Skip to main content

Securing the Social and Economic Rights of Women in Economic Policy Making

  • Living reference work entry
  • First Online:
International Human Rights of Women

Part of the book series: International Human Rights ((IHR))

  • 160 Accesses

Abstract

The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women includes economic and social rights, as well as civil, political, and cultural rights. It does not make any specific reference to economic policies, but the “appropriate measures” to which it does refer clearly encompass economic policies as well as legislative changes. Economic and social rights are spelled out in more detail in the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights which has more to say about the use of resources to realize these rights. Economic policy has the potential to support or to undermine the fulfillment of women’s economic and social rights. Securing those rights requires economic policy to comply with human rights obligations and norms and standards. This chapter spells out in detail what this would entail.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Austen S, Costa M, Sharp R, Elson D (2013) Expenditure incidence analysis: a gender-responsive budgeting tool for educational expenditure in Timor-Leste? Fem Econ 19(4):1–24

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Balakrishnan R, Elson D (2008) Auditing economic policy in the light of obligations on economic and social rights. Essex Human Rights Rev 5(1):29–49

    Google Scholar 

  • Balakrishnan R, Elson D (2011) Economic policy and human rights obligations. Zed, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Balakrishnan R, Heintz J, Elson D (2016) Rethinking economic policy for social justice: the radical potential for human rights. Routledge, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Balakrishnan R, Elson D, Heintz J, Lusiani N (2011) Maximum available resources and human rights: analytical report. Center for Women’s Global Leadership, Rutgers University, New Brunswick

    Google Scholar 

  • Barnett K, Grown C (2004) Gender impacts of government revenue collection: the case of taxation. Economic paper 62. Commonwealth Secretariat, London

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Bird R (2010) Taxation and development. Economic premise 34. World Bank, Washington, DC. http://siteresources.worldbank.org/INTPREMNET/Resources/EP34.pdf

    Google Scholar 

  • Braunstein E, Heintz J (2011) Central banks, employment and gender in developing countries. In: Young B, Bakker I, Elson D (eds) Financial governance from a feminist perspective. Routledge, London, pp 90–109

    Google Scholar 

  • CESR (n.d.) Switzerland held to account for cost of tax abuse on women’s rights. Center for Economic and Social Rights. http://www.cesr.org/switzerland-held-account-cost-tax-abuse-womens-rights

  • Clay E, Geddes M, Natali L (2009) Aid untying: is it working? Overseas Development Institute, London

    Google Scholar 

  • De Albuquerque C (2012) On the right track: good practices in realising the rights to water and sanitation. Report of the UN Special Rapporteur. United Nations, Lisbon

    Google Scholar 

  • Elson D (2006) Budgeting for women’s rights: monitoring government budgets for compliance with CEDAW. UNIFEM, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Elson D (2012) The reduction of the UK budget deficit: a human rights perspective. Int Rev Appl Econ 26(2):177–190

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Elson D (2013) Economic crises from the 1980s to the 2010s: a gender analysis. In: Waylen G, Rai S (eds) New frontiers in feminist political economy. Routledge, London, pp 189–212

    Google Scholar 

  • Elson D (2017a) Financing for gender equality: how to budget in compliance with human rights standards. In: Khan Z, Burn N (eds) Financing for gender equality. Palgrave Macmillan, London, pp 25–48

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Elson D (2017b) Measuring sustainable development goal indicator 5.c.1. Discussion Paper for Expert Group Meeting, 27–28 March 2017, UN Women, New York. http://gender-financing.unwomen.org/en/resources/d/i/s/discussion-paper-on-measuring-sustainable-development-goal-indicator-5c1

  • Elson D, Balakrishnan R, Heintz J (2013) Public finance, maximum available resources and human rights. In: Harvey C, Nolan A, O’Connell R (eds) Human rights and public finance: budget analysis and the advancement of economic and social rights. Hart Publishing, Oxford, pp 13–39

    Google Scholar 

  • Fontana M, Elson D (2014) Public policies on water provision and early childhood education and care (ECEC): do they reduce and redistribute unpaid work? Gend Dev 22(3):459–474

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fredman S, Goldblatt B (2014) Gender equality and human rights. Background Paper for UN Women Progress of the World’s Women 2015–16. UN Women, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Grown C, Valodia I (eds) (2010) Taxation and gender equity: a comparative analysis of direct and indirect taxes in developing and developed countries. Routledge, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Himmelweit S (2002) Making visible the hidden economy: the case for gender-impact analysis of economic policy. Fem Econ 8(1):49–70

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Institute for Fiscal Studies (2015) Green budget. http://www.ifs.org.uk/publications/7530

  • Lonergan G (2015) Migrant women and social reproduction under austerity. Fem Rev 109:124–145

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Norton A, Elson D (2002) What’s behind the budget? Politics, rights and accountability in the budget process. Overseas Development Institute, London

    Google Scholar 

  • OECD and ADB (2010) African economic outlook 2010. Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and African Development Bank, Paris

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • OHCHR (2005) Economic, social and cultural rights: handbook for national human rights institutions. UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, Geneva. http://www.ohchr.org/Documents/Publications/training12en.pdf

  • Pearson R, Elson D (2015) Transcending the impact of the financial crisis in the United Kingdom: towards plan F – a feminist economic strategy. Fem Rev 109:8–30

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pillay AG (2012) Letter dated 16 May 2012 addressed by the chairperson of the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights to States Parties to ICESCR on the protection of covenant rights in the context of the economic and financial crisis. UN Ref. No. CESCR/48th/SP/MAB/SW. http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/cescr/docs/LetterCESCRtoSP16.05.12.pdf

  • Piron LH (2005) Rights-based approaches and bilateral aid agencies: more than a metaphor? IDS Bull 36(1):19–30

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sandhu K, Stephenson M-A (2015) Layers of inequality: a human rights and equality impact assessment of the public spending cuts on black, Asian and minority ethnic women in Coventry. Fem Rev 109:169–179

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schuberth H, Young B (2011) The role of gender in governance of the financial sector. In: Young B, Bakker I, Elson D (eds) Financial governance from a feminist perspective. Routledge, London, pp 138–144

    Google Scholar 

  • UN Women (2015) Transforming economies, realizing rights: progress of the world’s women 2015–16. UN Women, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • UNCEDAW (2013a) Concluding observations on the sixth periodic report of Angola adopted by the committee at its fifty fourth session (11 February–1 March 2013). UN Doc CEDAW/C/AGO/CO/6, UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women. http://undocs.org/CEDAW/C/AGO/CO/6

  • UNCEDAW (2013b) Concluding observations on the seventh periodic report of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. UN Doc CEDAW/C/GBR/CO/7, UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women. http://undocs.org/CEDAW/C/GBR/CO/7

  • UNCESCR (2001) Substantive issues arising in the implementation of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights: Poverty and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. UN Doc. E/C.12/2001/10, UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, 10 May. http://undocs.org/E/C.12/2001/10

  • UNCESCR (2005) Substantive issues arising in the implementation of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, General Comment No. 16 (2005): the equal right of men and women to the enjoyment of all economic, social and cultural rights (art. 3 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights). UN Doc E/C.12/2005/4, UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, 11 August. http://undocs.org/E/C.12/2005/4

  • UNCESCR (2007) An evaluation of the obligation to take steps to the ‘maximum of available resources’ under an Optional Protocol to the Covenant. UN Doc E/C.12/2007/1, UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, 21 September. http://undocs.org/E/C.12/2007/1

Law and Cases

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Diane Elson .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2018 Springer Science+Business Media Singapore

About this entry

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this entry

Elson, D. (2018). Securing the Social and Economic Rights of Women in Economic Policy Making. In: Reilly, N. (eds) International Human Rights of Women. International Human Rights. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-4550-9_34-1

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-4550-9_34-1

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Singapore

  • Print ISBN: 978-981-10-4550-9

  • Online ISBN: 978-981-10-4550-9

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference Law and CriminologyReference Module Humanities and Social SciencesReference Module Business, Economics and Social Sciences

Publish with us

Policies and ethics