A nation can build modern roads, construct deep-water ports, and automate its factories, yet still find its growth capped by a invisible ceiling.The bottleneck is rarely a shortage of physical capital or technology. It is the persistent practice of leaving half a society’s potential intellect on the sidelines. This structural fact was captured with perfect accuracy by World Trade Organization (WTO) Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala who said that
“Investing in women is smart economics, and investing in girls catching them upstream is even smarter economics”.
What Does Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala Mean by This?
Treating gender equity as a moral obligation often leads to symbolic gestures, if it is treated as a fiscal goal then the balance sheet will change. The term “catching them upstream” is a metaphor in the sense that early interventions have compound impacts.
Treating gender equity as a moral obligation often leads to symbolic gestures, if it is treated as a fiscal goal then the balance sheet will change. The term “catching them upstream” is a metaphor in the sense that early interventions have compound impacts.
Imagine a City’s water supply system, Repairing a leak at the household tap saves a few gallons, but fixing the main reservoir secures the supply for an entire city. Educating a girl before society restricts her choices changes her course before she can lose out economically.
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