Empowering women

It is encouraging to note that Prime Minister Abdullah Ensour himself highlighted the need to correct the existing “imbalance” in the ratio of women in senior governmental positions in comparison with their male colleagues. 

The premier raised this issue at the ninth Government Leaders Forum earlier this week, noting that it is women’s “constitutional right” to be fairly represented in leading positions, “not a favour or an act of sympathy”. 

Ensour also alluded to the overall low representation of women, who constitute 44 per cent of all public sector employees, at all levels of civil service, which he referred to as an indication of a “tremendous weakness in development”. 

Calling this an economic and social loss that must be addressed to benefit from the skills and expertise of women in public office, he said “it is not a governmental need, but a societal one.”

According to a study conducted by the Ministry of Public Sector Development, women’s representation in the public sector varies from one sector to another. Females constitute 57 per cent of all employees in the health sector, and 53 per cent in education, whereas they account for only 24 per cent of staff members in all other public agencies.

This is where measures must be undertaken to rectify the imbalance. 

It goes without saying that under international norms, gender equality is a prime human rights principle. Article 3 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights stipulates that “parties to the Covenant undertake to ensure the equal right of men and women to the enjoyment of all economic, social and cultural rights.”

This equality has been interpreted by the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights to mean that women’s representation in senior posts must be promoted and secured by a deliberate policy and appropriate legislation. 

Now that there is greater recognition of this problem, it can be expected that a more determined effort will be made to rectify the existing gender imbalance not only in public service but also in the private sector.