Source: The Herald
Global institutions like the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank have over the years developed anti-poverty initiatives across the developing world that focus on gender-based strategies as a way of eradicating poverty, achieving equality and empowerment.

The gender discourse has been with Zimbabwe since the early 1980s.

While activists and other interested parties can argue on the point of conjecture or position of disagreement, what people will not miss is the fact that it has always been about agitating for equality between men and women.

With different issues being brought to the table in the gender discourse, and in some instances causing unnecessary tension between men and women, what has come out clearly over the years is that gender equality cannot be achieved without the participation of men. It appears that men are the key stakeholders in this discourse.

However, what men are yet to realise is that they stand to benefit more from gender equality than the women themselves, once the female populace has been empowered economically and have access to opportunities for wealth and income creation.

A recent documentary series and book done by journalists Nicholas Kristof and Sherly Wudun gives a compelling narrative on the value of empowering women economically and the beauty of teaching them entrepreneurship.

By equipping them with entrepreneurship skills, the two in the documentary agree that it actually breaks the cycle of poverty and subjugation, something currently being experienced in Zimbabwe.

With the economic challenges currently being faced at both household and national level, the financial burden has taken a toll on breadwinners, the majority of them being men, who now have to provide for the family from their meagre earnings.

While other households are seemingly managing, the same cannot be said of a majority who are reeling under severe economic problems. Probably their devastating effects can only be reduced through additional incomes.

It is against this background that many will agree that gender equality in this case will work in favour of men, once they begin to regard women as their equals and partners who can further improve the financial situation of any home, if they are given the necessary support to fully exploit their potential.

Rather than regard women as meek and weak, men should actually exploit the level of ingenuity in women by economically empowering them, knowing that they will put the resources to good use.

At the height of economic problems in 2007 up to 2010, the majority of women played a pivotal role at both household and national level by engaging in different business ventures that included cross-border trading, vending of different merchandise as well as doing part-time jobs to generate income.

They became a vital cog of the Zimbabwe economy during that time with some going as far as the Democratic Republic of Congo to sell different wares as well as exporting labour. They exposed an amazing level of resilience, such that their narratives are shared at every women's forum in the region.

Even economists posit that women's contribution cannot be underestimated in the economic development of any nation.

Global institutions like the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank have over the years developed anti-poverty initiatives across the developing world that focus on gender-based strategies as a way of eradicating poverty, achieving equality and empowerment.

This is because these institutions and like-minded individuals realise that women's unpaid employment could be harnessed and given a price tag to further improve the economic welfare of communities.

Letting women consistently trail men in formal labour force participation, access to credit, entrepreneurship, income levels and ownership rights perpetuates levels of poverty in any situation.

Research carried out by different institutions, including the African Development Bank, show that under-investing in women limits development, slows down poverty reduction and economic growth, while throwing a lot of households into abysmal poverty.

In light of those revelations and the role that women have been playing over the years, putting earnings in women's hands becomes the most intelligent thing to do. Save for few incidents, women usually reinvest a much higher portion in their families and communities than men, spreading the wealth beyond themselves.

A study carried out by the World Bank shows that when income is in the hands of the mother, the survival probability of a child increases by about 20 percent in Brazil and in Kenya; a child will be about 17 percent taller because mothers will invest more of their income in health and nutrition.

The same report notes that in sub-Saharan Africa, agricultural productivity could be raised by as much as 20 percent by allocating bigger share of agricultural input to women.

Looking at all these studies, Zimbabwe could actually benefit more than is the case at the moment through elevating the economic status of women through the introduction of many poverty alleviation programmes aimed at empowering women.

However, if women are to be effective agents of economic development, focus should be put in enhancing their contribution and taking into account their different needs, multiple roles and changing economic and family situations.

As mothers, wives and care-givers, they will need economic programmes that will hone their business skills, while allowing them enough time to attend to their socialised roles.

It also means more recognition must be given to their current and potential contribution as producers, decision- makers and as income generators who have the competitive edge to operate in any environment.

Financial assistance from the banks and similar institutions would put women in a good position, considering that a majority of them do have good business acumen that is not supported by funding.

That is the reason why the nation has a coterie of women who for years have been running stunted business ventures, because more often than not, they lack collateral security to en- able them to borrow from banks. And even in cases where they may have the collateral, they are considered a flight risk and fail to qualify for loans.

Zimbabwe is at a stage where it needs to increase women's participation in economic empowerment so that they can pool their business ingenuity and economic resources to prop up the nation's economic well-being

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