Originally posted by The World Bank:
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.
Despite the progress, gaps remain in many areas. The worst disparity is the rate at which girls and women die relative to men in developing countries. Excess female deaths account for an estimated 3.9 million women each year in low- and middle-income countries. About two-fifths are never born due to a preference for sons, a sixth die in early childhood, and over a third die in their reproductive years.
The World Development Report 2012: Gender Equality and Development argues that closing these gaps is a core development objective in its own right. It is also smart economics. Greater gender equality can enhance productivity, improve development outcomes for the next generation, and make institutions more representative.
The analytical core of the Report constitutes a conceptual framework that examines the factors that have fostered change and the constraints that have slowed progress. The analysis focuses on the roles of economic growth, households, markets, and institutions in determining gender differences in education and health, agency, and access to economic opportunities.
The analysis leads to the identification of four priority areas for domestic policy 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
While domestic policy action is crucial, the Report calls on the international community to complement efforts in the four priority areas and also support evidence-based public action through better data, impact evaluation and learning.
Flickr photo by: Gao
Entry Comments
Domestic policy action is crucial, the international community can play a role in complementing these efforts in each of these priority areas as well in through better data, impact evaluation, and learning. In some areas, this will mean additional support in the form of more funding, more innovation, and better partnerships.
kitchen cabinets
As far as development and progress of women is concerned, it is a major surrogate indicator for development and progress of a society and country. One key role of women which is gradually disappearing in developing countries is that she had always been a CEO (Chief Executive Officer) of what we call as home industry (i.e. a house managed by woman as a housewife). Latter, in poor and developing countries, was crucial in meeting all basic needs from nutrition to clothing under direct supervision and participation of their women CEOs. Current rhetoric of women rights and development has somewhat ignored this major role and responsibility of women, and is gradually leading to demise of a ‘low budget and very cost effective’ home industry. Instead, with ongoing development efforts to improve women status in terms of employment and education, there is marked outsourcing of home industry to market industry leading to more challenges for women, particularly as a wife and as a mother. To me, it is imperative to guard the woman’ role as CEO of her home and to empower her physically, mentally, socially and spiritually for her role as an axle of wheel – that is home. This is the best way for overall progress and development of society and nations in developing world in long term. - By Dr Sahul Bharti on 8th Oct 2011