DURING THE last calendar year, there was a greater increase in the number of females employed when compared with their male counterparts. The number of women employed increased by 7,100 or 1.9 per cent, reaching a total of 384,700.
This is contained in the latest Economic and Social Survey reported by Government Senator Aloun N'dombet Assamba during her contribution to the 2002/03 State of the Nation Debate in the Senate on Friday (July 19).
She said women also continued to experience higher levels of public sector employment than men and by the end of 2001, approximately 54 per cent of Government employees or 55,000 persons were women.
"Government is setting the example as it should be. We have to take an inclusionist approach and engage the traditionally marginalised," Senator Assamba said.
She said while a number of women in the lower middle classes and middle class have made enormous progress and have availed themselves of training and were outperforming the men educationally, the women at the lowest rung have not been so fortunate.
The Government was working assiduously however to expand employment opportunities and to increase investments, many of these women would have to create their own opportunities and employment space, she said..
The Senator said in trying to accomplish this, women face a number of obstacles. "It is a fact that women have a much better repayment record of their micro and small business loans than men. Yet it is also an established fact that credit institutions are more reluctant to lend to women," she noted.
Senator she said despite this fact, women have a better credit record, as data gathered by Development Options Limited has proven this.
"It is so unfair that women have a harder time getting credit when they are generally far better contributors to credit institutions than men and generally better savers," she stressed.
Senator N'dombet Assamba, who is also State Minister for Industry, Commerce and Technology, also pointed out that there was prejudice against women in believing that women were more likely to fail in their investments and that they could not manage business.
"A major part of the injustice is that we build up the credit institutions yet we share disproportionately in the benefits. The Ministry has a special interest in ensuring gender equity and certainly gender injustice in that the funds which we raise and provide for the micro and small business sector goes to assist those persons most vulnerable and that is our women," she added.
