Gender Equality Boosts Development – World Bank Report
Author: Womens UN Report Network
Date: September 19, 2011
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GENDER EQUALITY BOOSTS DEVELOPMENT –
WORLD BANK
19 September 2011 – Reuters
*
Worst effect of disparity is higher female death rate
* Greater equality could sharply narrow productivity gap
* Women now number half of university students worldwide
* Big gains in recent years not enough – report
By Rebekah Curtis
LONDON, Sept 19 (Reuters) – Gender equality is shrewd economics as well as a
human right, the World Bank said on Monday in a report that showed countries
with better opportunities for women and girls can boost productivity and
development.
The most glaring disparity is the rate at which girls and women die relative
to men in developing countries, according to “The World Development Report
2012: Gender Equality and Development.”
“Blocking women and girls from getting the skills and earnings to
succeed in a globalized world is not only wrong, but also economically
harmful,” said Justin Yifu Lin, World Bank chief economist.
“Sharing the fruits of growth and globalization equally between men and
women is essential to meeting key development goals.”
The report cited the U.N Food and Agriculture Organization estimates that
equal access to resources for female farmers could increase agricultural output
in poorer countries by up to 4 percent.
It also said eliminating barriers preventing women working in certain
occupations would cut the productivity gap between male and female workers by a
third to a half, and increase output per worker by 3 to 25 percent in some
countries.
“We need to achieve gender equality,” said World Bank President
Robert Zoellick.
He said that over the past five years the World Bank has provided funds to
support girls’ education, women’s health, and women’s access to credit, land,
agricultural services, jobs, and infrastructure.
“This has been important work, but it has not been enough or central
enough to what we do. Going forward, the World Bank Group will mainstream our
gender work and find other ways to move the agenda forward to capture the full
potential of half the world’s population.”
Significant gains in gender equality have been made in recent years. Women
now represent 40 percent of the global labor force, 43 percent of the
agricultural labor force, and more than half of university students, according
to the report.
Over half a billion women have joined the workforce in the last 30 years, it
added.
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