English - Human Development Reports - United Nations ...

Globalization and Human Developmentthat they are committed to serve theinterests of their members in the first place.It is true that almost all agreements of suchblocs express good intentions towardsinternational development and cooperationwith the non-member countries, butpractically speaking their negotiating poweras well as the strength of their economicposition in the world markets enable them toachieve their interests at the expense of thenon-member countries, especially thedeveloping ones. This is apparent in thevolume of intra-bloc trade and between thebloc and other countries, and in globalinvestments. Arab economic integration isbadly needed to strike a balance of interestsin the economic relations between theseblocs and the Arab countries, includingEgypt. Arab women can play a constructiverole in encouraging this integration byseveral means; for example:● Readjusting the household consumptionpatterns in favor of Arab integration,● Laying down concerted bases forenhancing social capital in the Arabnation,● Implementing joint projects for health,education, and other social developmentareas,● Undertaking joint ventures at least in theproduction areas that heavily depend onwomen as workers and as consumers, and● Strengthening Arab women’s associationsto participate more vigorously in thedecision making process.GATT AgreementsGATT agreements could be seen as theeconomic facet of globalization. The impactof these agreements, including theestablishment of World Trade Organization(WTO), on women has been oscillatingbetween positive and negative aspects. Forexample, agricultural foodstuffs, which willno longer be subsidized, will become moreexpensive for importing countries likeEgypt. This will increase the burden womenare bearing in managing the householdbudget and securing enough and balancednutrition to their families. Moreover, mostnegative impacts of economic globalization(like the destruction of many traditionalopportunities of employment, theinequitable income distribution, and thehigh socioeconomic costs of adjustmentsimposed by severe international competition)fall mainly on vulnerable groups including themajority of women. However, GATTagreements could have some positive impactson women if Egypt, or any other country,succeeded in considerably increasing itsexports especially of the agro-industries andthe small and medium firms in which womenare the major workforce (like garments,lingerie, and hand-made products).Furthermore, the TRIPS agreement seems toprovide new opportunities for educated andhighly skilled women in the field ofcommunications. This has been evidenced inthe project set up by a group of women inAmerica, called “The Last Minute”, which hasachieved tremendous profits and is anexample of the opportunities available towomen in the field of communications.Access to such opportunities is still obstructedfor the overwhelming majority of Egyptianwomen who lack education, training, andskills in this area.Transnational CorporationsTransnational corporations are mostly giganticfirms enjoying huge economic power as wellas a considerable influence over the decisionmaking processes in the different countries ofthe world. To what extent these corporationsprovide job opportunities to women and men?And since they require tremendous skills andgreat working capacities, what are theirimpacts on the marginalization ofsocioeconomic groups and on genderdisparities?In this context, we can perceive capitalism,which has not changed its basiccharacteristics. It pays women a third of thewages paid to men. This happens even in theUSA, which come at the top of capitalistcountries; whereas Egypt has been grantingequal opportunities and wages to men andwomen. This was considered a significantprogress, but unfortunately it was not carriedout within a real participatory framework,therefore this equality did not yield all theexpected benefits in eliminating the gendergap in the labor market.The Private Sector: Center of GlobalizationInternational commerce, foreign investmentand interstate migration are not newphenomena. What’s new is the incrediblespeed and wide range of movement of capital,Egypt Human Development Report 2000/2001 - 21