PHM-Exch> 2012 World Development Report: Gender Equality and Development

[Claudio Schuftan]

World Bank releases 2012 World Development Report: Gender Equality and
Development<http://www.unscn.org/en/announcements/nutrition_informations_resources/?id=624>The
lives of women around the world have improved dramatically, at a pace
and scope difficult to imagine even 25 years ago. Women have made
unprecedented gains in rights, education, health, and access to jobs and
livelihoods. More countries than ever guarantee equal rights in property,
marriage, and other domains. Gender gaps in primary schooling have closed
in many countries, while in a third of all countries girls now outnumber
boys in secondary school, and more young women than men attend universities
in 60 countries.

Women are using their education to participate more in the labor force:
they now make up for 40 percent of the global labor force and 43 percent of
its farmers. Moreover, women now live longer than men in every region of
the world.

Despite the progress, gaps remain in many areas. Women are more likely to
die-relative to males-in many low- and middle-income countries than their
counterparts in rich countries-especially in childhood and during their
reproductive years. Primary and secondary school enrollments for girls
remain much lower than for boys in many Sub-Saharan African countries and
some parts of South Asia, as well as among disadvantaged populations. Women
are more likely than men to work as unpaid family laborers or in the
informal sector, to farm smaller plots and grow less profi table crops,
operate in smaller firms and less profitable sectors, and generally earn
less. Women-especially poor women-have less say over decisions and less
control over household resources. And in most countries, fewer women
participate in formal politics than men and are underrepresented in the
upper echelons.

The World Development Report 2012: Gender Equality and Development argues
that closing these persistent gender gaps matters. It matters because
gender equality is a core development objective in its own right. But it is
also smart economics. Greater gender equality can enhance productivity,
improve development outcomes for the next generation, and make institutions
more representative.

Building on a growing body of knowledge on the economics of gender equality
and development, the Report identifies the areas where gender gaps are most
significant-both intrinsically and in terms of their potential development
payoff-and where growth alone cannot solve the issues. It then sets forth
four priorities for public action:
-Reducing excess female mortality and closing education gaps where they
remain
-Improving access to economic opportunities for women
-Increasing women's voice and agency in the household and in society
-Limiting the reproduction of gender inequality across generations.
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