“Gender equality must be treated as an explicit goal of democracy building, not as an add on.”
These words were stressed by UN Secretary General Mr. Ban Ki-Moon in his opening speech at the Round Table at the “Democracy and Gender Equality” forum which took place in 2011 (Tommasoli, 2011). I believe that this quote conveys the absolute necessity for gender equality. It is not just about ensuring the equality of men and women across the globe; it is also about advancing democracy as a whole. The economy plays a crucial role in this; democracy and the state of the economy are tied inseparably. Improvements made in gender equality improve the state of the economy, thereby improving the state of democracy, and vice versa. Further improvements on gender equality across the world would improve the economy and the government overall, which, by proxy, would improve democracy.
According to the White House (2015), although women have made incredible strides in the last century in increasing their experience and skills, there is still a large gender pay gap. In 2013, an average woman working full-time all year only earned 78 cents of every dollar of what the average man made under the same conditions (Council of Economic Advisors, 2015). Additionally, women are still less likely to have health insurance from their employers, and women are also less likely to have a retirement savings plan provided by their employers (Council of Economic Advisors, 2015). Often times, this pay gap can stem from many factors, but the most frightening may be discrimination that exists under conditions of pay secrecy, where women do not know whether or not they are being discriminated against. If laws or policies ensuring pay transparency and fair pay were enacted, individual businesses would profit greatly, and so in turn would the economy. From the perspective of a business, these policies could increase productivity and retention rates. Gender equality has already contributed to the world’s economy, with women now making up 47 percent of the labor force, which is nearly half. Historically speaking, it has been proven that positive economic development brings about predictable changes in prevailing values. For example, as societies prosper economically, democracy becomes more widespread overall. This basically means that if a society gains more money, they gain more democratic power. It becomes clear that this is a cycle; if women louden their democratic voices, the economy expands, and when the economy expands, women become more empowered in democratic institutions (Inglehart, Pippa, & Wetzel, 2004). This is remarkable, considering the amount of women in the workforce today; they consist of approximately 47 to 50 percent. Today, more households than ever before have a woman as the primary or equal breadwinner in their household. If we continue creating policies that benefit a significant half of the labor force, the economy will become healthier and more prosperous in the long run. This evidence clearly proves that when women are given equal rights and equal pay, the economy will improve in extraordinary ways, which will help improve the overall quality of democratic institutions across any country.
When it comes to spreading democracy across the globe, gender equality plays a crucial role in the acceptance of democracy. As said by Valentine Moghadam (2008) in an article for the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, “democracy is as much about citizenship rights, participation, and inclusion as it is about political parties, elections, and checks and balances.” When social groups of people (like women) are able to participate effectively in the government, and when women are given the same privileges as any other social group in society, democracy has effectively been spread (Moghadam, 2008). In a discussion paper written by the UN, several key recommendations were made that were noted as being crucial to spreading democracy in countries like Saudi Arabia, where women are often treated as second class citizens (United Nations, 2013). The UN also suggested that by using special measures (like quotas) to improve women’s political participation, the overall effectiveness of attempts to spread democracy will increase. Additionally, by continuing to support in-country consultations between women’s civil society organizations and political leaders, it was suggested that the democracy will continue to prevail throughout the nation.
Historically speaking, the spread of democracy has always been associated with changes in equal rights for women. For instance, cultural changes throughout the history of civilization are closely correlated with the rapid spread of democratic institutions. These changes are reflected by society moving towards empowering citizens to have an increasingly activist role. Societies that have consistently ranked high on self-expression and inclusion values show high rates of political participation, voting, and boycotts. This reflects an overall shift; as women become more and more equal in society, political participation increases and the amount of democratic institutions increases, as does the amount of accountability in those institutions. (Inglehart, Pippa, & Wetzel, 2004). It was also shown that when a society is willing to take a more critical view on its country overall, political participation also increases and democracy becomes more common (Inglehart, Pippa, & Wetzel, 2004). After thoroughly reflecting upon historical evidence, it becomes clear that the economy and gender equality are tightly linked with democratic freedom in a cycle, where the improvement of each one improves the others. By improving the economy, gender equality improves democracy by default. You cannot improve democracy without also improving the economy, and gender equality facilitates the improvement of both.
In conclusion, I believe that both current and historical evidence shows that gender equality is crucial to democracy. Gender equality would improve countless other aspects of society, including social relationships, and the stability of families. However, democracy and economic stability are perhaps the most important factors in society that are affected by gender equality. When the quality of the government and the economy increase, so do countless factors in society that we regard as important and significant. When people are prosperous and they have a strong representation in the government, they are able to remain more stable, balanced, and fair. Rates of crime can go down, families stay together more often, and society as a whole becomes more stable and less volatile. In countries where democracy is infrequent, so is gender equality. In Middle Eastern countries, like Saudi Arabia, it can be difficult to introduce democracy without significant backlash from the government. These same countries also have a tendency to mistreat women or regard them as second class citizens. If gender equality can be introduced into these societies slowly, key components of democracy will then be integrated into the foundational values of the country, without introducing pure democracy right off of the bat. Historically speaking, this is how the progression of democracy has happened across the globe, even in the United States. In the United States, as gender equality increased, so did the political participation from women and even other minority groups (Bardes, Shelley, & Schmidt, 2013).
Democratic change does not happen overnight or even over the course of just a short few years. Democracy is something that must be slowly integrated into society over the course of several decades. By utilizing gender equality to complete this task, democracy can be spread in a subtler way that changes the core social groups of the society more concretely, without introducing democracy in too severe of a fashion.
Overall, gender equality can be a significant vehicle by which democracy can be grown and spread throughout the world, all while improving the economy and quality of the government at the same time.
References
Bardes, A., B., Shelley, C., M., & Schmidt, W., S. (2013). American Government and Politics Today: The Essentials. Independence: Kentucky.
Council of Economic Advisers (2015). Gender Pay Gap: Recent Trends and Explanations. Council of Economic Advisers Issue Brief. Retrieved from https://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/docs/equal_pay_issue_brief_final.pdf.
Inglehart, R., Pippa, N., & Welzel, C. (2004). Gender Equality and Democracy. Institute for Social Research. Retrieved from https://www.hks.harvard.edu/fs/pnorris/Acrobat/Gender%20equality%20&%20democracy.pdf.
Moghadam, M., V. (2008). The Gender of Democracy: The Link Between Women’s Rights and Democratization in the Middle East. Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Retrieved from http://carnegieendowment.org/sada/?fa=21226.
Tommasoli, M. (2011). Gender equality is good for democracy, but how can democracy best deliver for gender equality? International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance. Retrieved from http://www.idea.int/un/deliver_gender_equality.cfm.
United Nations (2013). Democracy and Gender Equality: The Role of the UN. Discussion Paper. Retrieved from http://www.idea.int/publications/democracy-and-gender-equality/loader.cfm?csModule=security/getfile&pageid=59108.
