Reflecting women's equality in economic policy

Mauritius is aiming to ensure that women's equality is reflected in the national budget and economic policies, a UNDP press release announced on Wednesday.

Mauritius began integrating a gender perspective in the budget process in 2000 through staff training and gender analyses of budgets in several ministries, with support from the UN development agency. Gender analyses examine the ways that budget allocations affect women as well as men, girls as well as boys. Steps can then be taken to ensure equality in areas ranging from training and employment programmes to family policies.

Prime Minister Aneerood Jugnauth reiterated his government's commitment to stronger participation by women in the future development of the country in opening remarks at a recent lecture on engendering macro-economic policies in Balaclava, near Port Louis, the capital.

"We are not that happy about the number of women candidates fielded by the main political parties in the last general elections," UNDP quoted Jugnauth as saying. The lecture would enable policy-makers "to better understand the need to ensure greater women's empowerment in our society," he added. Mauritius has been one of the first countries in the region to show its commitment to gender-responsive economic policies, he noted.

"The budget is a powerful policy instrument," said Aster Zaoude, senior advisor with the UNDP Gender and Development Programme, pointing out that women are particularly affected by revenue generation policies, fiscal policies, resource allocation, expenditures, as well issues of debt, trade and the flow of external capital.

Mauritius comprises a small group of Indian Ocean islands east of Madagascar. The population of little over a million is of mixed African, Indian, European and Chinese descent. Mauritius has achieved consistently strong economic growth rates over the past two decades based on agriculture, textiles and tourism. It is classified by the World Bank as an "upper middle income" economy.