Catalog

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p. 15 of 20 BACK | NEXT Executive summary Introduction Gender and development issues in the Asian and Pacific region Overview of Bank policy and operations on WID (1985-1996) The need for a revised policy on gender and development The Bank’s revised policy on gender and development Rationale Bank policy Operational approaches Institutional mechanisms Policy review and evaluation Responsibility for GAD Bankwide resource implications of the revised policy

Policy on Gender and Development : The Bank’s revised policy on gender and development

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B. ADB policy

78. ADB’s policy on GAD will adopt mainstreaming as a key strategy in promoting gender equity. The key elements of ADB’s policy will include the following.

• Gender sensitivity:: to observe how ADB operations affect women and men, and to take into account women’s needs and perspectives in planning its operations.

• Gender analysis: to assess systematically the impact of a project on men and women, and on the economic and social relationship between them.

• Gender planning: to formulate specific strategies that aim to bring about equal opportunities for men and women.

• Mainstreaming: to consider gender issues in all aspects of ADB operations, accompanied by efforts to encourage women’s participation in the decision-making process in development activities.

• Agenda setting: to assist DMC governments in formulating strategies to reduce gender disparities and in developing plans and targets for women’s and girls’ education, health, legal rights, employment, and income-earning opportunities.

ADB will aim to operationalize its policy on GAD primarily by mainstreaming gender considerations in its macroeconomic and sector work, including policy dialogue, lending, and TA operations. Increased attention will be given to addressing directly gender disparities, by designing a larger number of projects with GAD either as a primary or secondary objective in health, education, agriculture, natural resource management, and financial services, especially microcredit, while also ensuring that gender concerns are addressed in other ADB projects, including those in the infrastructure sector. More specifically, ADB will

1. provide assistance to DMCs in GAD policy support; capacity building; and awareness, formulation, and implementation of policies and programs directed at improving the status of women

2. facilitate gender analysis of proposed projects, including program and sector loans, and ensure that gender issues are considered at all appropriate stages of the project cycle, including identification, preparation, appraisal, implementation, and evaluation

3. assist its DMCs implementing commitments made at the Beijing World Conference on Women to achieve the targets set for women into the 21st century

4. explore opportunities to directly address some of the new and emerging issues for women in the region and

5. promote increased GAD awareness within ADB through training workshops and seminars, development of suitable approaches, and staff guidelines to implement the revised policy on GAD.

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