Japan's Official Development Assistance White Paper 2007
Next PageMain Text > Part II ODA DISBURSEMENTS IN FISCAL YEAR 2005 > Chapter 2 Details about Japan's ODA > Section 2. Measures for Each of the Priority Issues > 2. Support for Social Development > (5) Gender
(5) Gender
<Current Status>
Socially-accepted ideas and social systems are generally established from the viewpoint of men. Women, consequently, are placed in a weak position in various areas of life. In addition, it is said that women account for about 70% of the world's poor. The sustainable development of developing countries requires that men and women equally participate in development for the mutual benefit of both.
<Japan's Efforts>
The perspective of gender equality is incorporated in the Basic Policies of the ODA Charter revised in August 2003, which clearly states that Japan will work to empower women in developing countries. In addition, the Medium-Term Policy on ODA newly enacted in February 2005 established the perspective of gender as a principle to be reflected in development efforts.
Furthermore, in 1995 Japan formulated the Women in Development (WID) Initiative, which it then drastically revised in 2005 into the newly formulated Gender and Development (GAD) Initiative.
The previous WID Initiative focused on three priority areas: education, health, and economic and social participation. In contrast, the GAD Initiative emphasizes that the gender perspective should be reflected in all areas. In addition to the priority areas specified in the WID Initiative, it also includes improvements concerning the unequal relationships between men and women, the disadvantageous socioeconomic conditions in which women are placed, and the rigid division of roles and labor between men and women. In addition, to promote gender mainstreaming39 in development GAD sets forth a plan for including the gender perspective in all stages of development assistance; that is, policy formulation, planning, implementation, and evaluation. The initiative also places emphasis on the relationship between gender issues and the ODA Charter's priority issues, including poverty reduction, sustainable growth, addressing global issues, and peace-building, then indicates how Japan should act to address the issue of gender.
As an example of approach based on the GAD Initiative, there are projects to develop basic infrastructure related to roads, water supply, irrigation, medical treatment, and education in Indonesia.40 Contributing loan aid to Indonesia in FY2006, facilitating the participation of women in decision-making is provided for in these projects. While plans for these projects are formulated through the leadership of the local region, on these occasions, Japan encourages that at least 25% of the participants in resident consultations are women. Furthermore, when the various regions select their individual projects, Japan recommends that they be "projects which contribute to the empowerment of women."
A group debate held through the Project on activation of women development centers (WDCs) to improve women's livelihood in Nigeria (Photo: JICA)
<Collaboration with International Organizations>
Japan also provides support through international organizations like the UNDP and the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM). For example, in 1995 it established the WID Fund within the UNDP which implemented support for women in developing countries. Following the consolidation of the WID Fund into the Partnership Fund in 2003, Japan has continued working toward gender equality in developing countries in collaboration with the UNDP. In FY2006 Japan made contributions of US$2.66 million to the UNDP Partnership Fund, and US$706,600 to UNIFEM. Japan also supports the administrative costs of the "Gender and Development Studies" program at the Asian Institute of Technology (AIT) in Thailand.
As an initiative utilizing the UNDP Partnership Fund, a homepage41 was created which targets Latin American and Caribbean countries with the purpose of sharing and consulting over concrete measures for mainstreaming gender. Illustrating the importance of support pertaining to gender issues in various countries, a register of names of 70 experts capable of responding to fields dealt with by the UNDP (human development, MDGs, human rights, administrative capacity [governance], conflict and peace-building, HIV/AIDS, environment and energy, etc.) was created for the site. It allows users to access, with just a single click, to research institutions, NGOs, basic literature, and 50 good case examples spread throughout the region. This initiative is also connected to collaborations and capacity building at the regional level, and the UNDP is examining making it available for West African and Asia Pacific countries as well.
Japan intends to work with international organizations with comparative advantages in this area to make its international cooperation fair and effective, focused on support for women's independence, and to devote further effort to empowering women in developing countries.