Gender in the balance : a summary report

This report summarizes research on three cross-cutting issues that inhibit African women from achieving great success and high quality of life: health; access to land and resources; and trade liberalization. Discussion of girls" education and women"s time constraints is woven through each section. According to the report, timing is crucial to balance, and African women simply do not have enough time. Any development project aimed at women that does not take time constraints into account, thereby adding more demands on women"s time, is doomed to fail. At the very least it will compromise children"s (specifically girls") education, since when women cannot carry the burden alone they largely rely on the only labor they have control over -- their children -- to make up for the shortfall. African women will not be able to maintain this balancing act indefinitely. The AIDS epidemic, compromised food security as a result of unequal access to land and resources, and gender-blind trade liberalization policies are taxing women"s capabilities to make ends meet. Formal and legal rights cannot guarantee women secure rights in reality unless such rights are made socially legitimate and enforceable. Annex B provides an overview of suggested research to be undertaken and recommends approaches gleaned from the research reviewed for this summary.