Enhancing Women's Participation in Economic Development

Enhancing women ' s participation in development is essential not only for achieving social justice but also for reducing poverty. Worldwide experience shows clearly that supporting a stronger role for women contributes to economic growth, it improves child survival and overall family health, and it reduces fertility, thus helping to slow population growth rates. In short, investing in women is central to sustainable development. And yet, despite these known returns, women still face many barriers in contributing to and benefiting from development. The barriers begin with comparatively low investment in female education and health, they continue with restricted access to services and assets, and they are made worse by legal and regulatory constraints on women ' s opportunities. As a result, the worlwide progress in development over the last three decades has not translated into proportional gains for women. This paper points to actions that can help to turn around this inequitable situation. Evidence of what works is particularly strong in five areas: education, health, wage labor, agriculture and natural resource management, and financial services. The paper also suggests a broadening of the women in development approach toward a gender in development strategy that takes into account the relative roles and responsibilities of women and men and recognizes that, of effect long-term change in the conditions of women, the actions and attitudes of men must change.