IMF Working Papers

Frayed Societies: Decoding the Interplay between Conflicts and Gender Inequality

By Paola Ganum, Can Sever

January 17, 2025

Download PDF More Formats on IMF eLibrary Order a Print Copy
More formats on IMF eLibrary Order a Print Copy

Preview Citation

Format: Chicago

Paola Ganum, and Can Sever. "Frayed Societies: Decoding the Interplay between Conflicts and Gender Inequality", IMF Working Papers 2025, 012 (2025), accessed January 22, 2025, https://doi.org/10.5089/9798400292514.001

Export Citation

  • ProCite
  • RefWorks
  • Reference Manager
  • BibTex
  • Zotero
  • EndNote

Disclaimer: IMF Working Papers describe research in progress by the author(s) and are published to elicit comments and to encourage debate. The views expressed in IMF Working Papers are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the views of the IMF, its Executive Board, or IMF management.

Summary

This paper explores the relationship between violent conflicts and gender inequality in a global sample since the 1990s. Based on a composite index, it shows that conflicts, including both interstate and intrastate events, predict a higher gender inequality in outcomes. Focusing on specific gender outcomes, school enrollment rate by females in primary education and share of seats in parliament held by women tend to decrease in the aftermath of those episodes, whereas maternal mortality rate increases. Moreover, conflicts tend to widen cross-country gaps in gender inequality in outcomes. Focusing on gender inequality in opportunities, conflicts are associated with lower economic rights for women in legislation. Considering the role of women’s empowerment in economic growth and development, these associations between conflicts and gender inequality provide a channel for the observed, long-lasting drag on economic performance following those episodes. The ongoing political and security-related challenges across the globe make the implications of the findings even more crucial for sustainable and inclusive economic growth in the post-Covid-19 era.

Subject: Education, Gender, Gender inequality, Women

Keywords: Conflict, Economic growth and development, Gender inequality, Gender inequality, Sub-Saharan Africa, Wars, Women, Women’s legal rights, Women's empowerment

Publication Details

You May Also Be Interested In...

Suriname: Selected Issues

January 21, 2025

Using Digitalization to Enhance Public Finance in Kosovo: Republic of Kosovo

January 17, 2025

Labor Market and Gender: Republic of Kosovo

January 16, 2025

Immigration and Local Inflation

January 10, 2025