ahead, bearing in mind the gender perspective? Which international trends should be encouraged, and which sectors should have priority?

Norwegian development assistance policy is to contribute towards promoting equal rights and opportunities for women and men in all areas of society. In order to achieve this goal, Norway will in the years leading up to 2005 give priority to efforts on behalf of women and gender equality in the following areas:

• rights
• participation in decision-making processes
• economic participation
• education
• health
• management of natural resources and the
• environment

5.1 Rights

Democratic participation, the rule of law and human rights are key factors for Norwegian development assistance policy. Genuine democracy presupposes gender equality, equality for women and men under the law and respect for human rights.

The subordinate position of women is maintained in many countries by means of a discriminatory judicial system and by invoking tradition, religion and culture. Women and girl children are subjected to discrimination and abuse in many contexts in all stages of life. The most extreme example of oppression appears in many cultures at the very start of life when girls are victims of gender selective abortions.

To make a contribution towards reducing the discrimination and abuse of women and girls is a challenging perspective. The judicial system is very important to the position of women in a society and forms a necessary foundation for the protection and promotion of women's rights. However, de jure rights are not the same as de facto rights.

Women are often wary of the public domain and this can explain why women contact the informal judicial system related to cultural tradition or religion more often than men. Women's rights in a country cannot be strengthened without knowledge of these informal judicial systems. Norway was one of the first to establish a Department of Women's Law at the University of Oslo and, with the support of Norwegian development assistance funds, this department has helped to develop expertise in this field in some of Norway's partner countries.

The Conference on Women in Beijing confirmed and reinforced the decisions made at the World Conference on Human Rights in Vienna in 1993. The action plan from the Beijing conference establishes that women's rights are human rights and not a separate category of rights. The document also opens up the possibility of viewing women's rights in the reproductive and sexual context as human rights. In addition, the Beijing document establishes the principle of equal inheritance rights for girls and boys. Progress was also made in Beijing with regard to preventing the prosecution of women who have had an illegal abortion.

5.1.1 Formal gender equality

One of the objectives of Norwegian development assistance policy is to contribute towards formal and actual gender equality. In many countries, there is a need for legislative reform in order to improve women's rights. Women must be assured the independent right to enter into contracts, to own land, to inherit, to have control of their own money and to borrow money, and access to the labour market. For women to be able to make use of their rights, they must know of the existence of such rights. It is therefore not enough to gain recognition for these rights unless they are made known. Norway stresses the importance of integrating the gender perspective into the general effort for the development of democracy and the promotion of the principles of the rule of law.

In the context of multilateral cooperation, it is important to work to ensure that as many countries as possible accede to the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women. The Convention, which spans a wide range of issues, is often called "a tool for development". Today, although many countries have acceded to the convention, many of them have entered extensive reservations. Norway will therefore work to encourage countries to accede to the Convention without reservation and urge countries that have already acceded to the Convention to retract or modify any major reservations.

Norway will work to see that the discussions on women's rights in international fora are continued in bilateral cooperation fora at both regional and national levels. A country's status with regard to accession to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women and the rights and duties this involves for the partner country comprise useful background knowledge in this context. The discussion of women's rights should be an obligatory part of Norway's dialogue with the partner country. Technical assistance may be warranted in connection with the development of appropriate legislation and guidelines, or to build up institutional mechanisms. It is also important, however, to support civil society in its efforts to improve existing rights and to disseminate information about them.

Formal rights have also become an issue in the context of humanitarian assistance. Different rights for men and women can become particularly apparent in the context of refugee repatriation. In situations requiring emergency relief, it is often most appropriate to target assistance on women.

5.1.2 Human rights

Development assistance policy is intended to follow up the international breakthrough for the principle that women's rights are human rights. Norway will stress the importance of integrating the gender perspective into human rights efforts in general. These rights have traditionally been viewed as men's rights, because women were simply not regarded as individuals but as members of a man's household.

In relation to human rights for women, Norway should focus its main efforts on normative action in a multilateral context and on international monitoring of national commitments. Norway will keep abreast of the progress made by the UN Commission on the Status of Women and the Commission on Human Rights with a view to developing a better means of protecting the human rights of women. Norway must play a part in ensuring that decisions are followed up in the UN, UN funds and programmes and in the specialized agencies.

In bilateral cooperation, it will be important to make the Norwegian position clear on the issue of women's rights. Norway will work to further the growing international recognition that women's rights are also human rights. Local and national initiatives concerning human rights of women will be given high priority. Contact with non-governmental human rights' organizations in the partner country is important because as a rule human rights issues must be highlighted by actors outside the public administration.

5.1.3 Violence against women

Violence against women and girls, inside and outside the home, poses a challenge at both a global and a local level. The large number of armed conflicts severely affect women and children, and the majority of refugees are women and children. In this kind of situation, sexual abuse is alarmingly widespread, partly as a result of chaos and the dissolution of social norms. Rape is used as a deliberate strategy and instrument of warfare in civil wars and other instances of armed conflict. Private violence, i.e. violence against women in the private sphere, has relatively recently been recognized as an international concern. The UN General Assembly adopted a declaration in 1993 on violence against women, defined as any act of gender-based violence that results in, or is likely to result in, physical, sexual or psychological harm or suffering to women, including threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether occurring in public or in private life. In 1994, the UN Commission on Human Rights appointed a special rapporteur for violence against women.

Norway will focus particular attention on measures to reduce private and public violence against women and measures directed towards women affected by armed conflict.

It is important that Norwegian development assistance also meets the special needs of women in connection with emergency relief and rehabilitation. Efforts must also be made within the context of humanitarian assistance to be alert to women's need for assistance as a result of violent acts. Involvement in emergency relief may provide valuable insight into and experience of these needs, which may prove useful in long-term development cooperation.

Within multilateral cooperation, Norway will focus on the subject of violence against women. Norway will continue to support the development of enhanced international legal protection for women who have been subjected to violence. This will be taken into account in the development of international courts of criminal law, tribunals and similar organs. Norway will also contribute towards increasing expertise on women's role in conflicts, as victims and as resolvers of conflicts. These considerations must also be incorporated into the development assistance programmes run by multilateral organizations.

Attention must also be focused on bilateral measures to reduce private and public violence against women. It will be important to focus on awareness campaigns and on support for institutions performing this kind of work.

5.2 Decision-making processes

The overall objective is to give women the right and the opportunity to participate on an equal footing with men in all aspects of society. An increase in women's participation is critical for ensuring democratic development and for ensuring that women can participate in laying the basis for social development. This applies in particular to development cooperation. Women's participation must be strengthened at every level, from involvement in local planning to increased participation at executive level. In order for women to be able to participate fully in social development, their combined productive and reproductive role must be taken into consideration and preparations made to accommodate it.

It is crucial that women participate in decision-making processes in the public sector so that their experience can benefit the entire community. In addition, it ensures that women's interests are included in the decision-making processes. Experience has shown, however, that female representation has to exceed a certain percentage if gender-specific viewpoints and values are to have a real effect on decision-making. Female representation of 30 per cent would seem to be a minimum.

5.2.1 Development processes

It is widely accepted that women must participate in the development process. However, it is often difficult to achieve women's participation in practice and efforts must be made at every level of the development process to rectify this. It is particularly important that women take part in the preparation, design and implementation of initiatives in multilateral and bilateral development assistance.

Norwegian representatives will continue their work in the multilateral system to ensure that international organisations uphold their objectives of adequate participation by both women and men. Most of the UN development assistance organizations and financial institutions have made commitments to pursue such objectives. Norway will call for feedback in the form of reports and will support the efforts of the organizations to follow up their objectives. This applies to women's participation in the central organizational apparatus as well as in the planning and implementation of programmes and projects at a local level. Norway will continue to contribute to women's participation in national delegations to major international conferences and to increasing the proportion of women in international organizations, particularly in high-ranking positions.

In the bilateral dialogue with the authorities in partner countries, Norway will contribute to women's participation in the planning and implementation of development assistance projects. It may be necessary to focus in particular on ensuring that the authorities possess the required knowledge about the importance of women's participation.

The participation of women in decision-making processes with regard to the composition and distribution of emergency relief must also be secured. It is particularly important to base the choice of support that is provided on women's knowledge of local nutritional and health needs.

5.2.2 Democratization processes

An important part of Norwegian development assistance has in recent years been allocated in support of democratization processes. A number of countries in Europe and Africa have done away with authoritarian regimes. Support for the development of democratic forms of government is a relevant initiative in both bilateral and multilateral development cooperation.

In the context of democratization, it is crucial to consider how women's participation in the development of the new social system can be assured. A substantial proportion of humanitarian assistance is used to support the implementation of democratic elections, often financing measures designed to encourage the population to take part. It is important to ensure that both women and men are mobilized to vote in elections. The methods that are directed towards men often do not reach women, and other methods must be applied in other circles more familiar to women.

Women's participation in local decision-making processes is an important objective for both bilateral and multilateral development cooperation. This objective can be achieved either indirectly by means of technical improvements which can ease the constraints on their time, or directly by the use of measures that develop women's level of competence and experience with regard to political participation. Emphasis will be given to developing this competence at a local level. Norway will contribute towards competence-building in recipient authorities so as to integrate women into national policy and development planning.

Norwegian development assistance will contribute towards laying the foundation for women's political participation. To achieve this, a broad network of contacts among national women's organizations is a necessity.

5.2.3 Conflict prevention and peace processes

Recently, Norwegian development assistance has been increasingly channelled into ongoing conflict prevention and peace processes. Substantial Norwegian contributions have been made to this kind of process in the former Yugoslavia, Guatemala, Mozambique and the Middle East and in a number of other countries. The interests of women as a target group are often adequately safeguarded, but there is little attention to women as actors in these peace processes. However, there is much evidence to suggest that women on the basis of their experience can contribute constructively in the efforts to prevent conflict and achieve peace. This is a field in which little research has been carried out, and there is a need to document correlation between the various factors. Norwegian devel-opment assistance should therefore contribute towards focusing attention on women's constructive role in peace-making and conflict prevention.

5.3 Economic participation

Women's economic participation in developing countries is limited by a number of factors. Firstly, economic participation has to be combined with other duties such as responsibility for childcare and the household. Women's formal economic participation is also limited because they do not have the same opportunities for education and vocational training as men. Moreover, women have restricted access to credit and the means of production, a problem that is often exacerbated by the lack of inheritance and ownership rights.

Economic growth is a necessary prerequisite for poverty reduction in a society but is not sufficient on its own. Measures designed to create economic growth must be accompanied by measures that will contribute to social and human development. Norwegian development assistance will contribute to securing rights for those who are weakest on the basis of the premise that a more equitable distribution will create a better world for everyone. In this perspective, it is important to ensure that women can take part in economic and social development on an equal footing with men.

A woman in the developing countries is often the food producer of the family and as such has the primary responsibility for the family's welfare. Women invest more of their income in their children's health and education than men do. Strengthening women's economic situation means in reality that the family and the local community is supported in a more direct manner than if similar investments had been directed toward the male sector of the population.

5.3.1 International economic framework

Developing countries are often weak trading partners and it will be to their advantage that trade takes place within a multilateral system that provides stable and predictable economic conditions. The international trade regime has reached a milestone with the establishment of the World Trade Organization, WTO. As international trade regimes are developed further, at the point of intersection between Norwegian trade policies and Norwegian development assistance policies, a gender perspective must be incorporated. It is crucial that women also benefit from improvements in international economic conditions, which are of great importance to development in the South. This is above all a challenge in terms of Norway's efforts in the multilateral system.

5.3.2 Economic reforms

Reforms are often necessary if a country is to build up a sustainable economy which can provide satisfactory conditions for the welfare of its inhabitants. Economic reform programmes have made little allowance for the fact that the reforms have different consequences for women and men because women and men have as a rule different positions in the market. There is a strong indication that women do not benefit from the reform processes to the same extent as men and that they are less able than men to take advantage of the opportunities created as a result of the reforms. There are plans for increased research efforts in this field. Norway intends to stress the importance of acquiring greater knowledge about the effect of the reform processes on women and men respectively in the bilateral as well as the multilateral arenas.

It is a priority for Norway to see that the reform programmes are designed and implemented in a manner that safeguards women's concerns in particular. The World Bank is an important arena for this kind of policy, and Norway will underscore the importance of these concerns in the Bank's governing bodies and through active participation in other fora dealing with this subject. Norway will also contribute financially towards concrete measures in the multilateral system which promote the social aspects of the reform processes. However, the reform programmes are set in motion by national authorities, and it is therefore important that Norway also makes a contribution in a bilateral context towards encouraging the authorities to give priority to the gender question in the planning and implementation of macroeconomic reforms.

5.3.3 Industrial development

One of the subsidiary objectives of Norwegian development assistance is the development of the private sector. It is crucial that measures to promote development of the private sector are based on a conscious appreciation of how women can contribute to and participate in this development. Norway will help to ensure that initiatives taken by multilateral organizations for the private sector take account of women's concerns, and that, in their dialogue with the authorities, organizations promote a policy on trade and industry that ensures the participation of women. This will also be stressed in Norway's bilateral contact with developing countries.

Women's economic participation is often linked to the informal sector and is on a small scale. To have any real possibility of economic participation, women must be given access to loans and credit. Micro-credit is an important method of enhancing women's economic participation. Norway will continue its efforts to make women's work and use of time visible in a country's national economy. This might be done by attaching what are termed satellite accounts to the national budgets, for example.

Women's economic involvement is often on a small scale. This is due to the fact that women are obliged to combine their economic activities with childcare and household duties. Norway will contribute to the implementation of measures to ease this part of women's burden of work so that time can be freed for participation in economic activities.

The agricultural sector is an important priority area with regard to strengthening women's economic position. This applies particularly to Africa, where women are responsible for most of the food production. Norwegian development assistance will intensify its efforts to develop more productive, differentiated agricultural systems. In the light of women's key role as food producers, it is essential to ensure that they have rights to the land they cultivate, the right to own and inherit land, access to agricultural advisory services, credit and public support schemes, and full rights to profits from the sale of their produce.

Humanitarian assistance is also relevant with regard to women's role in economic life. It is important to target emergency measures on women, for example when seed and hoes are being shared out. This will be particularly relevant in connection with repatriation processes.

5.4 Education

A number of studies show that investing in women's education is the single investment that yields the highest social return. Educated women have fewer children whose overall health is better and who are more likely to receive an education themselves. Education gives improved income opportunities, strengthens cultural bonds and promotes women's participation in democratic processes.

Education is the primary means of strengthening women's position. This has become a familiar topic in international fora, not least after the Conference on Women held in Beijing. According to the Convention on the Rights of the Child, every child has a right to an education. Nonetheless, in many developing countries girls are subject to systematic discrimination. Boys are more often sent to school, while girls are held back. Boys are given time to do homework, while girls must give priority to household chores. There are complex economic and cultural reasons for this. Some parents have reason to fear for girls' safety both on the way to and at school. Many girls become pregnant and become responsible for their own children at an early age. As a result, the drop-out rate for girls is far higher than for boys. School grades are also lower and failure rates higher for girls than for boys. These gender disparities present major challenges to development cooperation strategies.

Creating a school system which ensures that girls can exercise the right to an education requires a major political effort from national authorities. The authorities must provide a safe school environment and relevant teaching, take action to motivate the local community and build up a coherent educational system. The national authorities must also take on the considerable task of guiding the development of the educational system and coordinating donors' contributions so as to support its progress.

5.4.1 Basic education

The Norwegian authorities are particularly concerned to see that girls can exercise their right to basic education. Making basic education available to all should be an objective in order to enhance the opportunity for all girls to get an education. It is important that donors support the country's sector plan for education. In dialogue with the partner country, Norway must keep abreast of what other donors, including multilateral donors, are doing and stress the importance of girls completing their education. It is important that all actors, multilateral and bilateral alike, emphasize the importance of girls' right to basic education on a par with boys. This is also an important consideration in the context of refugee work and thus in relation to humanitarian assistance.

Insofar as Norway wishes to contribute to changing a national school system, it would be appropriate to channel support through the multilateral system. The major international organizations have the expertise and the apparatus to undertake a project as large as this, requiring substantial resources of both time and money, in collaboration with national authorities. Norwegian bilateral assistance can supplement the efforts of the organizations and compensate for any inadequacies in girls' educational opportunities. This kind of compensation should be viewed in the context of Norway's dialogue on development assistance with national authorities. The objective of Norwegian development assistance is to support programmes and projects that will have a catalytic effect on the authorities and the priority they give to girls' education.

5.4.2 Higher education

Ensuring women's access to higher education and vocational training is also important. In many countries, it would for instance be an advantage if there was a greater proportion of female teachers. This is important in order to promote the necessary safety at school, because it serves as an important example and because it helps to strengthen the position of women in general in schools. Development assistance must therefore also contribute towards improving the expertise of school staff regarding girls' aptitudes and opportunities for receiving an education. The challenge lies in creating an understanding of the importance of these efforts among national authorities. Efforts should also be made to help parents and influential figures in the local community to understand gender issues. In all development assistance concerning higher education, whether multilateral or bilateral, efforts will be made to ensure that a substantial proportion of the measures implemented are targeted on women. Vocational training is also central to refugee and repatriation work.

5.4.3 Adult education

The majority of illiterate adults are women. The ability to read is necessary if women are to be able to participate in democratic development and benefit to a larger extent from economic development. Women must also have access to vocational training and to the use of science and technology in order to counteract the tendency for women to be marginalized by technological advances. These are important goals for both bilateral and multilateral development assistance projects.

5.5 Health

Women have a right to health services and all kinds of treatment on a par with men. In many parts of the world, health care, rights and access to services in relation to sexuality, pregnancy and childbirth are not available to women. Mortality rates for women are alarmingly high due to unsafe abortions and complications associated with childbirth. In order to change this state of affairs, attention must be focused on adolescent sexuality and the need for information and services. The cultural discrimination of women often has a serious negative impact on the health of women and girls; wife battering and genital mutilation are examples. Improving women's health thus depends on a general, integrated effort to strengthen the position of women. Closer attention must also be focused on men's role and responsibilities. Unless men become involved and change culturally induced attitudes to women, it will be difficult to alleviate many of the health problems women experience. When a woman's health is good, there is a ripple effect on the entire family. Thus, the socioeconomic impact of investing in women's health is considerable.

5.5.1 Primary health care

Good primary health care is essential to maintaining a satisfactory level of health in women. Norwegian development assistance policy must contribute towards the development of a good primary health system. Norway is in a position to contribute experience in this field since the Norwegian health service is very decentralized and includes a well-developed system of primary health care. This has been a central focus of Norwegian development assistance for many years. When building up a primary health service, it is particularly important to stress women's needs because they are so vital to the health of the whole family.

National authorities often rely on multilateral organizations with ample resources when developing their national health care system. In most countries, reform processes are in progress in the health sector and this means that the donors must cooperate and coordinate their efforts much more efficiently. Norway will therefore contribute to the development of a well organized primary health service both bilaterally and via financial support to multilateral organizations. Norwegian development assistance in this area should not only be in the form of money, but also in the form of expertise and institutional development.

5.5.2 Reproductive health

Women's reproductive health has been the focus of attention in connection with the Conference on Population and Development held in Cairo (1994) and again during the Conference on Women held in Beijing (1995). Reproductive health includes the whole range of health needs related to sexuality, pregnancy and childbirth. Norwegian development assistance will contribute towards safeguarding the reproductive health of women through cooperation programmes in the health sector. Approximately 30 per cent of women's health problems are related to reproductive health. It is therefore important to maintain a broad perspective on women's health and the need for measures, in keeping with the action plan from the Beijing conference.

In addition to the health aspect, women's right to choose the number and timing of their pregnancies is an important factor. Safeguarding women's reproductive health and rights is not only important in a gender perspective. It is also the most strategic approach to stabilizing population growth.

Sexually transmitted diseases such as HIV/AIDS require particular attention. The incidence of AIDS is increasing among women and particularly young girls, especially in Africa south of the Sahara. The problem must be viewed in relation to education, not only because the school has a key role in the dissemination of information and in improving girls' knowledge and self-determination, but also because HIV is transmitted in many cases from male pupils and teachers. The problem of HIV/AIDS must also be viewed in relation to prostitution. AIDS has serious ramifications beyond the individual woman, primarily for her family and the local community. When young parents fall ill and die, children and the elderly are left behind with no-one to care for them. In addition, agricultural production and other economic activities are affected and the health service overloaded. Norway has contributed substantial financial support to AIDS initiatives through both bilateral and multilateral channels and will continue to maintain a high profile in the international effort to combat AIDS. The gender perspective must remain a key element here.

5.6 Management of natural resources and the enviroment

Women's traditional duties are an integral part of the ecosystem, particularly as regards management of natural resources. They live with their families in close contact with the environment and are quick to register threats to natural resources, such as the degradation of soil, plants and water. In many agricultural societies, women carry out most of the work: cultivating the soil, tending livestock, preparing food, fetching water, collecting firewood and wild plants, dealing with waste, and managing the household. In some African countries, women are responsible for food production for as many as 75 per cent of the households. Women are often the first victims of local environmental degradation since their workloads increase with regard to fetching water, firewood and other natural resources, their access to land for cultivation is restricted and their health damaged by pesticides and by being malnourished and undernourished. It is therefore important to listen to women as regards their experience and needs and to include them in planning processes which involve changes to the environment.

Two important, concrete results of development cooperation following the UN Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) are the conventions on biological diversity and desertification. The convention on biological diversity is part of the effort to improve the management of natural resources and it endorses the transfer of funds to finance global environmental measures in developing countries. The desertification convention is particularly relevant to Africa and reaffirms the important role played by women in areas affected by desertification and drought. Norwegian development assistance must contribute towards ensuring that women's experience and expertise are integrated into national action to follow up the conventions.

5.6.1 Traditional knowledge

Women in developing countries have the main responsibility for food production and have key roles as managers of natural resources and the environment. These women possess knowledge and experience that is essential to decision-making with regard to the environment and sustainable development. Their livelihood is seriously affected by factors that alter the conditions for food production, such as an increase in funds allocated to fisheries or agricultural production for export. Women's experience must be taken into account when deciding whether to implement changes in production. The objective of Norwegian bilateral development assistance is to safeguard the interests of women who bear the burden of environmental degradation and the negative impact of interference with the natural landscape. At the same time, steps will be taken to ensure that women's valuable knowledge on this subject is utilized in bilateral development cooperation. This must also be followed up in the multilateral organizations.

5.6.2 Nutrition and health

Women possess considerable knowledge about nutrition and health which is of vital importance to the entire community. Women also have a key role as regards information and instruction about health and sanitation. Women are responsible for household water consumption, and to a large extent it is women who know which plants can be used for various purposes and which are necessary for a varied and nutritious diet. Norwegian development assistance must contribute towards safeguarding this knowledge and ensuring that it is taken into account in the development processes. Women's central role in natural resource management also makes them vulnerable to illness and injury. It is important to help to ensure that adequate consideration is given to women's health care because of their role as cornerstone for the health of the entire community. Multilateral organizations with expertise and experience in this field are important actors in this context. Their experience must be utilized in bilateral cooperation. Women's local knowledge about nutrition and the needs of the family and the local community is also an important contribution to improving the efficiency of humanitarian assistance.

6. Quality assurance and reporting

Increasing emphasis is being given to quality assurance of Norwegian development assistance. In addition to gender impact analyses, it is important to strengthen reporting by improving the criteria for reporting the results of development assistance in relation to specific goals. Thus, the results of integrating and promoting the gender perspective will be made more visible in annual reports. This applies to economic reporting which forms the basis of Norwegian development assistance statistics and of a qualitative evaluation. In the ongoing efforts to improve the reporting systems, the administration must stress the importance of finding good performance indicators for monitoring the progress of measures to promote the participation of women and gender equality. It will be a requirement that reports specifically give an account of the results achieved in relation to recipients of Norwegian development assistance, whether multilateral organizations, partner countries or NGOs.

Development assistance oriented towards gender equality is, however, largely dependent on a qualitative evaluation. Many important initiatives cannot be reflected in economic statistics. This strategy will therefore provide a basis for qualitative feedback on the situation in our partner countries. Country reports are to include an account of the progress made in relation to women-in-development and gender equality issues and comments on Norwegian initiatives. Reports are to indicate factors which promote, or prevent, the implementation of gender policies. In multilateral organizations, gender concerns will be a permanent item on the agenda for Norway's consultative meetings with these organizations. An account of the progress made should also figure in the minutes from the organizations' annual meetings when this topic is included in the agenda.

The above will form the basis of annual reports to the Minister of Development Cooperation on the way in which the objectives of strengthening the position of women and achieving gender equality are being followed up in Norwegian development assistance.

Information

Information from the Royal Ministry og Foreign Affairs:

Material from the MFA's Information Section, fax + 47 22 24 27 87

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Propositions and reports to the Storting and other government publications (available in Norwegian only) may be purchased from Akademika, Department for Government Publications,
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Published by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in August 1997
Graphic design: Gazette
Print: Gamlebyen Grafiske
Paper: Cyclus Print
No. of copies: 5000
E-544 E
ISBN 82-7177-473-5