Prof. Yomayra J. Martinó Soto Universidad Iberoamericana

of Dominican Republic Feb 9, 2012

New Orleans, USA

DISCLAIMER The views expressed herein are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Government of Dominican Republic or the ¨Universidad Iberoamericana¨. February,2012 Yomayra J. Martinó Soto.

Gender refers to “the economic, social, political and cultural attributes and opportunities associated with being male and female.”* *Development Assistance Committee, Guidelines for Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment in Development Cooperation. OECD: Paris (1998)

Location: Caribbean Sea – Centre America (Hispaniola Island shared with Haiti) Area: 48,730 sq km Population: 8,5 (estimated July 2002) (plus an unknown number of Haitian migrants living in the country, with estimates ranging from 800,000 to one million.)

Ethnic groups: white 16%, black 11%, mixed 73% Legal system: based on French civil codes

Source: http://dominicanrepublic.com and http://www.dominicanaonline.org

Health / Early Motherhood Lack of Civil Registration ¨Machismo¨ Culture Labor Discrimination Domestic Violence Commercial Sexual Exploitation: - Child Pornography - Illicit Traffic - Sexual Tourism Among others….

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9XvtSPrf2qQ&feature=related *

WEAKNESS

STRENGHS

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-rLYQiy1M4E&feature=related

*Because I am Girl is based on a nine-part series of reports titled 'Because I am a Girl: The State of the World's Girls'. The reports,

which are published annually from 2007-2015, examine the rights and needs of girls and young women in developing countries and explore how they are uniquely placed to break the cycle of poverty.¨

The Supreme Court has created a department to address the cases related with gender, family and child issues ¨ within it is managed a program titled ¨Women and Family¨ with the purpose of follow up the gender policies application and the implementation of the international agreements related to this topic which involves the participation of the Judicial Power.

Nov. 2010 the SCJ created the ¨Observatory

Justice and Gender¨ with the sponsorship of the Spanish Cooperation Agency (AECID) with the purpose of review the SCJ´s resolutions and propose the legislatives changes necessary for the gender policies enforcement.

More info: http://www.observatoriojusticiaygenero.gob.do/observatorio.html

Judges: Total of 667 judges in the Judiciary Functions of

which 344 are women. (Source: Judiciary Council)

Prosecutors: Total of 905 in the Public Minister of which 362

are women. ( Source: Public Ministry, General Prosecutor Office)

Aspect Women Men

Illiteracy Rate 10 years and older

9.5% 9,7 -9,9 %

First Level of Education 96 girls enrolled 100 boys enrolled

Middle Level of Education 123 girls enrolled 100 boys enrolled

Technical and Vocational Training

95 100

University Level 140 women enrolled 100 men enrolled

Speech of Minister of Women Affairs held on UN Commission of the Status of Women, New York. Feb. 2011

http://www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/csw/csw55/statements/DR.pdf

¨The World Bank 2005 Poverty Assessment argues that one of the five principal

explanations for continuing high levels of inequality and poverty in the Dominican

Republic is low labor productivity, caused by failure of the education system to impart the minimal skills required by the labor market¨

*http://pdf.usaid.gov/pdf_docs/PNADQ847.pdf

Urban Areas - More affected by unemployment than men - Limitation of Activities - Less pay than men in same positions - Executive positions limitations Rural Areas: - Domestic Activities designated to women - Poor or non access to education

¨The increasing participation of women in the labor force over the Past three decades reflects Both changes in the economy of the country, with a shift out of agriculture to services (including tourism) and manufacturing, and the increasing proportion of households that are headed and supported by women.¨ USAID 2009 http://pdf.usaid.gov/pdf_docs/NADQ847.pdf

¨Gender Assessment of Dom. Rep.¨ USAID, 2009

To solve the gender issues and the creation of possibilities for women to access in to the labor market, could increase the competitiveness of a country.

…¨one study found a positive correlation between growth and the

participation of women in the workforce in 61 countries between 1980 and 1999.¨ (Tran-Nguyen, Ang-Nga, and Americo Beviglia Zampetti,

eds. Trade and Gender: Opportunities and Challenges for Developing Countries. New York and Geneva: United Nations, 2000)

The participation of women in decision-making processes in their workplaces not only leads to greater equality, but has also been shown to increase productivity. (USAID, 2008)

WOMEN EMPLOYMENT

46%) worked in the sector labeled ¨other services,¨ (education, health, and domestic services). An additional 10% in the category, ¨hotels, bars, and Restaurants¨. 21% worked in ¨wholesale and retail business¨.

MEN EMPLOYMENT

12% were employed in “other services”. 4% in ¨hotels, bars, and

restaurants¨. 21% worked in “wholesale

and retail business.”

According to the Labor Force Survey of 2008:

¨Between 1996 and 2000, the private sector added 290,000 jobs, while the informal sector generated 380,000 jobs. These jobs often pay less, offer fewer benefits and are less secure

than formal sector employment. Women are

more likely than men to find employment in the informal sector.¨

GATE, “An Economic Snapshot,” December 2005. (¨Gender Assessment of Dom. Rep.¨ USAID, 2009)

Elimination of the domestic violence and prosecution of the crimes related with the women ¨condition¨

Increase education access for the rural areas women Creation of more employment opportunities solving the

discrepancies in the earnings Appropriate enforcement of the gender policies Empowerment of women as entrepreneurs (small business) Promotion of the involvement of women in the policy and

decision making entities.

¨In order to promote the equal conditions for us, we do not have to pretend we are men….¨

YM