世行行长宝座竞争引出女性难题
|
在沙特阿拉伯，女性能够通过接受教育和培训成为律师，但却不能获得执业资格。乍得以及其他很多国家要求女性在开设银行账户时需征得丈夫许可。这些规定令人生畏，但是并非无法解决。莱蒙在去年出版的《凯尔卡纳的裁缝》（The Dressmaker Of Khair Khana）一书中对阿富汗女企业家卡米拉•丝蒂奇进行了跟踪报道。卡米拉是全家的经济支柱，在塔利班统治时期，她足不出户，在家里开办了自己的企业。 国际劳工组织（The International Labour Organization）预计，由于女性就业机会受到限制，亚非地区每年会损失420亿到470亿美元。莱蒙表示，对世行来说，通过国际金融公司（IFC）增加女性企业家获得资源和资本的机会是避开文化问题的一种方式。他认为：“如果女性赚了钱，男性对她们的看法将会发生改变。它会带来整整一代人的变化。” 教育和健康对这一问题来说也很重要。教育程度更高，未成年婚姻数量将会更少，意外怀孕、流产和其他健康问题也会减少。受过教育的健康女性将会成为生产力更高的劳动力。 对女性进行投资的经济潜力看起来似乎显而易见。但对金永吉来说是否也是如此呢？《财富》杂志（Fortune）尝试采访金永吉，但没有得到回复。莱蒙表示：“女性投资并非小打小闹的儿戏。女性是稳定性的指标，我们必须集中精力关注她们，直到她们摆脱特殊利益群体的身份。要知道，现在的竞争环境对她们来说并不公平。” 世行非洲提名人奥孔约•伊薇拉跟金永吉一样有着令人印象深刻的履历。她曾担任尼日利亚财政部长和世行常务副行长，这些经历让她比金永吉多了一些管理层面的优势，但她对于女性投资的梦想是她与其他候选人的明显区别。在2007年TED（技术、娱乐、设计）非洲大会的商业主题会谈上，奥孔约•伊薇拉称：“我想说的是，在这块大陆上，最佳投资对象中不乏女性。”她随后给出了几位成功的非洲女性企业家的实例。她还是非营利机构生命之音（Vital Voices）董事会的名誉董事，该组织致力于为全球的女性领袖提供投资。 当然，美国提名候选人将执掌世行，这是一直以来的君子协定，就像欧洲提名候选人将领导国际货币基金组织（IMF）一样。但如果世行打算认真履行其使命，它就需要这样一位行长：深入理解为女性提供投资的经济重要性，并且敢于直面挑战。 译者：李玫晓/汪皓 |
In Saudi Arabia, women are provided the education and training to become lawyers, but they can't get licenses to practice. Chad -- and many other nations -- requires women to gain their husbands' permission to open bank accounts. These policies are intimidating, but not insurmountable. Lemmon's The Dressmaker Of Khair Khana, which was published last year, follows Afghani entrepreneur and breadwinner Kamila Sidiqi, who created her business within the confines of her home during the Taliban years. The International Labour Organization estimates that the Asia-Pacific region is losing $42 billion to $47 billion annually because of women's limited access to employment opportunities. Increasing women entrepreneurs' access to resources and capital with the IFC is one way the World Bank can skirt around culture issues, says Lemmon. "When women make money, it changes the way men see them. It can spark generational change." Education and health are also essential to the equation. Greater educational attainment correlates with fewer childhood marriages, which tends to lead to fewer unwanted pregnancies, abortions, and other health problems. Healthy, educated women lead to a more productive labor force. The economic potential of investing in women seems glaringly obvious. But is it obvious to Kim? Fortune reached out to Kim for comment, but received no response. "Women are not a pet project," says Lemmon. "They are stability indicators. We need to focus on them until they are no longer a special interest group. The level playing field doesn't exist yet." Africa's nominee, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, has, like Kim, an impressive resume. Her time as finance minister in Nigeria and managing director of the World Bank may give her a slight managerial edge on him, but her desire to invest in women is what sets her candidacy apart. In a 2007 TED talk on business in Africa, Okonjo-Iweala said, "I want to say that some of the best people to invest in on the continent are the women," before giving several examples of successful African female entrepreneurs. She is also an emeritus member of the board of directors at Vital Voices, a nonprofit focused on investing in women leaders globally. Of course, there's the gentlemen's agreement that the U.S. nominee will run the World Bank and a European nominee will run the IMF. But if the World Bank is serious about its mission, it needs a president who fully grasps the economic importance of prioritizing investment in women, and is not afraid to rise to the challenge. |
