Search

Begin New Search Topic Conflict Author Jeni Klugman

1. Women’s Empowerment as a Path to Peace Understanding the Relationship between Gender Equality and Organized Violence

Author:
Jeni Klugman, Robert Nagel, and Mariana Viollaz
Publication Date:
03-2021
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security (GIWPS)
Abstract:
This study explores the relationship between gender inequality and violent conflict at a societal level. The results reveal that narrowing of gender gaps in education, employment, financial inclusion, and political participation, as well as reduced rates of adolescent fertility and intimate partner violence, are significantly associated with lower levels of organized violence. This suggests that advancing gender equality and empowering women and girls not only supports fundamental human rights but builds a solid foundation for a more peaceful world. This study updates and deepens existing research on several fronts. Building on the approach laid out in our Women, Peace, and Security Index, we propose a model that connects three dimensions of gender inequality—the lack of inclusion, justice and security for women—with the intensity of conflict. We develop gender inequality measures for each dimension as proxies of socially constructed gender roles and associated power differentials, taking advantage of improvements in the availability of global data over the past decade. We examine the years 2000–2014, with a measure of organized violence as the outcome variable, against our set of gender inequality measures. Our investigation calculates and compares estimates obtained from fixed as well as random effects models. Unlike some other factors associated with conflict, such as conflict history or mountainous terrain, we know that effectively addressing gender inequality is feasible with deliberate and sustained policy action.
Topic:
Women, Conflict, Violence, Peace, Equality, Empowerment, and Gender
Political Geography:
Global Focus

2. How Did Conflict Affect Women’s Economic Opportunities in Sub‑Saharan Africa?

Author:
Jeni Klugman and Turkan Mukhtarova
Publication Date:
10-2020
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security (GIWPS)
Abstract:
Prior research suggests that in times of conflict, women seek paid work for various reasons. But do these shifts last post-conflict? The authors analyze women’s labor force participation and employment trends in six conflict-affected Sub-Saharan African countries: Burundi, Chad, Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, and Rwanda. The report finds there are significantly higher labor force participation rates among women, both in absolute numbers and relative to men’s participation, in these conflict-affected countries compared to peer countries. However, while conflict expanded women’s economic opportunities, it did not transform or improve the quality of jobs available to them. Most women continue to work in agriculture, often lacking decent working conditions and adequate social security. A deeper investigation of Liberia suggests that conflict-related disruptions expanded women’s economic opportunities. The predicted employment likelihood rose significantly between 1986 (three years before the conflict) and 2007 (four years after the end of the conflict) for all Liberian women, but especially among married women.
Topic:
Economics, Labor Issues, Women, Conflict, Participation, and Opportunity
Political Geography:
Africa, Liberia, Rwanda, Burundi, Chad, Guinea-Bissau, Côte d'Ivoire, and Sub-Saharan Africa

3. Women’s Financial Inclusion in a Digital World: How Mobile Phones Can Reduce Gender Gaps

Author:
Raiyan Kabir and Jeni Klugman
Publication Date:
12-2019
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security (GIWPS)
Abstract:
Globally, only about two-thirds of women own a financial account, compared to about three in four men. In conflict-affected nations, women are 27 percent less likely than men to have a bank account. We present new estimates that greater mobile phone usage among women is associated with much lower gender gaps in financial inclusion: a percentage point lower gender gap in mobile access is associated with a 0.94 lower percentage point financial inclusion gap. This association is much larger than the effects found for reducing gender gaps in employment. Our findings highlight the promise of mobile phones to financially include women in fragile and conflict-affected countries. We also address efforts to close mobile phone gaps, design financial services intentionally for women, eliminate legal discrimination, and establish regulatory and policy frameworks that seek to ensure inclusion. Ultimately, concerted efforts by governments and private sector companies are required to achieve digital financial inclusion and close the gender gap.
Topic:
Women, Conflict, Economic Inequality, Phone, Inclusion, Digital Finance, and Gender
Political Geography:
Global Focus

4. Women’s Financial Inclusion and Economic Opportunities in Fragile and Conflict-Affected States: An overview of challenges and prospects

Author:
Jeni Klugman and Yvonne Quek
Publication Date:
02-2019
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security (GIWPS)
Abstract:
It is well established that women’s participation is essential for growing economies—and that inclusive growth is critical to creating sustainable peace. Yet women face the most severe economic exclusion in fragile and conflict-affected countries—precisely the nations that critically need their participation. This GIWPS report focuses on financial inclusion as an important tool to economically empower women and speed the pace of recovery after conflict. The report, supported by Bank of America, is the first in a series of Georgetown research studies on advancing women’s economic opportunities in fragile states. The report describes the status of women’s economic participation worldwide. Only 4 in 10 women are in paid work (compared to 7 in 10 men) in the 36 countries classified by the World Bank as fragile and conflict-affected states. The situation is even worse in countries with protracted conflict. Afghanistan has a 60 percentage point gap between male and female employment rates, and Syria and Yemen both have gender gaps of over 50 percentage points. Rates of financial inclusion – access to formal financial services as well as mobile accounts – are also systematically lower for women in fragile and conflict-affected settings, even though these are the conditions where such access is vitally important. “Financial accounts can be a lifeline for women and their families – and can have larger cumulative effects on the economy,” said Dr. Jeni Klugman, managing director of GIWPS. “Surveys suggest a strong demand for financial services among women.” The Georgetown report suggests innovations to formal financial services to make them more accessible to women in difficult environments. Mobile banking accounts, for example, can expand women’s occupational options and increase their consumption, especially given ongoing infrastructure and mobility constraints. Digitized social transfer payments from governments directly into women’s financial accounts can also be a route to inclusion with multiple benefits. “Emerging evidence shows that the private sector can play an integral role in addressing the unmet financial needs of women in fragile and conflict-affected countries,” adds Yvonne Quek, the Clinton-McLarty research fellow at GIWPS. Future research by GIWPS will focus on what is working to create economic opportunities for women in conflict-affected countries. GIWPS will use case study methods to underscore successful approaches to advance women’s economic opportunities and financial inclusion.
Topic:
Women, Finance, Conflict, Peace, Inclusion, and Opportunity
Political Geography:
Global Focus