FACULTY OF ENGINEERING AND GEOSCIENCES
DEPARTMENT OF METALLURGICAL AND MATERIALS ENGINEERING
GENDER STUDIES
ROYCE DANAI MUWODZERI - R238854J
TINOTENDA HERBERT CHINOKO R199152X
WISDOM NYASHA MARUME R239274M
GETRUDE SHUMBA R2311801H
RUVIMBO MAREGERE R238083B
RUTH KATENA R2311379F
TAKUDZWA MAKURA R238849B
TINOTENDA CHADYA R238678T
MAZVITA MUTAKAYA R238936B
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NIGEL T SHORAI R238862Q
DYLAN CHINGWARO R238295G
BEVERLY MABHUGU R238858X
AGNES TOMU R238059V
LOVEJOY MKUDU R238977Q
TAKUDZWA PHIRI R2311484W
DAVISON MANHOMBORE R238322H
GOODHOPE NHAPATA R2312308M
TANAKA D MANGACHENA R2212334E
LEVEL 2:1
TITLE GLOBAL STATUS OF GENDER EQUALITY
ASSIGNMENT 1
LECTURER DR MAGWEGWE
DATE 24 OCTOBER 2024
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a) Reflect of the global status of gender equality
The current situation and status of gender and where it stands is vexing and complex issue.
The progress differs between countries, regions as well as communities, there is still ground
to cover. However significant change has been observed during the past few decades like
women being allowed to vote as well as hold positions of power, having better access to
healthcare as well as getting education.
The world remains relatively gender unequal, especially in the political side of spectrum. In
most areas it is still considered a taboo for women to hold positions of significant power and
decision making. Worldwide statistics show that only 26.7% of nation parliaments have
women included in them. Many countries have never even had a woman as a president or
head of state. There are various factors leading to this, cultural norms that deem women unfit
to lead, lack of funding towards political campaigning, societal expectations. It has been
shown that the percentage parliaments with women included is growing faster in developing
countries that in developed countries, this must be due to the rigidity of a stable society that
reached where it is because of a male leader and think that if a female was to lead it will be
bad.
Considering the past couple of decades women have gained some notable achievements in
terms of politics. Over 100 years ago most countries did not allow women to even vote. If
women were to be included in decision making actions, the percentage of children in hunger
and poverty in places like Africa and Asia is likely to decrease by 15 million. This is because
women have a more sympathetic mindset than the militaristic males and tend to lead with a
more collaborative style than a totalitarian rule most male heads of state tend to impose.
Some women over the past few years have risen to position of high power like the German
chancellor Angela Merkel and former United Kingdom Prime Minister Theresa May. During
their rule areas of healthcare, education and family-based welfare have seen improvement
with a country like Germany’s health sector seeing an increase in more physicians and more
hospitals getting built and the economy grow to become a European powerhouse, reducing
youth unemployment rates all happening during Angela Merkel’s tenure as chancellor.
Countries like Rwanda have taken one of the biggest strides among African countries by
having 60% of their parliamentary seats being held by women the highest anywhere in the
world currently. Political representation of women has been at an all time high compared to
past years, but it still needs more in order to be actually significant, it is at a good point, but it
can be better. So far, the landscape is reflecting a landscape that shows progress but with still
many barriers and walls that require to be broken down in order for significant change to be
noticed. To address them backing from the government and international organisations are
needed to promote equality and empower women in politics.
Economically women remain disadvantaged in many areas. Women have been shown to earn
less than men despite doing the same amount of work, statistically women are shown to earn
77 cents for every dollar a man makes meaning that men earn 23 cents more than women.
Women have ended up being relegated to low earning sectors while men dominate the high
paying areas of employment. Women in most areas cannot even own pieces of land.
According to the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Report of 2022 the gender
gap has narrowed down to 68.4% it is progress, but it is slow, this statistic indicates that if it
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keeps moving at this rate annually the gap will get closed in 132 years. The same report also
stipulates how women participating in the labour force are at a rate of only 55% compared to
men who participate at a rate of 78% globally. There has been a study conducted by the
McKinsey Global institute that stipulates that if the gender gap in the labour force was to get
closed it would most likely add 12 trillion American dollars to the global GDP by 2025.
Zimbabwe is currently ranked 50th out of 146 in the Global Gender Gap index, which is spot
reflecting great achievements and also challenges in regard to the gender gap. In 2021 it had
recorded that women held 31.9% of parliamentary seats. Women face barriers to employment
even in sectors like agriculture which employs over 70% of the population but they remain
underrepresented, getting limited access to land and financial resources to grow successful
businesses. In the end women end up working in informal sectors like vending that lack an
incentives like job security or benefits in order to support their families. Due to this women
tend to get affected the most during economic downturns like during the 2008 economic
crisis and Covid 19 pandemic they affected women the most because they mostly worked in
unstable, informal sectors.
However there has been movements that look to equal out the playing field. Employment of
policies and laws that look to equal out the pay gap via transparency and employment of
women in higher paying sectors. The changing landscape of economies all over the world has
shown progress and change towards gender barriers with more inclusion of women in
decision making roles regarding the economy. Addressing all these challenges required a
multifaceted approach to all the challenges but they have improved everything from women’s
education in the long run, promoted women’s involvement in the economy empowering them
and also insured the effective integration of gender equality laws. If all countries were to look
into gender equality more and more it would result in more successful economies and
societies as well, unlocking their full potential as a country.
Women has also been disadvantaged in education. Most cultures only sent the boy child to
school while the girl child did not get any education. This was the main root cause why there
was a gender gap in the employment area, there were more men being educated than women.
Even when women started getting educated there were still barriers to their level of education
most could not even go to university or learn certain fields like the sciences. even after
eradication of the barriers to this day some cannot enter certain fields not because they
cannot, but societal norms deem that cannot, a woman studying to be an engineer is still
considered a taboo in some cultures. After the covid 19 pandemic it was reported that over
129 million girls were out of school, this was due to the huge downturn the economy took
which led many families into poverty therefore they would end up prioritizing the boy child
over the girl child. The Global Education Monitoring Report indicated that most girls
dropped out of school because of early marriages, economic pressures and domestic
responsibilities. Although in the past decade primary school completion has improved for
both genders, but the cracks and gaps start showing up in secondary where it has been shown
that boys have a 59% completion rate compared to the 57% by girls. This was a global
statistic, in Zimbabwe girls out compete boys in terms of primary school completion while in
secondary and tertiary levels that percentage changes drastically, only 37% of girls completed
secondary education compared to 43% of boys. This is due to cultural norms that inhibit girls
furthering their education, early marriages are still a problem with 33.7% of women aged 20-
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24 were married before the age of 18. Another inhibitor is early teen pregnancies with 107.9
births per 1000 women aged 15 to 19.
However there have been some notable efforts to benefit women so they can get education.
Poverty is a major factor as to why girls lack education as the family will most likely focus
on the boy child so that he gets educated not the girl child. Therefore, to counter this funding
organizations aimed at empowering the girl child so that they get educated have been formed
and work towards the goal of giving the girl child her right to education. There have also
been initiatives that boost women in STEM fields so that they get presented with the same
opportunities as a man because women are underrepresented in that field. Some countries like
Rwanda have implemented policies that promote girls’ education that resulted in more
women getting enrolled in secondary and tertiary schools. Education is a powerful tool that
can play a significant role in gender equality and also empower women for the greater good
allowing them to participate in the economy much better and more efficiently. Several studies
have shown that educated women are more likely to participate in the labour force, boosting
their country’s overall economy and also contribute more to their family’s well-being.
The biggest factor tipping the gender balance has been the societal factor. Gender equality is
a basic and fundamental human right, it includes everything from equal rights,
responsibilities and opportunities for all genders. Most of the biggest gender disparages arise
from societal norms, beliefs and behaviours. Certain beliefs end up being drilled into the
minds of innocent and impressionable minds of young boys and girls. Girls get told their only
role in life is childbearing, caring and being reduced to nothing more than a sub servient
housewife, boys get instilled values of toxic masculinity, how a man should be able to instil
discipline into women and dominate them in every sense as well as not let himself be
compared to a woman. This has led to the rise of harmful normalization of certain beliefs like
gender-based violence, most cultures believe a woman should always be reserved and not
raise any argument towards the man, of which this is a clear violation of human rights as soon
as she does that the man raises his hand towards her. Most societal norms have just ended up
normalizing the abnormal, most their norms are clear violations of basic human rights. A
major example of societal norms that destroy the concept of gender equality is the Shariah
law or also known as Islamic law, it is found in Islamic nations like Saudi arabia. Iran and
other Islamic nations. It has many rules that accompany it, many of them look to undermine
and lower women into nothing more than a possession of the man who married her. It has
rules that encourage forced marriage, it diminishes women rights like the right to education,
employment, it even restricts their movement and in some parts of Islamic nations women are
prohibited from driving.
Healthcare is one of the bigger sectors that also gets looked at when we want to see whether
gender equality is progressing or not. It is required when overall gender equality needs to be
achieved for both men and women alike. The overview globally still shows that women tend
to still be disadvantaged in this sector as well, unable to access healthcare services.
According to the World Health Organisation, women are more likely to face unmet health
needs especially in reproductive health services. They reported that almost 810 women die
per day from possibly avoidable causes related to childbirth and pregnancy, with most of
them happening in 3rd world countries. Another report by the United Nations stated that
women encounter systematic barrier when trying to access healthcare. The barriers include
discrimination, lack of transportation and also financial constraints. Some cultures deny
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women’s autonomy in seeking healthcare leading to delays in treatments and poorer health
outcomes. In the context of Zimbabwe as of 2017 the maternal mortality rate stood at 458
deaths per 100000 live births, its still higher than the global average however compared to the
previous years it shows improvement. Even with this improvement there are still challenges
being faced, a report from the Zimbabwe Demographic and Health survey, 18.2% of women
aged 15 to 49 reported having experienced physical and/or sexual violence by their former or
current intimate partner, because fear of getting shamed most of them would deter from
seeking medical attention. Another report showcases how women are not getting enough
access to family planning services as the adolescent birth rate is currently at 107.9 per 1000
women aged 15 to 19, this needs to be addressed as soon as possible by offering young girls
access to contraceptives as well as proper sexual education. Achieving gender equality in
regard to healthcare is important for a country’s overall health. It has reported that when
women have equal access to healthcare it is better for their families’ overall health as well.
When educated women are seek healthcare, they do so for themselves and their children this
means that this will in turn reduced infant and maternal mortality rates. Rwanda has taken
great strives in pushing for gender equality in healthcare, implementing policies and
integrating gender sensitive approaches into healthcare delivery, this in turn has led to a
dramatic drop in their maternal mortality rates and increase in the use of reproductive health
services.
In conclusion the world is not yet gender equal, there are still many sectors that need boosting
in order for equality to be achieved, there have been an improvement compared to past years
however there is still a long way to go to reach the ideal world where everyone shares the
same opportunities.
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b) Is The World Gender Equal Yet?
In today’s world gender inequality is still something that remains prevalent in the current
society however despite the many disparities there some upsides and progress towards gender
equality in many sectors like healthcare, education and the employment. Gender equality has
been a topic of discussion for decades, I argue that gender equality has not been reached yet.
There are still gaps in terms of gender equality in the workplace like the male dominated
mining sector where women face unique challenges that inhibit them from entering the
sector. Zimbabwe still has many challenges in regards to this despite having taken some
initiatives and advancements that look to better women and gender equality in the sector.
The world still suffers from inequality of gender in the workplace women have been shown
to earn less than men despite doing the same amount of work, statistically women are shown
to earn 23% less than men. Women have ended up being relegated to low earning sectors
while men dominate the high paying areas of employment. Women cannot even own pieces
of land. According to the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Report of 2022 the
gender gap has narrowed down to 68.4% in the same report it says women participating in the
labour force are at a rate of only 55% compared to men who participate at a rate of 78%
globally. The mining industry has traditionally been male dominated, this has caused women
to be disadvantaged when trying to enter the field. According to the International Labour
Organization women only represent approximately 8% of the mining and quarrying global
workforce with the rest being dominated by men, the gap is massive and shows significant
gender imbalance. This is not just about the statistics but further shows how factors like
societal norms and structural inequalities persist within the mining sector. Cultural
perceptions in countries like Zimbabwe stipulate that mining is associated with masculinity
and also casts this shadow on women not being capable of undertaking the physically
demanding task that is mining. This stereotyping results in women getting discouraged from
entering such a field and end up being relegated to low paying jobs that are less secure such
as administrative work or informal employment like vending or hairdressing leaving women
underrepresented in the mining sector, even if they were to enter the sector their acceptance
and recognition in the field is limited. In Zimbabwe the mining sector is vital to its
economy’s performance. According to a report by the Pact Institute women make up 10% of
Zimbabwe’s 535000 artisanal and small-scale miners.
In this field women who actually enter this field are most likely just entering as part of
artisanal and small-scale miners. Worsening economic conditions have led them to enter the
field via informal means in order to provide for their families. They work in informal settings
that means they have no guarantee of legal protections when faced with they get faced with
legal repercussions that come with informal mining which in most cases is consider illegal.
They also face littles to no safety protections, the mining sector deals with hazardous
chemicals like mercury and cyanide which are harmful if a person comes into contact with
such chemicals with no protection which in the informal sector that’s often the reality. When
working in the informal sector it is often plagued with gender-based violence, there are
proper channels to report these atrocities, so justice is usually never served.
Another reason there are less women in the mining sector is the lack in resources. Women are
unable to get hold of the necessary resources like financing, land rights and equipment
essential for establishing working mining operations. In Zimbabwe that is often the case as
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women in artisanal and small-scale miners cannot access the necessary resources, they need
in order to thrive and invest in their endeavours in the mining sector. This causes a never-
ending loop of inequality with the women always ending up at the bottom unable to compete
side by side with male miners who have greater access to resources. There is also a great deal
of corruption involved with getting access to these resources and due to Zimbabwe being
primarily a patriarchal capitalistic state where men hold all the power and access to resources,
women have to jump through many hoops in order to get a hold of even the smallest crumbs
in terms of resources.
Healthcare is important when looking into gender equality. It is required when overall gender
equality needs to be achieved for both men and women alike. Statistics show that women
tend to be disadvantaged in this sector as well, unable to access healthcare services.
According to the World Health Organisation, women are more likely to face unmet health
needs especially in reproductive health services. A report by United Nations stated that
women encounter systematic barrier when trying to access healthcare. The barriers include
discrimination, lack of transportation and financial constraints. A report from the Zimbabwe
Demographic and Health survey, 18.2% of women aged 15 to 49 reported having
experienced physical and/or sexual violence by their former or current intimate partner. The
mining sectors remains mainly barred off to the female gender because of safety concerns.
Women face unsafe working conditions due to not enough safety measures that are meant to
protect them, and they also face gender-based violence in the workspace. Women in the
mining sector tend to face harassment, violence as well as intimidation in the workplace or
their surrounding communities. Reports have shown that women in small scale mining are
particularly more exposed to actions of sexual assault and harassment. The lack of well setup
reporting mechanisms and law enforcement leaves many women questioning whether
reporting will be met with any justice whatsoever. Due to cultural barriers and stigma
surrounding the mining sector there is discrimination of women in the field. The
stigmatization will result in women not being able to report safety violations or seek help
after being harassed because most of them will fear the social backlash or even further
victimization, these barriers are making it impossible for women to be able to voice their
concerns of safety. There is lack of adequate support systems put in place that look into
voicing the concerns of women in the mining field only a few exist like the Zvishavane
Women’s Mining Association. The safety conditions in mining operations tend to be
inadequate and in small scale operations they are usually informal or there are none at all.
These mining operations are usually in very harsh, toxic and hazardous environments and
tackling them without any protective equipment or proper training is very risky and could
result in the loss of one’s life. The absence of gender sensitive safety protocols further
compounds these risks because many of these measures do not account for the specific needs
of women.
Most of the biggest gender disparages arise from societal norms, beliefs and behaviours. Girls
get told their main role in life is childbearing and caring, when they end up trying to enter the
mining sector, they are met with the difficulty of balancing their work and their personal
lives. The sector is demanding thereby creating an unequal work-life balance. Due to cultural
expectations that stipulate that a woman’s primary responsibilities include childcare and
household work if she was to try to enter this field, she will be overburdened with the
overload of work. This sector does not allow for a healthy balance of work and family-
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oriented obligations. This ends up creating an unfavourable environment for women to work
in and they end up neglecting one or the other and which often leads to stress and fatigue.
However, on the other end of the spectrum there has been actual progress looking towards the
betterment and integration of women there have been movements that look to equal out the
playing field. Employment of policies and laws that look to equal out the pay gap via
transparency and employment of women in higher paying sectors even ones that look into the
mining sector so as to reach gender equality in the sector. The Zimbabwean government has
seen the importance of gender equality in the field and thus has implemented policies that
promotes women’s involvement in the mining sector. They made the National Gender Policy
which advocates about gender parity to ensure equal opportunities for all genders, it supports
women in the mining sector by providing access to resources and training, it also addresses
the integration of gender-based policies as well as looking into and probing violations of
women’s rights in the sector. They also integrated the Mining sector Policy which pushes the
same actions as the National Gender Policy as well as some extra like how is pushes for
gender mainstreaming in the mining field.
There have also been initiatives that have been setup that look to empower women in mining
like the Zvishavane Women in Mining group an all women organization which has helped
with training women in the mining sector as well as push agendas that benefit women like
their recognition and acknowledgement, set up by Sheila Mutsvene a women’s rights
advocate and entrepreneur, she formed the association with the goal of promoting women’s
participation in mining, provide women with the necessary resources to enter the field like
proper training, the association has pushed for policy reforms so as to have women’s
concerns be considered, the overarching main purpose of the association is supporting
women in mining to further their economic and social empowerment. Other associations that
have been furthering the agenda of gender equality and women’s representation by propping
them, giving them better access to financial resources in the mining field are the Mberengwa
Miners Association and the Women in Mining initiative that is spearheaded by the Zimbabwe
Miners Federation.
The government and multiple Non-Governmental Organizations have embarked on a quest to
conduct training programs that look to enhance the skills and knowhow of women in the
mining sector. In such programs they will be taught mining techniques, health and safety
practices as well as business management so as to equip women so that they can participate in
the field much more effectively. There is the extractive industries technical assistance
program that is led by the World Bank is aims to provide. Another program that is being done
locally is the Mining Governance program being offer by the Zimbabwe Environmental Law
Association that looks to.
In conclusion the world is not yet gender equal, there have been massive strides that have
been taken to ensure gender equality is achieved eventually although there are still massive
concerns that need to be addressed before gender equality is achieved.
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