Abstract:

Gender inequality and poor women empowerment retard improvement in living standards of women and act as a clog in their contributions to governance and economic development. In other words, gender equality empowers the transformation of women to access education, health, micro finance credit and recognition among other productive resources. Gender inequality lower quality of life and culminates in limited productivity, hinder economic efficiency and growth. The benchmark for a successful society is the level of gender equality which reflects on the extent of women’s rights and empowerment in that society. For over three decades, gender issues have been at the front burner of international summits. For instance, the UN Convention on the Elimination of All forms of Discrimination against Women1979, International Conference on Population and Development 1994, The Fourth World Conference on Women 1995, Millennium Development Goals among others. While some of these UN Conferences have direct influence, others have indirect bearing on enhancing women’s participation in sustainable economic development.