The IMF’s approach assumes that a certain level of inequality is necessary for competition and growth. It neglects women’s contributions to the economy, community and household.

Lacking this insight, it is not surprising that current policies and markets discriminate against women. Overall, they have had detrimental impacts on women’s quality of life, the fundamental right to education and health and their ability to access safe, secure working conditions and fare wages.

The underlying socio-cultural situations that discriminate against women in many societies are reflected in the disadvantaged access to social and economic institutions and in gender-biased macroeconomic policies. Some of these include:

• Girls and women not being regarded as persons in their own right
• Families seeing girls as care takers and wives, thereby ignoring their right to education
• Early and forced marriages and pregnancies
• Violence in schools and communities militating against girls right TO and IN education
• Teachers negative attitudes towards girls, promotion of stereotypical, gender-biased roles
• Blatantly discriminatory law and constitutions in some countries
• Economic data failing to recognize women’s valuable contribution to the productive, reproductive and care economies
• Ignoring these contributions means the negative impacts of policies on women and men from different socio-economic groups are not sufficiently considered
• Rigid fiscal and monetary policies that do not enable countries the space to absorb longer-term aid that is required to fight underlying socio-cultural situations
• Through 2006-2006 ActionAid International will be undertaking research to better understand the impact of IMF neoliberal macroeconomic policies on women’s rights.