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The political economy of gender reform
F I G U R E 8.1
po
Social actors and their interactions shape the role of markets, formal and informal institutions in advancing gender equality
GE
lic
ies
S UTION INSTIT L A M rks INFOR netwo Social ective ll and co n actio
TS RKE MA s Firm
NDE
OW
Y
ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITIES
HOUSEHOLDS AGENCY
FOR MAL INST Gen ITUT der ION othe machi S r sta nerie te a s an gen d cies
GR
R EQUALIT
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Source: WDR 2012 team.
for gender equality. In a fast-changing global economy the demand for skills has swelled, so firms have sought to expand their talent pool. Diverse opinions may enrich decision making and stimulate ingenuity. And gender equality has become a desirable trait that customers and investors look for. Corporate social responsibility is an avenue for firms to enhance competitiveness by differentiating products and capturing the loyalty of women’s growing market share. Attracting and retaining female talent and customer loyalty requires an organizational shift. Corporate culture must accommodate the many demands of work and home for men and women. Career mentoring and advancement are also central in realizing the benefits of gender diversity. Much remains to be done in these domains. In the United States, for example, even though half of law school graduates are women and 90 percent of law firms have a diversity program, only 15 percent of partners
in law firms—those who hold an ownership interest—are women.2 Finally, state action is at the epicenter of gender-progressive policy making and implementation. The social contract determines the form, timing, and legitimacy of state regulation and intervention in markets, formal institutions, and social norms. In Scandinavian countries, the state explicitly pursues policies to strengthen women’s position in society, in what might be called a “gender contract.” In the Philippines, the 2009 “Magna Carta of Women” affirms the role of the state to “provide the necessary mechanisms to enforce and guarantee the realization of women’s rights as well as adopt and undertake steps to include temporary special measures which encompass a wide variety of legislative, executive, administrative and other regulatory instruments, policies and practices aimed at accelerating the equal participation of women in the political, economic, social, cultural, civil or any other field.”3
ENDOWMENTS