Women Access & Control of Resources
The World Survey on the Role of Women in Development this year focuses on women’s lack of access to and control over economic resources: land, water, various types of property, financial and social protection. The Survey gives us clear insight into the gender inequality of macro-economic policies and structures in the world in key areas of employment and labour-market. Global financial crisis exacerbates this problem that we should solve it by drawing-up the new national development strategy. Gender analysis must first be done to find out how the economic growth or recession effected men and women differently. Experts recommended the new monetary policy of gender-responsive budgeting to deal with existing inequality. They also underscored the importance of the under-representation of women in finance and economic Institutions in most member countries of the United Nations. The Bank of Thailand is one of the few exceptions of solving this “male-dominated/under-representation of women” problem. It now has the female Central Bank Governor for the first time in the Bank’s history, Mrs.Tarisa Watanagase. Central Bank of any country is one such economic/financial structure that determined macro-economic policy. I find the Survey useful in giving me additional knowledge concentrating on women in the informal and non-standard forms of employment, and the unequal distribution of unpaid care work in the household. Without pay, or almost no community support system, a large number of women around the world continue to endure the burden of being the only sex that care for the sick, handicapped, and/or aging family members, and in many cases, in addition to their income earning jobs in the labour market. The 2009 Survey predicted that the promotion of women’s access to economic and financial resources would become an investment on the welfare of the next generation. I think that the problem of “women lack of control and access to resources” is urgent enough that we should solve it right now so women of this generation can enjoy better quality of life.
