Demographic Perspectives on Gender Inequality: A Comparative Study of the Provinces in Zambia

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1 Studies in Social Sciences and Humanities Vol. 3, No. 3, 2015, Demographic Perspectives on Gender Inequality: A Comparative Study of the Provinces in Zambia Kusanthan Thankian 1, Roy M. Kalinda 2 Abstract An analysis of census data from the Central Statistics Office using comparative analysis for the years 2000 and 2010 was done to understand demographic changes and gender inequality in education, income and working population in Zambia. Findings indicate that the population of Zambia increased from 9.9 million in 2000 to 13.1 million in The decadal growth rate for the population was 32.4 In 2010, the overall TFR for the country was 5.9 while the fertility levels were higher in provinces with predominantly rural socioeconomic characteristics. For instance, in Luapula Province the TFR, CBR and Child women ratio were 7.3, 39 and 835, respectively. On the other hand, the TFR, CBR and Child women ratio for Northern Province were 7.1, 41 and 880, respectively. The findings shows that the adult literacy rates was higher among males (77%) compared to the females (58%). As a consequence the gender parity index was Labour force participation rate for the population aged 15 years and older was higher for the males (58%) than the females (44%). Furthermore, results showed a higher male (71%) percentage distribution of formal sector employed population 15 years and older compared to females (29%). Results also showed that males earned more than females in formal sector employment in all the provinces. There is gender inequality in working population by employment status, income and sex. This outcome shows the need for Government to implement the National Gender Policy to reduce the discrepancy that exists between males and females in education and employment. Keywords: Gender inequality, employment, demographic change 1. Introduction Demographic changes represent changes in socio-economic development. Gender equality and empowerment of women is today recognized globally as a key element in the achievement of progress in different areas of social-economic development. The charter of the United Nation signed in 1984 being the first international agreement that proclaimed gender equality as a fundamental right. Other conventions such as the CEDAW of 1979, the Beijing Conference of 1995, the Cairo Conference of 1993 on Population and Development and many others do recognize the importance of gender issues in the development of society. Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and main target for 2015 recognizes the promotion of gender equality and empowerment of women as central to its realization. The extent of socioeconomic development can be to a great extent to be extrapolated from changes in a county. Achieving gender equality and empowerment of women is one key indicator of developmental progress. Despite rapid economic growth, poverty levels in Zambia remain high. This is reflected in its low human development score (0.403) and ranking (164/187) and a least developed country status by the UN s definition. While urban poverty has reduced significantly, rural poverty affecting the majority of the population has remained high (80%). Income distribution has also grown more unequal in favour of the skilled urban population. The growing income inequality has exacerbated the differences in access to services such as education and health 1 Department of Gender Studies School of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Zambia, Zambia 2 Department of Social Development Studies, University of Zambia, Zambia 2015 Research Academy of Social Sciences 139

2 K. Thankian & R. M. Kalinda (Ministry of Foreign Affairs Finland, 2014). With a population of ,508 citizens in Zambia women account for 51% of this population (MDCD 2011: 2014). While Zambian women are expected to live slightly longer than Zambian men, they are 16% less likely than men to be literate (UNDP, 2008). Comparable to other countries Increase in education has often been cited as one of the major avenues through which women are empowered. Education increases the upward socio-economic mobility of women; creates an opportu0nity for them to work outside the home; and enhances husband-wife communication. Sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries in particular is found to be lower compared tothat of males. For instance, among females of primary school age, only 17% of them in Niger (in 1998) and 21%of them in Burkina Faso (in 1998/99) were attending school, while the respective figures for males are 24% and29% (Mukuria et al. 2005). According to UNFPA (2005), based on the 2001/02 millennium indicators data base of the United Nations, the report shows that, in most developing countries, gender disparities in access to education increase with increasing level of education. Among 65 developing countries for which the required data were available, about half have achieved gender parity in primary education, 20% of them achieved gender parity in secondary education, and only 8% of the higher education (UNFPA, 2005).This can be seen in the different earnings women make due to the differences in education. For instance in Zambia Women are likely to earn only 55% of what men do, on average (UNDP, 2008). Economically, the UNDP (2008) estimates that 70% of the labor force is employed in agriculture, which is a relatively small-scale and underdeveloped sector as a result of the focus on the migrant labor economy around copper mining. Migrant labor practices have left women largely responsible for agricultural production for household consumption and limited exchange, and have led in part to women being overrepresented among the impoverished (Byrne, 1994). Incidences of extreme poverty has been documented to be higher in female headed households than that of male-headed ones (LCMS, 2010; CJJDP, 2005). The Ministry of Gender and Child development in the national gender policy note that high levels of poverty among women continues to be a hindrance to their participation in decision making because they are less educated and skilled and therefore dependent (MGCD, 2014). This is evidenced by the 2014 Zambia national women s lobby which documents that women are largely underrepresented in decision making at all levels in institutions including the Executive, Legislature, Local Government, Quasi Government institutions, political parties, the private sector, religious bodies and traditional establishments ( ZNWL, 2014). The Strategic Country Gender Assessment for Zambia (World Bank, 2004) noted that as men and women play different economic roles in the country, gender takes on a particular economic perspective. Women are primarily engaged in agriculture, micro-enterprise, and household tasks while men dominate the mining sector and small-medium enterprise (SME). Furthermore, it is estimated that 80% of the country s food stock is produced by women but women farmers are most often found engaged in small scale subsistence farming with lower access to good land, seeds, technology, markets and credit (SIDA, 2008). The Gender status report also reports that access to resources such as the fertilizer Support Programme is dominated by men. Men outnumbered women almost on a 2:1 basis. The number of female farmers with access to the Fertiliser Support Programme increased from 47,389 in the 2005/2006 agricultural season to 74,279 in the 2008/2009 agricultural season, while the number of males increased from 88,928 in the 2005/2006 agricultural season to 139,271 in the 2008/2009 season (MGCD, 2011).Women are also significantly more unlikely to be found as owners of land or holders of bank accounts (MGDC, 2011: 2014). Maternal mortality rates are very high and young women aged are four times more vulnerable to HIV/Aids infection than their male counterparts. While the non-governmental organizations coordinating council (2012) reported that, the incidence and prevalence of HIV/AIDS continues to affect women more than men. It is evident that women take on more of the burden of care; and their poor socio-economic status does not help matters. Of the current 14% prevalence rates, the majority cases are women who at the same time are the least in accessing ART. In the same vein girls in the age group are more vulnerable to contracting HIV/AIDS than their male counterparts. Women are by far the most targeted victims of gender- 140

3 Studies in Social Sciences and Humanities based violence and more than every second married woman reports having been beaten, kicked or slapped at least once (SIDA, 2008). In line with the gender-related Millennium Development Goal, the Zambian government has put in place A national gender policy which was eventually adopted in 2000 and has been integrated into the sixth National Development Plan ( ) This policy includes increasing the provision of quality health care for women and children, encouraging men s involvement in caring for the chronically ill, disaggregating data by sex, and promoting awareness of the gendered harm caused by some cultural practices (MDCD, 2014). From this perspective this paper seeks to understand the demographic change and gender inequalities across the provinces in Zambia. In this paper an attempt is made to understand the demographic change and other aspects of gender inequality from available data on education, literacy, employment, wealth, and income and working population for the provinces of Zambia. The issues relating to population and development are important to understand and also improve the demographic, social and economic characteristics through government interventions. Objectives 1. To understand and analyze the demographic changes in Zambia between 2000 and To examine gender inequality in education, income and working population. 2. Methodology Data for this study have been compiled from the Central Statistics Office (2010) and other related documents published by the Central Statistical Office. The comparative analysis was done for the years 2000 and 2010 to understand demographic changes and gender inequality in Zambia. In the context of demographic indicators and gender inequality, all the provinces in Zambia have been considered and analyzed. 3. Results and Discussion Growth Rate of the Population Table 1: Growth Rate of Population Province Decadal Growth: Total Females Males Sex ratio Central Copperbelt Eastern Luapula Lusaka Northern North-western Southern Western Total The population of Zambia increased from 9.9 million in 2000 to 13.1 million in This gives a decadal growth rate of 32.4 as presented in Table 1. Decadal growth rate by gender was 34.4 females and 30.5 males. Lusaka province had the highest decadal growth rate of 57.5 (61.7 females and 53.4 males. The province with the lowest decadal growth rate (18) was Western Province (19.4 females and 16.6 males). The 141

4 K. Thankian & R. M. Kalinda Sex Ratio at birth in Zambia during the same period was 97.2 males per 100 females. The highest and lowest Sex Ration was on the Copper belt (99.1) and Western Province (92.3), respectively. Total Fertility Rate, Crude Birth Rate, Child women ratio and General Fertility rate by Province Fertility is one of the most important demographic variables generated from census data. The census provides a unique opportunity to collect reliable data on fertility, which is very hard to do in a survey. Fertility refers to the occurrence of live births among women in a population. It provides information to help understand and appreciate past, current and future trends of the population size, composition and growth. Fertility data leads planners, government, non-governmental organizations, among others, to evidence based socio-economic planning, monitoring and evaluation for various current and future aspects of population development. According to the Table 2, in 2010, the overall Total Fertility Rate (TFR) for the country was 5.9. Fertility levels were higher in provinces with predominantly rural socio-economic characteristics. Luapula, Northern and North-western provinces recorded the highest TFR of 7.3, 7.1 and 6.8, respectively. The more urbanized provinces, Lusaka and Copperbelt provinces recorded the lowest TFR of 4.6 and 5.0, respectively. The Crude Birth Rate (CBR) in 2010 was 35, with the highest CBR being for Northern (41) and lowest being for Lusaka (31) provinces births per thousand population. The Child Woman Ratio (CWR) for Zambia in 2010 was 738 children per thousand women. The provinces with the highest and lowest CWR were Northern (880) and Lusaka (571) provinces, respectively. The 2010 census of population and housing report indicate that total fertility rate increased in rural areas from 6.7 in the year 2000 to 7.0 in the year On the other hand, total fertility rate declined in urban areas from 4.9 to 4.6 in urban areas (2010 Census of Population and Housing). In other words, while total fertility rate has increased in rural areas between the years 2000 to 2010, the same has declined in the urban areas during the same period. Table 2: Total Fertility Rate, Crude Birth Rate, Child women ratio, General Fertility rate by Province, 2010 Total Fertility Rate 2010 Crude Birth Rate Child women ratio General Fertility Rate Central Copperbelt Eastern Luapula Lusaka Northern North-western Southern Western Total Source: 2010 Census of Population and Housing, National Analytical Report Social economic indicators affecting fertility include education, employment and religious affiliation. As far as education is concerned, the 2010 census report indicate that the highest fertility was reported among women with primary education (7.1), followed by women with no education(6.8) and the last category of women were those with tertiary education whose fertility rate was 2.8 and the lowest. When these findings are compared to the findings of the 2000 census of Population and housing, women with no education had fertility rate of 6.1, women with primary education had fertility of 6.9 while women with tertiary education had fertility rate of 3.9 (2000 Census of population and Housing). Thus between the year 2000 and the year 2010, fertility rate increased among women with primary education and those with no education. The decline of total fertility rate between the year 2000 and the year 2010 among women with 142

5 Studies in Social Sciences and Humanities tertiary education is minimal. However, it can be stated that the higher a women s education is the greater the likelihood that her fertility rate is low. In the year 2000, women classified as working had a total fertility rate of 5.8 compared to the other category of women who were classified as not working whose total fertility was 6.2 ( 2000 Census of population and Housing). The 2010 census revealed that total fertility was higher among the unemployed women compared to the employed women with 6.2 and 5.3 respectively (2010 Census of population and housing). Therefore employment has an effect of lowering fertility rate among the working women and the statistics show that the fertility rate declined for working women form 5.8 in the year 2000 to 5.8 in the year Education, Literacy and Gender Inequality Education, literacy and gender inequality of population in Zambia is as presented in Table 3. The percentage distribution of population school attendance at national and provincial level is shown in Table. Overall percentage distribution of enrollment in basic school (Grade 1-9) were 50% females and 50% males. Basic school (Primary education) enrollment was highest in Lusaka and Copperbelt Province for females (54%, 51%) compared to males (46%, 49%), respectively. Female (48%) enrollment in basic education was lowest in Northern Province compared to the males (52%). Percent distribution of enrollment in high school (Grades 10-12) was 45% females and 55% males at the national level. Percent adult literacy rates were 77% for males and 58% for females. The provinces with the highest percentage of adult literacy rates (15 years and older) was Copperbelt (82% females and 88% males), followed by Lusaka (79% females and 88% males) and Southern (71% females and 78% males) Provinces. Findings revealed that there are fewer females attaining tertiary education compared to the male counterpart. Situation in the year 2000: In the year 2000, the literacy rate for the population aged five (5) years and above still remained at 55.3%. Results further show that the problem of illiteracy has still remained more common among females than males since One in every two females (49.8%) was illiterate compared to almost two in every five males (39%). The problem of illiteracy was more pervasive among the rural population, particularly among the females than the urban population. In rural areas, the proportion of the population that could read and write in any language stagnated at about 45% between 1990 and 200. More than half of the rural population aged five years and above were illiterate compared to only a third of the urban population. While there was no improvement in literacy levels in rural areas, the urban population registered a slight increase from 71% in 1990 to 73% in the year 2000(2000 Census of Population and Housing). The situation of illiteracy among both the urban and rural populations affects the females population more than the male population. In rural areas schools are few and distant and this makes it difficulty for the female children to trek long distances to school where they could get literacy. Other challenges in rural areas facing the female children include poverty in households which makes the parents prefer to send the male children to school at the expense of female children; early marriages for girls which are still very common in remote rural areas. Gender parity index shows the disparities in access to education between males and females. The index helps in addressing unequal access to education among females. Overall, the gender parity index for those currently attending school was 0.96, indicating that there are less females than males currently attending school. The GPI for those currently attending secondary school was In rural areas the GPI was 0.75 while that of urban areas was Lusaka and Copperbelt provinces had the highest GPI at 1.04 and 0.99, respectively. Northern Province had the lowest at

6 % distribution of enrollment in basic school (Grades 1-9) K. Thankian & R. M. Kalinda Table 3: Education, Literacy and Gender Inequality % distribution of % of adult Gender enrollment in literacy rates (15 parity High school years and older) index (Grades 10-12) 2010 Gender parity index of population currently attending secondary school Female Male Female Male Female Male Central Copperbelt Eastern Luapula Lusaka Northern N/Western Southern Western Total Source: Ministry of Education, Educational Statistics, 2010 CSO, Census of Population and Housing, 2010 Gender Inequality in Employment, Wealth and Income The gender inequality in employment, wealth and income is shown in Table 4. Overall, the usual working population aged 15 years and older are 44% females and 58% males. The percentage distribution of formal sector employed population 15 years and older shows a discrepancy between female (29%) and male (71%). Provinces with the highest percentage of female labour force showed a higher percentage distribution of formal sector employed population 15 years and older. There is also discrepancy in average monthly earning between females and males. In all the provinces the average monthly earnings paid to workers were K1,981,661=00 and K1,245,157=00 respectively for males and females, respectively. Table 4: Gender Inequality in Employment, Wealth and Income, 2012 Provinces Usually working population 15 years and older * % distribution of formal sector employed population (15 years and older)* Average monthly earnings (ZMK) for paid workers (2010)* Female Male Female Male Female Male Central ,773 1,861,575 Copperbelt , ,591,543 Eastern ,737 1,590,692 Luapula ,092,258 1,461,350 Lusaka ,727,095 1,943,469 Northern ,565 1,235,393 North-western ,659,874 1,936,751 Southern ,019,021 1,672,787 Western ,033 1,390,761 Total ,245,157 1,981,661 *Source: Zambia, 2010 Census of Population and Housing Descriptive Table *Source: Living Conditions and Monitoring Survey, Gender Inequality in Working Population by Employment Status and Sex The gender inequality in working population by employment status is shown in Table 5. There is gender inequality in working population by employment status and sex. The total population usually working is 3,887,052 segmented into 2,140,733 males and 1,746,319 females. The usually working population is further divided into employment status: employer, employee, self employed and unpaid family worker as presented in Table 5 below. Employment status by gender reveals the following: employer (45% female, 99% male), 144

7 Studies in Social Sciences and Humanities employee (14% female, 29% male), self-employed (41% female, 47% male) and unpaid family worker (45% female, 23% male). Employment status employer and employee reveals that they are more males working compared to females in all the provinces. On the other hand, employment status self-employed indicated that they are more females who are self-employed on the Copperbelt (33% males and 41% females) and Lusaka (31% males and 41% females) Provinces. Employment status unpaid family worker shows that there are more females working in Eastern, Luapula, Northern, Sothern and Western provinces. This represented over 50% of the females. Generally the working population (this population includes the self-employed individuals and the employees) increased by 52.9% between 1990 and the year 2000 from 1, 838,409 workers in 1990 to 2, 812,428 workers in the year 2,000. However, the proportion of the total population classified as employees decreased from 30.6% in 1990 to 18.3% in the year The decrease in the female employees (from 14.7% in 1990 to 9.0% in the year 2000) is more than the decrease in the male employees (from 39.0% in 1990 to 25.7% in In general, both urban and rural areas experienced a drop in employees between the inter-censal periods. However, the decline in employment was more among the female employees than the male employees (2000 Census of Population and Housing). Table 5: Gender Inequality in Working Population by Employment Status and Sex, 2010 Provinces Employer Employee Self-Employed Un-paid worker Female Male Female Male Female Male Female Male Central Copperbelt Eastern Luapula Lusaka Northern N/western Southern Western Total Source: CSO, Census of Population and Housing, Conclusion The population of Zambia increased from 9.9 million in 2000 to 13.1 million in This gave a decadal growth rate of 34.4 and 30.5 for females and males, respectively. In 2010, the overall TFR for the country was 5.9. Fertility levels were higher in provinces with predominantly rural socio-economic characteristics. For example, the TFR, CBR and Child women ratio for Luapula Province were 7.3, 39 and 835. On the other hand, the TFR, CBR and Child women ratio for Northern Province were 7.1, 41 and 880, respectively. Findings revealed that the adult literacy rates was higher among males (77%) compared to the females (58%) and the gender parity index was Overall, labour force participation rate for the population aged 15 years and older was higher for the males (58%) compared to the females (44%). There was a higher male (71%) percentage distribution of formal sector employed population 15 years and older compared to females (29%). Results also revealed discrepancy in average monthly earning between females and males. In all the provinces males earned more than females. There is gender inequality in working population by employment status, income and sex. This result shows the need for Government to implement the National Gender Policy to reduce the discrepancy between males and females in education, employment and managerial position. 145

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