Business Sector Programme Support III in Tanzania - Engendering Development in Tanzania

Introduction

The Danish Government has committed itself to further improve the integration of Gender Equality and HIV/AIDS in Danish development assistance including sector programme support. The commitment is part of the five-step plan on Gender Equality presented by Danida in May 2006 and are based on a further operationalisation of the “Strategy for Gender Equality in Danish Development Cooperation” from 2004. In light of the commitment, measures have been engaged to make requirements for enhancing Gender Equality & HIV/AIDS analyses as mandatory components and basis for supporting all new programmes. The measures also involve the designing of appropriate indicators for monitoring implementation and the effects on Cross Cutting Issues. The emphasis on Gender Equality & HIV/AIDS is not meant to create parallel structures to existing national systems, but benefit from, support and improve existing systems and initiatives.

The objective of the Profile is to prepare an overview of the status, opportunities and potentials for mainstreaming Cross Cutting Issues, but particularly Gender Equality & HIV/AIDS in the BSPS III programme. Other Cross Cutting Issues (environment and poverty), have been addressed in more detail during the general formulation process and integrated in all requisite areas as found appropriate by the partner organisations. Nonetheless, this profile uses the term Cross Cutting Issues (CCIs) as a broad term.

The gender and HIV/AIDS profiling process addressed strengthening of mainstreaming in the programme formulation steps as well as in the finalised Programme components and sub-components. This Profile outlines the context and strategies for addressing gender and HIV/AIDS in the business sector. It presents the specific opportunities and interventions the BSPS III partners have for mainstreaming CCIs. Although the formulation and consultation processes have been completed, the Profile is intended to continue to serve as reference material for use by the BSPS partners and stakeholders through the implementation. The Profile can guide the partners in addressing CCIs when developing the detailed activities and also remind review teams of critical areas to monitor. The Profile is not written as an exhaustive resource book to provide all answers on the what, when, and how of CCIs, but rather to inspire and encourage mainstreaming of CCIs and provide specific suggestions for interventions. For the reader who is interested in broader gender and growth issues in particular, the following documents will be useful: “Tanzania Gender and Economic Growth Assessment” prepared by the International Finance Cooperation, May 2007; and, “Gender Mainstreaming in Multilateral Trading System: A Handbook for Policy Makers and Other Stakeholders”, written by Mariama Williams and issued by the Commonwealth Secretariat (2003).

Background

The Nordic+ meeting held in Nairobi in November 2006 revealed that gender mainstreaming has not been matched by effective implementation and visible impact. By and large, most development initiatives still appear being gender blind, or have a slender gender mainstreaming viewpoint with inadequate empirical evidence, and generally poor conversion of gender into plans and budgets. “Gender equality is not explicitly mentioned in the fifty paragraph Paris Declaration document beyond the need for harmonisation efforts on cross cutting issues such as gender equality – paragraph 42” (Gloria Gaynor, pg 2). In quest to avoid these shortfalls in development work, Gender Equality or gender mainstreaming can be achieved in all 5 core principles identified in the Paris Declaration. These areas are: ownership (e.g. voices of men and women in taking lead in setting the development agenda); alignment (e.g. ensuring more uptake of gender responsible budgeting tools in policies, systems and government commitments); harmonisation (e.g. ensuring that new aid modalities and processes incorporate gender equality in all common approaches between partners, and jointly undertaken processes); managing result (e.g. tracking gender equality and empowerment of women in all development results, achievements, and shortcomings); and, mutual accountability (e.g. in providing sex disaggregated data or use of gender aware indicators to improve accountability mechanisms and transparency).

In follow-up to the Paris Declaration, Danida decided to focus its efforts on “development of gender specific sector policies and strategies”, as well as “specific activities promoting gender equality” (Danida: 2006). This Danida support is in the form of interventions such as: legislative amendments; institutional reforms; prioritisation of gender in Poverty Reduction Strategies and increased resource allocation to gender equality in national budgets. Possibilities are also being sought in supporting innovative projects that promote women’s rights, access to and control over resources, and or influence. Other areas of support are: towards development of sex-disaggregated data; gender budgeting; and, influencing policy changes for scaling up improvements across the sector.

In terms of HIV/AIDS, Danida provides assistance to fighting HIV/AIDS by increasing support towards prevention, care and treatment. Danida has been at the forefront in providing development support in combating HIV/AIDS since the launch of a Plan of Action for International Assistance to Fight HIV/AIDS in May 2001. This is being motivated by the fact that the epidemic ravages the most productive and reproductive age groups, thus decimating development potentials, devastates livelihoods, and increasingly affects “the prospects for the future development and economic and social stability of the worst affected countries” (Danida: 2005). Not only does HIV/AIDS increase economic and social poverty, but it also makes people more at risk and vulnerable, as well as prevents them from taking advantage of other development opportunities. The Copenhagen Consensus Conference of May 2004 focused on 10 global challenges, whereas it was concluded that investing in prevention of HIV/AIDS yields the highest economic benefits.

Danida supports building national health systems and fight against HIV/AIDS in developing countries, especially the 15 bilateral support programme countries, whereof Tanzania is one. At the country level, this means there is commitment to support among other the following interventions: combating stigma and discrimination; involving the private sector; addressing women’s and girls’ vulnerability to HIV/AIDS; and supporting research and development. The focus on CCIs in the development support provides the background for the Profile.

 The Context

Global initiatives and national priorities for Engendering Development in Tanzania

Gender Equality has been on the development agenda for the past 30 years. Besides expressing considerable political commitment towards the Beijing Platform for Action, UN Millennium Declaration and the UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) (which focus strongly on gender equality – particularly MDG # 3 focused on promoting gender equality and the empowerment of women), both Tanzania and Denmark have committed themselves, internationally and nationally to advancing Gender Equality and the status of women through ratification of the Convention on Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) and the Optional Protocol. Moreover, MDG # 3 draws attention to gender equality as a pre-condition to combating poverty, hunger and diseases. Nevertheless, making the lives of women and girls conform to international agreements, norms, and objectives in the field of gender equality remain a major challenge (Danida: 2004d, pg 9).

Besides ratifying the CEDAW, the government of Tanzania has also adopted the Platform of Action after the Beijing Conference on Women in 1995 and subscribed to many other international, regional, and national undertakings to promote Gender Equality.

Tanzania’s Constitution forbids discrimination on the basis of sex. The Ministry of Community Development, Women Affairs and Children (later renamed to Ministry of Community Development, Gender and Children (MCDGC) in 2003), was established in 1990 to explicitly address gender inequalities in Tanzania. Gender focal points have been established by the government in all sector ministries and agencies, to co‑ordinate the mainstreaming of gender in the sector programmes.

A Women in Development Policy was developed in 1992 and replaced in February 2000 by a Women’s Development and Gender Policy, with increased focus on gender. February 2000, saw the approval of the National Sub‑Program for Women’s and Gender Advancement, the national strategy to implement the Beijing Platform of Action. This strategy addresses 4 out of the 12 critical areas of concern identified in the Beijing Platform for Action (enhancement of women’s legal capacity; economic empowerment of women and poverty eradication; enhancement of women’s political empowerment and decision‑making; and women’s access to education, training and employment). In September 2005, the ministry also produced the “National Strategy for Gender Development”. This document is “a step forward among other things towards laying foundation in promoting gender equality and equity in the country” (URT: 2005.2, page v). In partnership with several key stakeholders, the MCDGC has initiated gender mainstreaming working groups in selected sectors (macro‑policy, health, agriculture and education).

Other achievements with regard to gender mainstreaming by the government include: review of the land policy and enactment of the Land Act of 1999 and the Village Land Act of 1999; the enactment of the Sexual Offences Act 1999; Marriage Act of 1971 which state age at first marriage to be 15 years for women. The government is moreover, reviewing and amending the age at first marriage to be 20 years as it is stipulated in the 1992 National Population Policy. These efforts, and others, reflect the government’s commitment to continue bridging gender gaps in the country. However, there is a need to disseminate the information to a wider range of stakeholders and ensure enforcement of the laws if these initiatives are to have any significant impact. (Sida; 2000 pg 26).

Various activities to mainstream gender within the budgeting process in Tanzania are currently being undertaken by several government agencies and institutions, including sector ministries such as the Ministries of Finance; Planning, Economy and Empowerment; Agriculture & Cooperatives; Science, Technology & Higher Education; and Health. Also civil society (Tanzania Gender Networking Programme and the FemAct Coalition) and donor agencies (the Netherlands Embassy and the Embassy of Sweden) are involved in these processes. Mainstreaming is in this respect a process aiming at creating awareness on gender issues in macro-economic policies and resource allocation matters, and to show how budgets act as tools or instruments for distributing socio-economic resources in a gendered pattern that benefits all men and women more equitably.

The “Guidelines for the Preparation of The Medium Term Plan and Expenditure Framework for 2000/01-2002/3”, issued by the Ministry of Planning, Economy and Empowerment, the government has directed all accounting officers in the ministries of Education, Health, Water, Community Development, Agriculture, and Regional Administration & Local Government, to take consideration of the following gender budgeting aspects: capacity building (in gender analysis of projects and programmes); identifying priority gender concerns (in reducing gender inequality and inequities); indicating gender objectives (in their action plans); utilising gender disaggregated data (from sector planning units); and, setting gender monitoring indicators (quantitative and qualitative) (paragraphs 3.12 and 3.13).

The Ministry of Planning, Economy & Empowerment acknowledges that capacity building and development of necessary tools for gender analysis and mainstreaming have been some of the main challenges. Therefore, technical support from consultants (e.g. TGNP), is provided to the involved ministries. Tanzania Gender Networking Programme (TGNP) has already carried out research into gender budgeting in the ministries of Finance; Education; Science, Technology & Higher Education, Health and Planning (all in 1998); Agriculture & Cooperatives (in 1999); and Industries and Trade (covered in the year 2000). BSPS III should therefore capitalise on the number of gender mainstreaming interventions that are engaged by the government in policy, planning and budgeting processes at the sector level.

 Cross Cutting Issues in the National Framework

The National Strategy for Growth and Reduction of Poverty (NSGPR, known through its Kiswahili acronym MKUKUTA) identifies Cross Cutting Issues as “factors that cut across sectors and social groups (often) negatively impacting on income and non-income poverty”. These factors are further identified as including “imbalances in gender relations, environmental issues and HIV and AIDS” (URT: 2005.2, paragraph 2.6). In realising the presence of these factors, the strategy has created goals and interventions relating to the Cross Cutting Issues in each of the three clusters of the strategy (NSGPR, paragraph 4.2.10). Based on synergies and inter-linkages mainstreaming is to be undertaken in each individual sector (NSGPR, paragraph 6.2). However, this wider definition of Cross Cutting Issues, and its interpretation as synonymously being inclusive of gender equality, is increasingly being challenge by some notable writers and researchers, mainly of its inherent and constant habit of minimising or marginalising the focus on gender equality and women empowerment.

In quest to effectively address Cross Cutting Issues, MKUKUTA has stepped up and reinforced efforts to deal with gender imbalances and has urged continued creation of an enabling political environment to unleash political support for growth and attainment of all regional and international commitments (URT; 2005.2, paragraph 5.2). The Strategy has also underlined the importance for mainstreaming gender issues “into policies, plans, budgets and implementation mechanisms including gender monitoring and indicators for good governance” (URT: 2005.2, paragraph 5.3.3.1) and it acknowledges that “effects of HIV/AIDS and gender discrimination are particularly challenging to the prospects of girls” (URT: 2005.2, paragraph 5.3.2.4).

Examining the labour market policy and legal framework, both the National Employment Services Act (1999), and the Employment and Labour Relations Act (2003), provide for promotion of equal opportunities for women and men. While the former focuses on access to employment services, the latter dwells on prohibition of discriminatory practices at workplaces. The Employment and Labour Relations Act also provides protection of pregnant employees, through social security. More than 30% of job seekers who have visited the Public Labour Exchange Centres since their establishment in 2002, are women. In addition a specific window for informing and advising women on job availability and other opportunities has been established within the National Gender Machinery (URT: 2005, pg 17). The main challenge remaining is that of transforming the mindsets, especially those of “private sector employers (who) do not often abide by all the standards that promote equality at places of work” (URT: 2005, pg 18).

Economic empowerment of women as an effective means for poverty reduction has been recognised by the Government of Tanzania. The National Micro-Finance Policy, like most recent policies, presents opportunities and provisions for gender equity. It states that “access to financial services should be available to both men and women.” (Ministry of Finance: 2000, paragraph 3.2.5). Moreover, it also urges that it might be “necessary to make special efforts to incorporate features that make the services accessible to all” (Ministry of Finance: 2000, pg 13). Not only have guidelines for gender equity in accessing financial services been issued through the National Micro-Finance Policy, but the policy similarly provides ample flexibility in micro-finance institutions in making services accessible to both women and men on terms and conditions they can afford. Empowerment of women through small and medium enterprises is effected through increasing their access to financial services such as credit, training in entrepreneurship, training in business management, and access to markets (MCDGC: 2000, pg 9). Moreover, efforts are being engaged by the Government to enable women gain standards certification of their products and increased access to both local and foreign markets.

Though, most types of trade activities have a possibility of creating positive impacts on women in the form of income earning opportunities for both women and men at the family level, more so than other sectors, women tend no to benefit from these opportunities as much as men. The employment for women, facilitates improving their financial contribution towards costs in meeting family requirements: education, health and the overall development of human capital (Sobhy: 2004, pg 12). For women, contract jobs normally have great impact such as: expanding their social choices; increasing their economic independence; increasing their self confidence and morale; and, reducing the intensity and/or frequency of domestic violence at the family level.

Employment and gender equality

Tanzania is faced with a challenge of finding jobs for more than 700,000 youths entering the labour market each year (SIDA, 2000, pg 14). However, significantly less jobs are created or made vacant annually in the private and public sectors. SIDA (2000, p 14) estimates the number to be 20-30,000 jobs annually, while IFC (2007.1, p 52) estimates 50-60,000 jobs.

The informal sector is thought to generate around 100,000 jobs each year, most of which are taken by women (IFC: 2007.1, pg 52). In urban areas, the sector activities account for roughly 30% of Tanzania’s employed urban population. In Dar es Salaam, 40% of such workers are women. Formal and informal sectors collaborate in production through sub-contracts where the role of the informal sector has steadily increased with a high ratio of employees being women.

Men dominate formal sector employment, accounting for 71% of the workforce (or a ratio of 0.41 between women and men (IFC: 2007.1, pg 18)). Only 10% of employed people are in formal contractual employment, concentrated mostly in the civil service and private firms in urban areas. Of these, women comprise only 20%. The manufacturing sector has the highest wage employment rate, of the 80,311 employees 18.6% are women. However leading proportions of regularly employed women are found in commerce (28.30% of the 76,236 employees). In a way it could perhaps be suggested that women face gender occupational concentration (e.g. higher gender composition in health care; domestic; and, secretarial or clerical jobs), as well as segregation (e.g. gender domination by men in carpentry, construction and mechanics), in both the formal and informal sectors (G. Ngoi: 1999).

There are still businesses where wage suppression exists, where societies discourage women from taking jobs, and where gender inequalities are perpetuated. Exploitation of women with regards to earnings is relatively more common than openly admitted. For instance women in the manufacturing sector in Tanzania are paid 3.5 times less than the average income of their male colleagues. Due to non-existing or weak implementation of policies, regulations etc. the negative, impact on women through industrial expansion and export is “stronger in low income countries than in the medium income countries” (Sobhy: 2004, pg 13), where the expansion of trade normally causes a reverse reaction to women’s employment.

Indicators on unemployment show that the unemployment situation is biased towards women. Women’s employment fluctuates due to retrenchment programmes, economic recovery programmes, low skills and their concentration in stereotype or lowly appreciated job clusters. Experience shows that salvation for women as regards employment normally comes in connection to donor funded interventions (A Synthesis Report:ILO/EAMAT, pg 13[PMLA1] ). Overall, procedures and steps for starting a business remain more costly to most male and female Tanzanians, compared to their East African colleagues. The insurmountable regulations and the bureaucratic red tape in registering, incorporating, and running their business engagements result in more than 98% of businesses operating outside the legal framework (IFC: 2007.1, pg 25).

The private sector is a clear potential in terms of output and employment opportunities and possesses a huge potential for employment and income earning for poor women and men in Tanzania. The service sector is as a rule the strongest sector in most economies due to its rapid expansion pattern. This is usually the case with regards to the fields of communications and information technology, where in Tanzania it is common to see women selling mobile phone recharge vouchers and/or manage attended phoning services. Moreover the sector also provides activities such as: domestic services (e.g. household labour); small trade (e.g. “machinga” based activities); education (e.g. private schools and trade based institutions); health (e.g. private laboratories, dispensaries and clinics); government administration (e.g. local government contracts for collection of cess, parking fees and other charges); project services (e.g. micro credit financing of small businesses); counselling (e.g. VTC and other professional based advice and consultation institutions); law services (e.g. private advocates and lawyers); and, information processing (e.g. computer and secretarial services).

For the most part it is educated men that stand to benefit largely from employment opportunities and advantages from modernisation in information technology and communications. Women, who mainly are less educated, illiterate, low income earners, or marginalised, normally work in sectors that suffer from declining demand. This condition can be changed through increased availability and accessibility of training opportunities for women, and improved social protection for women in employment (Gender Equality in Enterprise Development and Research: 2001, pg 5).

Opportunities for women always tend to be more restricted than those for men as regards education, training, employment, political careers, and in access to credit. This makes most women insecure in relation to: personal integrity, physical well being and legislation (SIDA: 2000, pg 25). Nevertheless, employment of women leads to higher household consumption of food and education, as well as reduces or offsets the need for supplementary income through child labour (IFC: 2007.1, pg 21). Hence, in order to address gender imbalances, the labour market and employment are important.

 Access to financial services and credit

Access to financial services for SMEs has improved negligibly for women even though the number of financial institutions such as banks and financial intermediaries has increased. Women in Tanzania access only approximately 8% of obtainable financial resources from banks. Besides stringent conditions and terms, most women shy away from such institutions due to costs involved.

The ILO estimates that between 730,000 to 1.2 million of entrepreneurs in Tanzania are women. Their dominance is mainly in the MSME sector, where they constitute 43% (IFC: 2007.1, pg 19). Women constitute the majority of borrowers from micro-credit institutions. Microfinance experiences show that women have higher repayment rates compared to men. However, women face a range of constraints imposed both by the microfinance system in terms of conditions and products offered, but also because women tend to shy away from the possibilities due to insecurity, lack of education etc. in utilising banking resources. The actual extent of access to credit by women is revealed through a study recently undertaken by IFC - “Tanzania Gender and Economic Growth Assessment”. As part of efforts to sustain and expand access financial services to women, plans are underway to establishing a women’s bank (IFC: 2007.1, pg 43). The above notwithstanding, many women in urban and rural areas benefit more from credit schemes compared to men. More often, before women are granted credit, they are trained in simple accounting and management skills. However, the majority of rural and urban poor women are still not well informed on how to secure these credits.

Women Entrepreneurship Development (WED) is an example of a semi autonomous micro credit organisation operating within the Small Industry Development Organisation (SIDO), a unit of the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Marketing. WED is a national programme for capacity building of SMEs in food processing. Danida has supported the provision of matching grants to this public sector institution because it trains private sector individuals. As a result of training some become Business Development Service Providers (BDSPs) in the private sector. SIDO/WED applied for a grant to train 160 SME food processors from 5 zones in Tanzania. After 4 courses, 108 individuals were trained; 82 women and 56 men. The grant of US$ 24,658 (approx DKK 143,000 or Tsh 27.9 million) covered 40% of the total costs of designing, mobilising, delivering of the courses, and following up activities after training.

Some studies show that taxation is having a dis-proportionally negative impact on women than men. It has been argued that since women have lower earnings, the 20% VAT imposed on most basic commodities implies that women income earners pay a larger proportion of their earnings as indirect tax. There is a need for gender differentiated tax incidence analysis in regards to how various indirect or other taxes impact women compared to men (IFC: 2007.1, pg 48).

The internet is a useful source on information for women, and helps them improve their ability to reach information and know how to transfer it to other women (especially information on women’s rights). E-commerce or purchasing and paying for products through the internet widen the scope for women, as well as men, to enter into larger and faster markets with manageable costs. However, the use of internet normally requires greater financial capabilities, time, and technical knowledge (e.g. good knowledge of English language), all of which women are less advantaged than men.

Key actors in Tanzania have to take ownership of gender mainstreaming efforts by posing the question “how do we secure the maximum possible benefit for the poor women and men from a given effort”? Therefore, “local ownership and local rooting are essential for the long term sustainability of gender equality efforts” (Danida: 2004.d, pg 16).

HIV/AIDS

It is unchallenged that the HIV/AIDS pandemic is a growing threat to the country. Projections by the UN Population Division predict that life expectancy in Tanzania will be reduced by 17% between 2000 and 2005. Furthermore, the predictions state that the life expectancy will fall by 14% between 2010 and 2015, and again by 7% between 2045 and 2050. World Bank’s analysis argues that the economic impact of HIV/AIDS in Tanzania has generally been underestimated (Lisa Garbus: 2004, pg 53). The pandemic has reduced the economic impact of education, and parenting.

HIV/AIDS is a threat that has already lowered per capita income, induced food shortages, and aggravated child mortality rates (SIDA: 2000, pg 23). Around 13% of the labour force in the agriculture sector in Tanzania is expected to be lost between 1985 and 2020 (Lisa Garbus: 2004, pg 57). This will affect farming systems, although changes are already taking place whereby household cultivation is shifting to less labour intensive crops such as cassava and sweet potatoes, away from bananas, coffee, and beans.

Moreover, there are inevitable losses in household welfare due to dropping per capita incomes from HIV/AIDS related deaths, frequent attendance to funerals by workers, disruptions to businesses, and interruptions to operations in small scale farming and businesses. HIV/AIDS “has resulted in welfare losses equivalent to 47.2% of GDP” (Lisa Garbus: 2004, page 53). Tanzanian households are estimated to lose 30% to 35% of their average annual income when a family member becomes ill with HIV/AIDS related illnesses (Lisa Garbus: 2004, page 55).

More efforts are required for enhancing and intensifying the mainstreaming of Cross Cutting Issues into BSPS programmes (Danida: 2004.c, pg 23). An observation of PER reports in 2003 revealed that only 5% of total expenditures are utilised on health and HIV/AIDS related interventions (which is judged as dismal). It is further noted that it is uncommon for most Tanzanians to discuss HIV/AIDS issues in public, especially on how it is transmitted and resources allocated towards its prevention. Not less than 2.2 million Tanzanian adults are projected as being HIV positive, while around 2 million children have been made orphans (ILO-AIDS. HIV/AIDS + Work Country Profile 2: 2004, pg 3).

Experiences, Achievements and Practical Alternatives in Mainstreaming in BSPS I & II

The BSPS programme is an effort by the government of Tanzania and Danida to develop the business sector, and turn it into an engine of pro-poor economic growth. BSPS programme is a component of the poverty reduction plans for Tanzania. Among the main aims of these interventions are: “creation of conditions for broad based development of business activities that will contribute to economic growth, employment creation, and thus alleviating poverty” (Danida: 2006, pg 1). The development objective for BSPS II is ‘socially balanced economic growth through more coherent, transparent and sustainable institutions, including legal regulatory environment that support development of the business sector in Tanzania” (Danida: 2006, pg ?) The BSPS II Phase has 4 components (e.g. Business Environment Strengthening for Tanzania – BEST; Improved Access to Markets; Improved Labour market; and, Viable Banking and Financing), some with up to 5 sub-components. BSPS II is still in progress, it stretches from June 2003 to June 2008.

In BSPS I & II Danida supported interventions on addressing HIV/AIDS activities in a number of partner organisations (VETA; CRDB Bank; Ministry of Labour, Employment and Youth Development; OSHA; CTI; ICT; TUCTA; and ATE). Some of these institutions are also supported by other donors. Most of the support on HIV/AIDS is in the form of awareness creation, and training. The focus is on addressing prevention of stigma on people living with HIV/AIDS, and capacity building on how to prevent and mitigate HIV/AIDS. The CRDB Bank is deemed as the most successful of the partner organisations in implementing HIV/AIDS interventions. It created a comprehensive programme for managing prevention, care and treatment of HIV/AIDS among its staff and their families (Danida: 2004c, pg 22).

It is within this overall sector context and based on the experiences of BSPS I and II that the BSPS III partners were requested to identify opportunities for improving the mainstreaming of gender equality and HIV/AIDS in their organisations. The input from the partners formed the basis for specific opportunities presented in chapter 4 of this Profile. However, before these are presented strategies for mainstreaming CCIs in the business sector are presented in the next chapter.

Strategies for Mainstreaming CCIs

Building on the wider context as outlined in the previous chapter, this chapter sets out the more specific framework for mainstreaming CCIs in the business sector and in the BSPS programme. The chapter provides a menu of possible practical strategies for mainstreaming CCIs. The two first sections present some general challenges and strategies that, by and large, are relevant across components for all the partners. Subsequently, specific strategies relevant for each of the three components of BSPS III are presented in sections 4.3 to 4.5 respectively.

 Engendering the trade and industry sector

Mainstreaming in trade and industry is essential due to the fact that trade cuts through other essential sectors such as agriculture, manufacturing, industrial, services, communications, transport, health, and education. Although many women are involved in the trade sector as wage earners or service providers, as outlined in the previous chapter, few are engaged in trading operations or policy making and decisions. Women are primarily found in low status, low paying jobs, and a wide range of unskilled employment. Biases in trade and other business related policies have to be apprehended and challenged through engaging gender awareness with regards to institutional issues and legal, administrative and policy issues.

Key essentials on the institutional side include:

•         Establish gender balance or a critical mass of women beyond clerical and lower administrative positions. Although the chief executive in the Tanzania Ministry of Industry, Trade and Marketing (the Permanent Secretary) is a woman, traditional employment misconceptions with men dominating managerial positions still exists and women in formal employment are subjugated to both household and work duties. There is insufficient numbers of qualified women and addressing the situation might involve preferential treatment of qualified female personnel in the trade and business sub-sectors. For example, even though fewer women register in and complete economic and management courses (e.g. less than 30% at the UDSM-FCM), enhanced efforts have to be made to expand enrolment of women to establish a qualified female labour resource pool (enhancing equal access to facilities for trade related human resource development training). Similarly, more women should be seen in chambers of commerce all over the country, or export promotion agencies (a few changes are seen to be taking place in Tanzania with regards to the Confederation of Tanzania Industries (CTI) having a female CEO.
•          The Ministry of Industry, Trade and Marketing should regularly keep encouraging private sector businesses and enterprises to increase recruitment of qualified female personnel in management positions.
•          There is a constant need for enabling the creation and proliferation of more women dominated business associations, especially private sector interest groups such as Agape Women Group, Federation of Women Entrepreneurs in Tanzania (FAWETA), Tanzania Women Development Foundation, and, Tanzania Women Miners Association (TAWOMA), and Tanzania Women Leaders in Agriculture (TAWLAE), just to name a few. These private sector organisations normally raise gender issues regularly and thus help keep the issues constantly on the agenda.

In legal, administrative and policy issues, the key issues are are:

•         Embodying equality safeguards in constitutional and legal aspects (e.g. ensuring that legal and administrative practices do not infringe on commercial operations);
•          simplifying property rights, licensing and company registration (e.g. provision of facilitation services such as tax breaks, concessionary loan conditions, and other entrepreneurship motivating measures);
•          Expanding access to credit and financing (e.g. eliminating difficulties in obtaining credit, training bank staff in providing better advisory services to loan applicants, creating manuals and simplified forms, etc);
•         Examining areas such as trade representation services (e.g. actors promoting and facilitating external trade);
•          Regulations of export promotion boards, standards and certification bureau (especially for agriculture, health, fisheries and industry) and trading companies (e.g. those dealing with production or export of commodities).

Addressing Gender equality and HIV/AIDS in Business Sector programme support

Gender inequality affects macroeconomic efficiency through waste of potentials leading to lower outputs and to a reduced development of human and social capital. Knowing that most development policies have a gender impact, ignoring these gender dynamics in support programmes does impede development, and reinforces counter productive and gender biased policies, structures and institutions. There are strong connections between gender (im)balances, gender (in)equality and development. Addressing gender imbalances means embarking upon biases in structures and institutions supported by the development programmes (e.g. increased fair involvement of women and men in decision making) and, dealing with the extent to which development processes benefits women and men alike.

As the Nordic Aid Review report has shown, there has been a decline in efforts for promoting gender equality in most development interventions. This is partly caused by competing agendas from various sectors and stakeholders, and an overall decline in interests for supporting promotion of women’s organisations and interests. The new development cooperation modalities and approaches which place high emphasis on decentralisation of governance (Local Government Reforms), and new forms of resource management (budget support), to address the multifaceted concept of poverty (whereby clarity in the connection between poverty and gender equality is highly desired), call forth for engaging new tools, analysis and guidelines for addressing gender equality and gender mainstreaming. It is within this new set-up that the need for clear targets, strategies, indicators and result based reporting becomes more pronounced.

Issues of importance at the macro level in regards to gender mainstreaming involve the need to ensure that the policy framework and strategies includes a strong gender analysis of all critical issues for the sector.

At the meso level, the gender mainstreaming needs to involve considerations on gendered power relations and gender biases in sector institutions – within government, among donors and among stakeholders. The critical issue here is on revealing the extent to which the strong gender imbalances in terms of decision-making power have a bearing on the outcome of sector reforms and on the ability to deliver sector objectives.

At the micro level or household level of service delivery and of interactions between individual men and women in the concerned sector, it is important to ensure that services and reforms are implemented in the most effective way to meet the needs of women as employees as well as users or beneficiaries of services (FAO: YEAR, Socio-Economic and Gender Analysis Programme).

On the subject of strategies for mainstreaming of HIV/AIDS, Tanzania’s National Policy on HIV/AIDS, which unfortunately is not legally binding, clearly states that “individuals have a right to legal protection from wilful and intentional acts of spreading HIV/AIDS”, which means there is need for creating provisions on the same within Tanzania. In addition, the policy also states that people living with HIV/AIDS “have the right to comprehensive health care and other social services, including legal protection against all forms of discrimination and human rights abuse”. These policy statements have formed the basis for guidance provided to the BSPS III partners into addressing HIV/AIDS issues more effectively in the coming Phase. Among measures that are indispensable in mainstreaming HIV/AIDS (TUCTA: undated) are the following:

• Undertake creation of HIV/AIDS policies in all organisations. This is especially crucial for partners that do not have such policies. Not all partners need create afresh such policies, but some could adopt and adapt existing policies. However, there is a need for establishing a problem statement, justification, mission, objectives and strategies for each partner organisation.
• Factor-in HIV/AIDS Awareness Creation interventions at workplaces. The type of awareness creation should be based on the nature and characteristics of the activities and engagements of the actors in the respective sub-sector. The awareness creation plans should cover how the organisation positions itself in regards to the ABCs of HIV/AIDS prevention, mitigation and care. The interventions should address what the organisation provides, what other actors provide, and how best to access these services.
• Establishing Roles and Responsibilities for HIV/AIDS management at workplaces. This means, creating consensus on what is expected by each actor, how they are to meet these expectations, and what resources will be provided by each partner. Interventions might detail how the organisation aims at promoting the rights of workers living with HIV/AIDS. Other measures here might include the creation of Focal Points, HIV/AIDS Coordinating Committees, and IEC materials.
• Monitoring and Evaluating progress on HIV/AIDS at workplaces. So far not much information is shared on the HIV/AIDS situation and the measures for addressing prevention, mitigation and care. It is therefore crucial that such information is regularly generated and shared with different partners in the BSPS III support programme.

It is within the above context and framework that the strategies for mainstreaming CCIs in the programme components of BSPS III are presented below.

 Strategies for the Business Environment

The business environment in Tanzania is quite challenging from a gender and HIV/AIDS perspective, as is visible from the above. A wide range of strategies are henceforth called for in order to make the sector environment more gender friendly. One source of such comprehensive strategies is the Commonwealth Secretariat’s Quick Guide to Gender Mainstreaming in Trade and Industry. Among the strategies that are suggested from this source, which are touched upon in some of the Government of Tanzania’s provisions, are the following:

•            Establishing or strengthening institutional arrangements for gender mainstreaming (e.g. most partners in the BSPS programme have established structures for in-house focal points, and are in the process of creating in-house focal points for addressing HIV/AIDS both internally and externally). It is crucial to ensure that these structures are anchored at the highest possible level with leadership from senior level officers such as a Director of Planning, Administration or Personnel (like at TUCTA), or other similar senior officials. The focal points should ideally be spread out in all core sections or units. The role of the focal points should be in backstopping, and supporting their fellow staff in implementing the planned interventions, on HIV/AIDS and gender. The focal points should coordinate reporting to the BSPS III Coordinators on what has been achieved in CCIs, monitoring what is being done at any particular moment in regards to planned interventions on CCIs, and engaging different types of training events in specialised skills and knowledge around CCIs (e.g. in analysis methods and tools), to different staff and beneficiaries.
•     Engendering existing Trade Policy Documents, Business Sector Strengthening Plans, and Business Regulations Improvement exercise. For instance it is important to ascertain through a CCIs scoping exercise how the different CCI statements in existing policies and plans are being implemented by each partner. Although this Profile contributes to provide such information, a more systematic assessment of implementation could be done. The assessment should look into how changes or reforms are improving personnel policies; improving provisions for domestic obligations of employees; improving maternity and paternity leave issues or entitlements; and, making performance and career development more conducive for women as well as men in the partner organisations.
•           Promote interventions that ensure regular advancement of CCIs in the Trade Sector. This should involve promotion of interventions that specifically focus on sponsoring women entrepreneurs in trade; creating business advisory services targeting women entrepreneurs on ordinary business management issues such as accessing credit and better product design; encouraging Banks or credit facilities to keep improving credit terms and conditions for women in business; allocating grants to women entrepreneurs to access training in business management; and, negotiate promotion of more women in managerial or decision making functions in BSPS supported projects.
•            Commence a Training Needs Analysis in all Partner Organisations. The aim here is to review how many of the male and female staff need requisite qualifications and skills for managing their jobs effectively vis-à-vis the challenges and demands from the BSPS III. Revealing the need for specialised trade training required by the staff, and identification of institutions that could provide the same (e.g. UDSM’s FCM). Provision of in-service- training at the UDSM or UDEC or other business focused colleges and institutions in regards to short term courses in: trade promotion; commercial operations; credit facilitation, etc. Since UDSM’s FCM is expanding its training course menu, it will be opportune to encourage all partners to plan sending their staff for different courses in the duration of BSPS III.
•   Embark on operationalisation of the “Gender Mainstreaming Tools for Government, Employers’ and Worker’s Organisation in Tanzania”. This document is already an official working document for the tripartite partners. The only obstacle at the moment is systematic implementation of its interventions. It is therefore opportune that all three partners undertake vigorous planning on implementing its interventions in the duration of BSPS III. Implementation of these tools will eliminate most of the imbalances currently experienced or observed in this profile.
•            Promoting the prevention and treatment of HIV/AIDS. This involves raising the awareness of HIV/AIDS in the private sector and encouraging the private sector make its contribution towards addressing the HIV/AIDS pandemic at workplaces (ESRF: 2006, Strategic Intervention # 7.2).

Strategies for Better Access to Markets

Access to markets and other provisions necessary for improved participation in (international) trade are constraints to most actors in Tanzania. However, the constraints are more severe for women in business than for men as the general limitations or constraints such as barriers to financial access and access to the formal markets are significantly more challenging for women. The “Private Sector Development Strategy for Tanzania” is one of the documents which provides suggestions for strategic interventions similar to what is outlined in this profile in order to come to grips with improving access to markets for women and men. The strategies are inclusive of:

•              Promoting economic empowerment of women in business. Among interventions suggested to this effect are: “addressing the legal, administrative and regulatory barriers that are preventing women from contributing fully to the economy” (ESRF: 2006, Strategic Intervention #. 2.1, pg 45), a strategy that could very well be implemented by BEST-AC; “Eliminating gender based inequalities in education and access to agricultural inputs with a view to increasing the contribution of women to growth” (ESRF: 2006, Strategic Intervention # 2.2, pg 45), a strategy that could be implemented by PASS; and, “addressing the barriers specifically facing women owned enterprises” (Strategic Intervention. 2.3 on page 45), a strategy which SME-CF and PASS could both implement.
• 
  
•            Undertake Operationalisation of the “Gender Mainstreaming Tools for Government, Employers’ and Worker’s Organisation in Tanzania”. This, as will be shown below, is already being targeted by all 3 tripartite partners, i.e. the Government, ATE and TUCTA.

 Strategies for MSME Development

Among policy commitments announced by the government in the “Guidelines for the Preparation of Medium Term Plan and Budget Framework for 2005/06 to 2007/08”, is “increasing access to finance through improvement of financial services to SMEs”, and “enhancing the business environment by simplifying and modernising legislation on land registration and commercial laws”. In addition, the government has also committed itself towards “removing business impediments in the country through implementation of BEST programme”. Another measure is the reduction of “critical problems affecting the SMEs through initiatives, such as Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise (MSMEs) Project”.

The “Small and Medium Enterprise Development Policy” mentions lack of information, affordability of services, costs, size, absence of working premises, limited access to business training, marketing, technology, and limited access to financial services as among the main constraints facing SMEs (Ministry of Industry and Trade: 2002, pg 9). It is therefore within this context that this profile suggests the following measures:

• Government policy statement on gender and disadvantaged groups suggests the enhancement of gender mainstreaming in all initiatives related to development of SMEs. Strategies proposed by the policy, which this profile sees should be applied, include: “Facilitating SME service providers to design special programmes for women and disadvantaged groups”. A strategy that could be implemented by SME-CF, PASS and BEST-AC; and Identifying “factors that inhibit women and other disadvantaged groups from going into business and design programmes which will address those factors” (SME Policy, 2002, pg 24-25). This could be implemented by the abovementioned actors.
•  On HIV/AIDS, the SME Development Policy also offers suitable strategies that this Profile recommends to the BSPS III partners. The strategies are aimed at enabling the implementation of programmes, which prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS among SME operators. Strategies mentioned are: Creating “awareness on HIV/AIDS related matters amongst the SME operators”. The relevant BSPS III partners need to implement this strategy and provide support to “potential vulnerable groups to engage in income generating projects”. This could be implemented by SME-CF, PASS and BEST-AC.

[Extracted from a Report by Edward H. Mhina, titled, "Gender & HIV/AIDS Profile for BSPS III." Business Sector Programme Support III In Tanzania. Final Draft. October 2007]

---