GENDER DIMENSIONS IN

POPULATION STUDIES
Dr. Ebenezer Malcalm

Outline of the Presentation

Objectives of the presentation
Introduction: Definitions & importance
of gender disaggregated data
Gender dimensions in key
demographic parameters
Gender dimensions in education and
labour force
Gender dimensions in disability
Concluding remarks
2

Objective of the Presentation

Goal: The purpose of the Session on
Gender Dimensions is to enable the
students to appreciate the importance of
taking gender dimensions into account in
development planning at all levels
To equip the students with the knowledge
and skills on how to carry out analysis of
Census
Data from
different
gender
perspectives.

Objective of the Presentation

At the end of the session students will be
able to:
State the rationale for gender
disaggregated data
Describe the key gender concepts
Describe how to prepare data for gender
analysis.
Describe how to carry out gender analysis
Describe how to present gender
disaggregated data
4

Introduction: definitions
Key Concept in Gender Perspectives
Gender
Sex
Gender Analysis
Gender relations
Gender issues
Women issues
Gender inequality
5

Introduction:
definitions
Key Concept in Gender Perspectives
Gender Parity Index
Gender Gaps
Gender Development Index (GDI)
Gender aware planning/gender
mainstreaming

Introduction: definitions
Gender
Gender is a socio-cultural construct of the
society that determines the identity, roles
or obligations/duties, and entitlements of
women and men and girls and boys in the
society.
It therefore defines women and mens
position in their society. Gender
classification changes with time, space and
needs of a society
7

Introduction: definitions
Sex
Sex is a biological identification of
females and males based on their
physiological characteristics. Sex
characteristics are natural and
determined during conception; compared
to gender which identifies qualities that
are shaped through the history of social
relations and interactions in society
8

Introduction: definitions
Gender relations
Gender relations are social-cultural
relationships between men and women in
a given society. They are socially
constructed and not derived from biology.
Gender relations distinguish social
relations between men and women from
those characteristics which can be
derived from biological differences
9

Introduction:
definitions

Gender inequality
Gender inequality means unequal access to
resources and benefits by women and men
and therefore holds back the growth of
individuals in society
Gender gaps
Gender gaps refer to the differences
between women and men in relation to their
participation in and benefits from different
socio-economic sectors. Gender gaps come
about as a result of unequal power relations
between women and men and between boys
10
and girls

Introduction: definitions
The gender gap measures the magnitude of
disparities and is normally computed in
percentage points or the difference between
percentage for females and percentage for males.
Gender Parity Index
Gender Parity Index (GPI) is a socioeconomic
index usually designed to measure the relative
access to education for both females and males.
It is calculated as the ratio of the number of
female students enrolled at primary, secondary
and tertiary levels of education to the number of
11
male students in each level

Introduction: definitions
Gender analysis
This is the process of examining roles and
responsibilities or any other situation in
regard to women, men, boys and girls, with
a view to identifying gaps, raising concern
and addressing them, investigating and
identifying specific needs for policy and
programme
development
and
implementation
12

Introduction: definitions
Gender-Aware Planning
This is the process of taking gender
into consideration (gender
mainstreaming) in development
planning; planning with women/girls
and men/boys in mind.

13

Introduction: definitions
Gender issues
Gender issues refers to opportunities,
challenges and constraints that affect both
women, men, girls and boys in the society.
Gender issues are not synonymous with
womens issues
Womens issues
Women issues refer to opportunities,
challenges and constraints that affect
women/girls only
14

Rationale for Gender

disaggregated data
International and national commitment to
promote gender equality and women
empowerment
Many international conventions and instruments such
as :Beijing Platform for Action, and the United Nations
Universal Declaration of Human Rights
ICPD 1994 Plan of Action
Millennium Development Goals

Enactment of various laws and policy frameworks,

and set up several bodies at national and lower
levels in order to advance, coordinate and
monitor Gender issues. E.G;
15

Rationale for Gender

disaggregated data

Provision of Free Education

Affirmative action in recruitment, employment
appointment in public service
Development of the development of a National Policy on
Gender and Development;
the establishment and strengthening of institutions to
address Gender issues (including National Commission
on Gender and Development)
Gender units in all line Ministries and state corporations
Inclusion of an indicator on Gender mainstreaming in the
Performance Contract Guidelines in the public sector
Lack of gender disaggregated data at the various
planning levels
16

Gender dimensions
Gender dimensions by key demographic
parameters
o

Population age and sex

17

Gender Dimensions in
Education

Data required:

School attendance among the

population aged at least 3 year
classified by a specified age group,
sex and other attribute of interest
Educational attainment among the
population aged at least 3 years
classified by a specified age group, sex
and other attribute of interest

18

Gender dimensions in
Labour force
Data required:

Economic activity among the population

aged 5 years and above classified by sex

and attribute of interest

19

Gender Dimensions in
Disability
Data required:

Percentage of PWD by sex and attribute

of interest

20

Percentage distribution of PWDs by

Sex, Kenya: 2009
Sex

Number

Female

682,651

51.3

Male

647,715

48.7

Total

1,330,366

3.5 (of total

population)

21

Appendix 1: Relevant ICPD & MDGS

ICPD & MDGS whose implementation and

monitoring require gender disaggregated
data

22

A SUMMARY OF ICPD GOALS FOR

2015

Achieve universal access to and completion of

primary education, ensure the widest and
earliest possible access by girls and women to
secondary education and higher levels of
education.
Provide universal access to full range of safe
and reliable family planning methods and
related reproductive health services.
Reduce infant mortality to below 35 infant
deaths per 1000 live births and under five
mortality rates to below 45 deaths per 1000
live births
Close the gap in maternal mortality between
developing and developed countries. Aim to
achieve a maternal mortality rate of below 60
23 births.
deaths per 100,000 live

A SUMMARY OF ICPD GOALS FOR

2015 CTD.

Increase life expectancy at birth to more than

75 years. In countries with the highest
mortality, aim to increase life expectancy at
birth to more than 70 years.
Sources:

United Nations Population Fund 1994:

Programme of Action of the International
Conference on Population and
Development.
United Nations 1994. Report of the
International Conference on Population and
Development , Cairo, 5-13 September 1994.
24

MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS

1 Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger

Halve, between 1990 and 2015, the proportion of
people whose income is less than $1 a day.
Halve, between 1990 and 2015, the proportion of people
who suffer from hunger.
2 Achieve universal primary education
Ensure that, by 2015, children everywhere, boys and
girls alike, will be able to complete a full course of
primary schooling
3 Promote gender equality and empower women
Eliminate gender disparity in primary and secondary
education preferably by 2005 and in all levels of
education no later than 2015
4Reduce child mortality
Reduce by two-thirds, between 1990 and 2015, the
under-five mortality rate
25

MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT
GOALS CTD.

5 Improve maternal health

Reduce by three-quarters, between 1990 and 2015, the maternal
mortality ratio .
6 Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria, and other diseases
Have halted by 2015 and begun to reverse the spread of HIV/AIDS
Have halted by 2015 and begun to reverse the incidence of
malaria and other major diseases
7 Ensure environmental sustainability
Integrate the principles of sustainable development into country
policies and program and reverse the loss of environmental
resources.
Halve, by 2015, the proportion of people without sustainable
access to safe drinking water
Have achieved, by 2020, a significant improvement in the lives of
at least 100 million slum dwellers .
8. Global Partnership for Development:
Address the special needs of least developed countries, landlocked
countries and small island developing states. Develop further an
open, rule-based, predictable, non-discriminatory trading and
financial system. Deal comprehensively
with developing countries
26
debt