On October 3-4, 2022, two policy panels will be held as part of the mid-term workshop of the Growth and Economic Opportunities for Women (GrOW) East Africa initiative - hosted by PEP in Nairobi, Kenya. The GrOW initiative is funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, and Canada’s International Development Research Centre.
Both policy panels will be held in a hybrid format, thus allowing for a virtual/international audience to participate. REGISTER (BELOW) TO JOIN US ONLINE!
Broadening women’s participation in public procurement: Good policies, good practices
October 3, 2022 – 11:00 a.m. EAT (8:00 a.m. UTC)
Public procurement is the process by which government agencies purchase goods and services to maximize public welfare. Every year, governments in Africa spend over 60% of national budgets through public procurement; and such large sums are often used to advance other policy goals. Recently, countries have begun using procurement systems to advance gender equality, but despite the case for gender-responsive procurement, most have had limited success. Indeed, women-owned enterprises win less than 1% of contracts despite accounting for over 50% of the population and owning a significant proportion of businesses.
This policy panel will bring together government procurement policymakers, policy implementers, representatives of women-owned businesses and civil society. The dialogue will explore the challenges faced in policy and practice, as well as recommendations to address the inequalities in government procurement while applying an intersectional lens to integrate the varied experiences of women in the region.
Panelists
- Benson Turamye, Executive Director, Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Assets Authority, Uganda
- Polycarp Oduol, Senior Officer, Public Procurement Regulatory Authority, Kenya
- Mary Muthoni, President, Women In Business, National Chamber of Commerce & Industry, Kenya
- Ruth Kiraka, Associate Professor, Strategy & Entrepreneurship, Strathmore University, Kenya
- Elizabeth Obanda, Economic Empowerment - Team Lead, UN Women, Kenya Country Office
REGISTER TO ATTEND ON OCTOBER 3
Why should we care about unpaid care work?
October 4, 2022 – 11:00 a.m. EAT (8:00 a.m. UTC)
Care work – looking after children, the elderly, sick family members, cooking, cleaning, and other domestic work – is crucial to our society and the economy. Without this, families, communities, workplaces, and the whole economy will be paralyzed. Unfortunately, this task falls disproportionately on women and girls, and much of it is provided with no pay – a gap that the pandemic has not only exposed but also further exacerbated.
Unpaid care work undermines the social, political, and economic rights of women and girls, limiting their opportunities and choices in life, and driving gender gaps in paid work. Despite the urgent need for action, the response has been inadequate.
This panel will bring together leading experts, practitioners, and policymakers from East Africa to discuss solutions for addressing women’s unpaid care burdens, promoting gender equality and women’s economic empowerment at home, work, and beyond. The conversation will include evidence-based findings from research funded by the GrOW initiative.
Panelists
- Faith Kasiva, Secretary Gender, State Department for Gender, Ministry of Public Service, Gender, Senior Citizen Affairs and Special Programmes
- Juliana Akoryo Naumo, Director of Gender and Community, Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development, Uganda
- Patricia Kitsao-Wekulo, Associate Research Scientist, African Population and Health Research Center, Kenya
- Lina Moraa, Program Manager, Women Rights and Governance, ActionAid Kenya
- Oganga Caneble, Programme Specialist-Gender Statistics Advisor, UNWomen, Kenya Country Office
REGISTER TO ATTEND ON OCTOBER 4
