Strengthening Economic Linkages

Transcription

1 PACIFIC ISLANDS FORUM SECRETARIAT PIFS (14) FEMM.06 FEOM.06 FORUM ECONOMIC MINISTERS MEETING AND FORUM ECONOMIC OFFICIALS MEETING Heritage Park Hotel Honiara, Solomon Islands 8-11 July, 2014 Strengthening Economic Linkages SUSTAINABLE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT VIA STRENGTHENED LINKAGES: ECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT OF WOMEN UPDATE ON ECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT OF WOMEN INITIATIVES AND OPPORTUNITIES IN THE TOURISM SECTOR This paper, prepared jointly by the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat and South Pacific Tourism Organisation with valuable input from the CROP Gender Working Group, provides an update on the measures to improve women s economic empowerment in the region and advocates policies to enhance the contribution of women in the tourism sector. 1

2 Sustainable Economic Development via Strengthened Linkages Update on the Economic Empowerment of Women Initiatives and Opportunities in the Tourism Sector [PIFS(14)FEMM.06 FEOM.06] Purpose 1. To provide an update on key regional initiatives focused on advancing the economic empowerment of women in Forum Island Countries (FICs) following the 2012 and 2013 FEMM decisions, the 2012 Pacific Leaders Gender Equality Declaration and the Triennial 2013 Women s Ministerial Communiqué; 2. To provide an assessment of economic empowerment opportunities and challenges for women in the tourism sector and; 3. Propose practical solutions for improving women s economic empowerment in the region and in particular in the tourism sector. Background At the 2012 and 2013 Forum Economic Ministers meetings, Ministers called for a broad range of measures 1 to improve women s economic empowerment in Forum Island Countries (FICs) and the adoption of national Women s Economic Empowerment Action Plans. National Women s Economic Empowerment Action Plans have been developed by Nauru and the Republic of the Marshall Islands with the support of the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat. The Secretariat has also been working with other SIS countries to assist in the development of their national plans and a sub-regional SIS Women s Economic Empowerment Action plan. 2. The 2012 Pacific Leaders Gender Equality Declaration also called for the removal of barriers 2, and sought targeted support to women entrepreneurs in both the formal and informal sectors 3 and a review of legislation that limits women s access to finance, assets, land and productive resources. Forum Leaders also agreed to the adoption of measures to eliminate all barriers preventing women from participating fully in the economic sphere consistent with decisions made by Economic Ministers. Despite the various high level commitments, FICs are progressing relatively slowly in the area of women s economic empowerment. Six countries assessed through the Women s Economic Opportunity Index recorded poor performance in several areas 4, which are key underlying causes of women s lack of access to economic opportunities and disempowerment warranting urgent remedial action. Women s Economic Empowerment: Key Regional Initiatives 3. The 2013 Pacific Leaders Gender Equality Declaration Report noted the lack of evidence-based data on women s economic empowerment initiatives and their impact on the economy. More 1 Minsters called for: research on economic costs of violence, implementation of legislation to reduce discriminatory pay and practices at national level, removal of legal barriers to women s access to and participation in employment in the formal and informal sectors, removal of legal barriers to women s finance and business ownership, implementation of sexual harassment legislation and policies, use of sex-disaggregated data, and affirmative action to increase women s representation in state owned boards. 2 Including discriminatory legislation to women s employment and participation in the formal and informal sectors. 3 Through means such as, financial services, information and training. 4 Including: property ownership; workplace policies, legislation and practices regarding equal pay and non-discrimination; availability of childcare and maternity protection; access to finance (including financial services, outreach and literacy); political participation; physical and sexual violence against women (including sexual harassment); and limited access to tertiary education. 2

3 specifically, it noted the lack of data on women s access to national retirement schemes and the ratio of women s and men s average wage. Indicators need to be developed that can measure progress in realising women s economic rights such as access to property, decision making, access to finance and productive resources and capital. In addition, data on women in leadership and decision-making positions e.g. the private sector and state owned enterprises (SOEs) can be strengthened. The expansion of the SPC Gender Statistics programme with new funding and phase two consultations on the Ten Year Pacific Statistics Strategy (TYPSS) presents opportunities for strengthening women s economic empowerment statistics. 4. Violence against women has significant personal costs to women, their children and families, as well as to the broader society. The economic costs of loss of productivity, and support and care for victims and their families, including the resources needed for policing and the judicial systems are additional costs. Regional efforts in this area include the economic costs of violence study in Solomon Islands and Kiribati commissioned by the PIFS and the Sexual Gender Based Violence Reference Group. The UN Women s Safe Markets programme, supported by the Pacific Women Shaping Pacific Development programme, also addresses women s safety in the marketplace. 5. The PIFS study on promoting Gender Equality measures to increase women s representation and participation in State Boards highlights the low representation of women on state boards and identifies the obstacles to women s equal participation and decision making. The study proposes practical measures to change governance and overall board culture including specific quotas for women and gender equality legislation. The study reveals that women s economic empowerment requires women to move into non-traditional areas of work such as engineering, resource management, aviation, fisheries and senior management. This can be achieved by creating incentives for women, and providing scholarships and leadership training. The Asian Development Bank has trained women in Solomon Islands as a measure to increase women s entry into State owned board management. This activity will be replicated in Palau and Kiribati where state owned board reforms are underway. Economic opportunities in the Tourism Sector 6. Tourism has the potential to significantly support women s economic empowerment in the Pacific, benefitting women and the tourism sector. Globally, tourism is the sector that employs the second highest number of women (after agriculture), with 46% of wage employment and up to 90% if including catering and accommodation. Employment can increase women s economic independence, decision-making power and social freedoms. Effort is needed, however, to ensure women and men are supported to manage this change in a way that does not risk further inequality of gender relations in the domestic and community setting, for example, by exposing women to violence or controlling behaviour. 7. Tourism also brings particular threats and risks to women and girls such as the perpetuation of gender stereotypes, low pay, sexual harassment and physical threats, unwelcome cultural and attitudinal changes, increased burden of work and sexual exploitation of women and children. Specific policy, practice strategies and interventions include: a. Expansion of decent jobs with equal and fair pay and conditions; b. Training and professional development, especially in non-stereotypical work including management training opportunities. Note that skills training in tourism are highly transferable to other sectors; c. Expansion of and support for women-led and family-owned business opportunities and entrepreneurs supplying to the tourism sector or directly to tourists; d. Linking women to the tourism supply chain, especially agriculture, the services sector and handicrafts; e. Community ownership and control of businesses and resource management through leases, revenue and profit sharing, dividends, etc., to include women; 3

4 f. Women s effective participation in decision-making in the management of cultural and environmental assets, resources and practices; and g. Participatory planning, policy and decision-making in government, local government and the private sector, including information sharing and communication. 8. The economic contribution of women to the region s tourism industry is seldom critically acknowledged or researched. However, SPTO s work confirms that women s economic activity in tourism is primarily in the informal sector, as vendors of agricultural products, locally produced foods and handicraft, or in micro-businesses associated with tourism. They are not often involved in local authority decision-making in the management of markets; neither do they have control over land and other assets. These structural barriers continue to limit their participation in the tourism sector, coupled with the gender stereotypes on women s work in the low levels of business and the tourism industry. Migrant women face double discrimination due to weak legal and social protection mechanisms. Sexual exploitation of women and harassment are issues requiring urgent attention. 9. SPTO s activities implemented region-wide indicate that there are economic opportunities for women in the cruise shipping, hospitality and services sector, and micro-businesses, however, assistance and support is needed to strengthen their technical ability. Furthermore, general evaluation surveys following SPTO s capacity building programmes underline the need for product development, capacity building and up-skilling, and the improvement of financial literacy. Addressing these issues and expanding services tailored to women s needs, including access to digital technologies, maximising the use of local resources and skills, providing greater access to micro-banking, and training at marketplaces, has good potential to increase women s economic involvement. The Asian Development Bank (ADB) led project aimed at boosting women s technical skills to engage with the private sector has led to increasing participation of women in starting solar maintenance businesses. 10. In addition, government support is crucial in aligning policies and initiatives to create an enabling environment for women and supporting women in micro-enterprises. Support by Pacific governments to reduce barriers to business development has not significantly benefited sufficient women in tourism businesses in the Pacific, which are in the informal sector. In this area, the range of financial services could be enhanced to focus more on the specific needs of women in business and be extended to reach more rural women and their families. Strengthening the supply chains and empowering women in the informal sector is being implemented in Papua New Guinea by the ADB, with the project coverage expanding to other parts of Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands. 11. Assistance is also needed to improve the broader regulatory and policy environment in the tourism sector to support women s safety, employment opportunities and business growth, and to improve opportunities to grow the overall economy. Greater recognition and support for the role of local authorities in creating the enabling local environment for economic development and tourism, and their role in empowering the informal economy for women s economic security and rights is also needed. 12. The cultural heritage industry in Pacific Island countries can contribute to sustainable economic development and some Pacific women depend on it for income while retaining traditional knowledge and skills. PIFS and SPC are implementing a project for enhancing the cultural industry in Fiji, Solomon Islands and Samoa, which will be directed at industry structuring, establishing policy and regulatory frameworks and building the capacity of the target groups for commercialisation of goods and services. The Pacific Islands Trade & Invest network is also promoting the exports of Pacific cultural industry artifacts and products through initiatives such as the Maketi Ples. 13. SPC and the EU funded Increasing Agricultural Commodities Trade (IACT) project through the Pacific Organic and Ethical Trade Community (POETCom) are supporting the development of value 4

5 chains that benefit women. These include value added products such as Virgin Coconut Oil which is certified through low cost organic certification schemes known as Participatory Guarantee Systems (PGS). Such products have increasing demand in the tourism sector with successful examples including the fully organically certified island of Cicia in Fiji being the sole supplier of organic virgin coconut oil to Sofitel resorts and Spas in Fiji. Women in Business Development Inc of Samoa is another example where Virgin Coconut Oil is sold to the international cosmetics company, The Body Shop. This project also supports adoption of fair-trade certification for handicraft producers through the World Fair Trade Organisation (WFTO), with a pilot now being implemented in Fiji. Certification adds value to handicrafts and gives a potential marketing edge to certified groups and new export markets. 14. Women in Business Development Inc, with the support of UNDP, are implementing a project to link smallholder organically-certified farming families to the tourism and hospitality industry. In 2013, Women in Business Development Inc embarked on an ambitious Farm to Table project to provide missing value chain links marketing, quality assessment, agro-processing, transport and bridge financing to connect smallholder farmers to restaurants and hotels. It is also working with restaurants to tailor their menus to incorporate local produce. This model could be applied in other countries of the region. ADB is implementing a women in business mentoring programme in Solomon Islands and the programme will be scaled up to all countries as the private sector develops and women begin to occupy middle management positions in business (eg. Samoa and PNG). 15. There are various other initiatives in support of economic empowerment of women that are currently being implemented in the Pacific region by the plethora of agencies operating in the region. These initiatives need to be coordinated and additional efforts put towards initiatives that are of high impact and which ensure an inclusive approach to the empowerment of women. Resource Implications 16. It is important that adequate resources are allocated within key ministries that support non-state actors, including the private sector, to support implementation of women s economic empowerment initiatives at country level. Regional agencies such as PIFS and SPC, and UN Women and other development partners that support economic empowerment of women activities should provide technical assistance in the area of gender responsive activities, and allocate budgets and develop programmes. Such allocations could be monitored systematically through the Forum Compact Process. Targeted technical and funding support required for gender mainstreaming within the tourism sector led by SPTO, in partnership with relevant technical agencies, need to be pursued to support women s involvement in the tourism sector. Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat Suva 16 June