Gender and Development
Gender equality is an ADB driver of change for achieving inclusive and sustainable development
| Challenge | Although the economies of the Asia and Pacific region have grown rapidly, many women still suffer from inequality in income and living standards. The ongoing global economic crisis will further exacerbate the situation unless appropriate policy measures are put in place. |
| Strategy | ADB’s Strategy 2020 supports policy and programs in the region that promote gender equity. |
| Response | We promote gender equity through our operations. At least 40% of all sovereign investment projects will have notable gender mainstreaming elements by 2012. |
Rapid economic growth in Asia and the Pacific has sharply reduced the number of people living in extreme poverty. However, major inequalities in incomes and living standards continue to persist, especially for women.
While substantial progress has been made on the United Nations (UN) Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) for gender equality in education, progress in other targets falls short.
Women's non-agriculture wage employment and political participation are offtrack. The region's overall maternal mortality ratio—300 deaths for every 100,000 live births—is second only to Sub-Saharan Africa.
The global financial crisis is now impacting the region. Experience shows that during the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis the declines in labor force participation rates for women exceeded those for men in most countries; and women's and girls' unpaid care work in the household replaced the declining public social services, costing them health and education opportunities.
It is projected that the current crisis will seriously undermine progress toward achieving MDG gender equality goals.
Actions for gender equity
ADB's Policy on Gender and Development (1998) and Gender and Development Plan of Action 2008–2010 call for gender equality considerations across the full range of our operations. Our Strategy 2020 makes gender equity one of our five drivers of change.
Gender mainstreaming in lending
ADB's project-specific gender action plans facilitate the monitoring and implementation of gender-specific design features of projects, promote the involvement of women in project activities, and ensure resources are allocated and earmarked to provide direct and concrete benefits to women.
Success has been most evident in sectors that conventionally lend themselves to gender mainstreaming, such as education, health care, water supply and sanitation, and agriculture and natural resources.
We also innovate gender-responsive designs in sectors such as law and economic management, finance, and transport. Where possible, program loans have also included innovations in gender-specific policy and legal reforms.
Country gender assessments
We prepare country gender assessments to determine how our country partnership strategy can contribute to gender equality and women's empowerment. Governments also use them as their strategic planning document.
Each year at least three additional country gender assessments are prepared and their key findings are integrated into ADB's country partnership strategies.
Policy dialogue and support to developing member countries
Policy dialogue in countries and in the region can encourage gender-responsive policy and law reforms.
Examples include gender equality laws, affirmative actions for women's representation in local government bodies and community-based organizations, and joint titling by husbands and wives when land is allocated.
Our resident mission gender specialists support line ministries on a day-to-day basis. Regional peer exchange and lateral learning initiatives on gender mainstreaming also help inform and develop the capacity of policy makers, sector agencies, and other development actors. Topics covered include gender in rural development, managing for development effectiveness, and infrastructure.
Enhancing organizational effectiveness
Many advances in gender mainstreaming are attributable to ADB gender specialists. They have worked to expand our portfolio of loans addressing gender issues and to strengthen the gender mainstreaming capacity of executing agencies.
The External Forum on Gender and Development, a consultative and advisory body composed of external gender experts, academics, and activists from across the region, works in support of ADB. It has provided annual assessments of gender and development policy implementation.
The Gender and Development Cooperation Fund (2003) at ADB promotes gender equality and women's empowerment in the Asia and Pacific region by assisting ADB implement gender policy and related plan of action. It provides critical grant support for gender-related activities, particularly in piloting innovative ways to achieve gender equality results along with ADB-financed loan projects.
Sharing knowledge
ADB also supports gender equity through knowledge products, such as country gender assessments; gender mainstreaming tool kits, which include multi-language sector checklists, a gender and law tool kit, a guide to mainstream anti-trafficking concerns into projects, and associated gender and HIV in transport projects; research and studies on human trafficking, gender and local governance, gender and MDGs, gender equality results assessment; and good practices case studies.
Partnering for results
Given our limited in-house resources, partnering is also essential. At the project level, ADB works closely with many UN agencies, development partners, and nongovernment organizations in different countries to accelerate gender equality results.
ADB has been active in various gender knowledge networks as well, such as the UN regional thematic working group on gender, Multilateral Development Banks Working Group on Gender, and GenderNet under the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.
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