Unleashing the Potential of Ethiopian Women : Trends and Options for Economic Empowerment

Abstract

This report aims to update knowledge of
 gender disparities in Ethiopia using the latest household
 survey data. The aim of this analysis is to support ongoing
 efforts to implement Plan for Accelerated and Sustained
 Development to End Poverty (PASDEP) vision. The significant
 progress in addressing key dimensions of gender disparities
 such as education shown in this report as well as in the
 recent annual progress report on the implementation of
 PASDEP in 2006-2007 suggests that current policy directions
 are proving effective. At the same time this report
 highlights the need to complement the existing emphasis on
 broad based interventions with additional targeted
 interventions which might address the specific constraints
 experienced by some groups. Further, based on the evidence
 from a few detailed evaluations of some existing programs,
 the study highlights how policy making in this area should
 include more emphasis on considerations of effective
 implementation and monitoring. This report is structured as
 follows. Chapter two presents a set of stylized facts on
 gender disparities in Ethiopia, including both trends over
 the last decade and current comparisons between Ethiopia and
 other countries. Chapter three looks in greater detail at
 the main drivers of gender disparities, focusing on factor
 markets. Chapter four looks at the economic pay-offs of
 decreasing gender inequality. Chapter five identifies a few
 priority areas for policy intervention.