Gender and Development

Joint-donor Country Gender Assessments

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Indonesia: Country Gender Assessment

CGA for Indonesia was completed in July 2006.

A multi-donor Country Gender Assessment (CGA) for Indonesia was completed in July 2006. The ADB, the Asia Foundation, the Canadian International Development Agency, the National Democratic Institute and the World Bank partnered with the State Ministry for Women's Empowerment to prepare a country gender assessment.

Indonesia is the fourth most populous nation in the world. It spans an archipelago of over 18,000 islands, of which about 7,000 are inhabited in 440 districts in 33 provinces. An estimated 742 ethnic groups/languages are found in Indonesia. In a country with such vast diversity, five provinces were selected for regional consultations based on their diversity in the areas of social, economic and political settings—North Sumatra, South Sulawesi, West Kalimantan, Papua, and Special Territory of Yogyakarta.

Indonesia's achievements in meeting the Millennium Development Goal 3 (MDG3) targets have been mixed. MDG3 calls for gender equality and the empowerment of women. It focuses on equal access to education for girls and boys with indicators of progress that include school enrolment rates for girls and boys, literacy, share of women in wage employment in the nonagricultural sector, and proportion of seats held by women in the National Legislature.

Many indicators are on track—the enrolment ratio of girls to boys at primary and secondary levels of education is favorable to girls, and the enrolment ratio of girls to boys within tertiary education has increased over the period 1990–2002.

However, there are targets that are off track. The share of women in wage employment in the nonagricultural sector has declined slightly, as has the proportion of seats held by women in the national parliament.

The CGA is source of knowledge, with a wealth of information on the gender situation and mainstreaming efforts of the Government of Indonesia. The CGA contains information on four main themes—gender and decentralization, women in political decision-making, violence against women, and migration and women.
 
Each theme is addressed in the CGA report, and supported by chapters on a gender situation analysis, and the legal framework and institutional mechanisms that promote gender equality at the national and subnational levels. Seven major findings of the CGA are:

1. Women's participation in paid employment and access to productive resources need to be improved.
2. Gender inequality in access to education is most severe among the poor and in rural areas.
3. Health services are not reaching rural women and girls.
4. The institutional framework for gender mainstreaming needs to be strengthened.
5. The participation of women in decision making is essential at all levels.
6. Violence against women takes many forms, and few services are available to victims.
7. The rights of international migrants require protection.

Extensive consultations took place with key stakeholders at the central and regional levels. Consultations were an opportunity to raise awareness about gender issues, and seek views on the four key themes of the CGA indicated above. For more information, contact Ruly Marianti, Gender and Development Specialist, Indonesia Resident Mission. A copy of the CGA report is available at: http://www.adb.org/Documents/Reports/Country-Gender-Assessments/ino.asp.

Viet Nam: Country Gender Assessment

VGA for Viet Nam was completed in 2006

The Vietnam Gender Assessment (VGA)—funded by World Bank, ADB, DFID and CIDA—provides an analysis of priority gender issues and forms the basis for policy dialogue with the Government of Viet Nam. The report identifies key priority areas for support and areas for further analytical work, advisory services, partnerships, and project activities.

The VGA provided input and fed into the preparation of (i) the Socio-economic Development Plan, and (ii) the Plan of Action for the Advancement of Women 2006-2010.

Over the past 20 years, Viet Nam has seen the most rapid change in closing gender gaps. It ranked 83 (out of 140 countries) on the Gender Development Index based on its efforts to narrow gender gaps and to invest in human capital. Efforts have contributed to the high adult literacy rates for men and women, little difference between boys and girls in school enrolment data, and the highest percentage of women in national parliament in the Asia-Pacific region (27% since 2002). Labor force participation rates for women in Viet Nam are amongst the highest in the world at 83% compared to 85% for men (ages 15–60 years) in 2002.

Despite these impressive achievements, pockets of gender inequality continue to persist. School enrollment and participation rates of girls, especially in remote areas and amongst ethnic minority communities, remain a challenge. Access to health care services in ethnic minority communities remains low.

The VGA is an excellent resource book to help Government and development partners continue policy dialogue and analysis on gender equality within the changing economy of Viet Nam. The VGA was prepared using a participatory process and supports ongoing efforts to ensure that both men and women are able to take full advantage of the opportunities to contribute to, and share in the benefits of, economic growth.

The VGA is divided into three sections. The first section provides an overview of Viet Nam's progress towards achieving gender equality. It is a situational analysis that reports progress on a number of indicators of gender equality, and improvements on closing the gender gap in education, on achieving health outcomes, and in accessing economic opportunities. It recognizes women's participation in decision-making and politics has been slow.

The second section provides examples of areas where gender imbalances continue to exist. For instance, women are over-represented in low skilled employment with poor pay, particularly in the informal sector. The gender distribution by sector and type of occupation illustrates pockets of employment for men and women. The differences in pay and career opportunities are also apparent. Women have limited access to skills training which limits their ability to apply for some jobs. 

The third section highlights some of the negative impacts on women of rapid social and economic changes in the country. The section focuses on women's vulnerability to the risks of labor export, domestic migrants and HIV/AIDS, and domestic violence. While regulations, criminalization and law enforcement, in some cases, may provide partial answers, these solutions will not address the underlying causes.

For more information, contact Tuyen Nhat Nguyen, Social Development and Gender Officer, Viet Nam Resident Mission. A copy of the VGA report is available at:
http://www.adb.org/Documents/Reports/Country-Gender-Assessments/vie-2006.asp