Universal health, education and other public services reduce the gap between rich and poor, and between women and men. Fairer taxation of the wealthiest can help pay for them. Oxfam briefing paper-January 2019 Our economy is broken, with hundreds of millions of people living in extreme poverty while huge rewards go to those at the very top. The number of billionaires has doubled since the financial crisis and their fortunes grow by $2.5bn a day, yet the super-rich and corporations are paying lower rates of tax than they have in decades. The human costs-children without teachers, clinics without medicines-are huge. Piecemeal private services punish poor people and privilege elites. Women suffer the most, and are left to fill the gaps in public services with many hours of unpaid care. We need to transform our economies to deliver universal health, education and other public services. To make this possible, the richest people and corporations should pay their fair share of tax. This will drive a dramatic reduction in the gap between rich and poor and between women and men.
Oxfam Research Reports are written to share research results, to contribute to public debate and to invite feedback on development and humanitarian policy and practice. They do not necessarily reflect Oxfam policy positions. The views expressed are those of the author and not necessarily those of Oxfam.
Did you know that research can open doors for more gender equitable futures? This is only possible if you integrate a clear and strong gender analysis when planning your research. Gender analysis is built on an understanding of the differences and inequalities in the interrelated lives of women, men, and members of other gender diverse groups, often shaped by unequal power relations and norms that dictate what roles, attitudes and behaviours are considered normal or appropriate. Gender blind research is just bad research. Not only does it risk undermining the reliability and validity of the findings and their representation of social realities, but it can also cause the programmes, policies and campaigns on which the research is based to reinforce rather than challenge patriarchal structures and gender inequalities. REVIEWING YOUR RESEARCH DESIGN FROM A GENDER PERSPECTIVE The table below presents the gender rubric developed by the Gender Working Group of the Oxfam Research Network. This is an adaptation of the Interagency Gender Working Group's Gender Integration Continuum Categories designed specifically for programming. The rubric presents a sliding scale that can be used to help identify how integrated gender is in your research. The rubric starts from gender-blind, where the research fails to acknowledge any gender issues, and moves towards gender-transformative, where the research findings are meant to catalyse social change. Ideally, research should aim to be at the gender-transformative end of the spectrum. Research that is gender-transformative has the potential to inform long-term practical changes in
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