Gender is an important universal concept when understood comprehensively through its many multilayered features. I view it in its common but differentiated approach. Historically, the matriarchal period of human society enjoyed the climax of female-headed societies that gradually gave way to the emergence of a patriarchal period, with man as the leading figure in society.
So the issue now is how to harmonise these two historical facts in order to realise and maximize the full potential of female and male members of society. Drawing from the lessons learnt and wide knowledge of the subject, the issue needs a quiet, sober, and transformative dialogue considering the cultural and traditional, religious, legal and political limitations that shape our behavior, attitudes and actions.
If we take the developed world for example, most of these countries have addressed the gender gap by investing heavily in education. This has transformed societal attitude, values and behaviour, breaking through gender barriers including tradition, customs, laws and perhaps religion too. The gender discourse in that part of the world will certainly have a qualitative difference from that of developing countries. The commonality though follows the universal aspects of gender such as representation, and access to resources and justice, which are of course dependent on the political, social and economic context of both the developed and developing nations. This explains why tackling gender barriers may need a common but differentiated approach, influenced by the specificities and realities on the ground.
For Africa, and the African Development Bank (AfDB) in particular, the idea of gender drivers and or selective entry points are critically important. This is because we have to combine the needs of the African continent, which is beyond the scope of AfDB, with the Bank's purpose and mission. Knowing the demands and challenges surrounding the gender issue in Africa, AfDB could be of tremendous help together with other partners, especially if it focuses on its comparative advantage. The AfDB is an African multilateral financial institution that has direct control over its own resources, and can catalyse the acquisition of additional resources for a just cause such as gender.
From Africa's realities, then, one will identify individual and institutional attitudinal gaps when it comes to gender. The causes are many, as mentioned earlier in this article. Informed dialogue on the subject of gender is not a one-night affair on the African continent: one needs a short- and long-term plan. The society, as it were, should raise awareness, followed by attitudinal/value changes that will be later on institutionalised through the development of gender-friendly, enabling environment. The enabling environment is normally a consortium of policy, legal, economic and financial elements that will structurally advance the causes of gender within a nation in a specific manner.
To sustain such a gender-friendly environment, Africa needs to broadly expand coverage of education so that "no one is left behind" in both the rural and urban areas. This needs huge financial resources, where AfDB and other partners can contribute.
Thus, the AfDB Gender Strategy may benefit from the common but differentiated approach based on specific country realities as identified in AfDB's Country Strategy Papers and Regional Integration Strategy Papers from time to time. Based on this approach, the AfDB as a continental financial organisation may wish to consider entry points or selected drivers to include areas such as education, jobs, financial inclusion and statutory access to assets.
Girma Hailu Bekele is a Principal Legal Counsel at the African Development Bank.
