Catalog

	Table of Contents
p. 16 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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Operational approaches

Macroeconomic and sector work

80. Gender considerations will be included in ADB’s macroeconomic, sector, and programming work as specified in ADB’s revised OM section on WID. A country briefing paper on women will be prepared as a background document to the COSS. The COSS will include consideration of how ADB intends to promote women’s development in the country in the context of the strategy. Aside from incorporating gender considerations in the main text of the COSS, a separate gender strategy will be developed for the DMC and included as an appendix to the COSS.

81. The CAP will specify the means by which ADB’s operational program will address and support the gender strategy. In DMCs where gender disparities are marked, ADB will attempt to design a lending strategy that addresses some of the gender disparities. For example, in DMCs with low levels of education among women or low health indicators for women, the lending program could include basic education or basic health programs to address the gender gap. Sector studies will include gender indicators among the sectoral indicators, and contain specific objectives and targets to promote gender equity. Likewise, greater efforts will be made to consult with women’s groups and key women in the DMCs during strategy and programming missions.

83. Consistent with ADB’s redefined role as a broad-based development institution, greater emphasis will be given to institutional development, policy support, and regional cooperation activities. Opportunities to support DMCs’ development and implementation of policies and programs to address improvements in women’s economic and social status will be explored. Policy reform and capacity building in GAD will be given particular attention. ADB’s role as a project financier will be integrated with that of a catalyst for addressing gender concerns and gender inequities.

84. In both its policy-oriented work and broader research activities, ADB will increase its efforts to study the situation of women in the region. Studies on the impact on women of economic reform programs and adjustment policies, public expenditure reform, public enterprise restructuring, public sector reforms, and program loans will be promoted. Likewise, studies on the feminization of poverty, economic implications of gender disparities, and the development of pilot initiatives and best practices for advancing the status of women will be conducted. Such studies may be carried out through ADB’s Economics and Development Resource Center and the RETA facility.

Loans and technical assistance

85. GAD will be actively promoted in both TA and loan operations. As with ADB’s economic and sector work, gender considerations will constitute an essential element of project work. ADB will promote the mainstreaming of gender considerations in projects, and gender concerns will be addressed at all appropriate stages of the project cycle from identification through postevaluation.

86. Special design features and strategies will be built into projects, especially those with the potential to address GAD objectives, to facilitate and encourage women’s involvement, and to ensure tangible benefits to women. ADB will continue to devise special projects targeting women, as well as stand-alone GAD projects to address glaring gender disparities. While mainstreaming will be the preferred approach, projects directed exclusively at women or projects with special components for women may be warranted where the sociocultural environment necessitates segregation of the sexes, or where women need special attention to enable their inclusion in mainstream projects.

87. ADB will endeavor to increase the number of projects with GAD as either a primary or secondary objective, especially projects in health, education, agriculture, natural resource management, employment and income generation, and financial services (microfinance). Special strategies will be included in ADB’s health, education, and agriculture projects to facilitate women’s inclusion and to address gender disparities such as the provision of scholarships for girls; reserving school places for girls; establishing single-sex classrooms; training female teachers; reducing or subsidizing the direct and indirect costs of girls’ education to encourage their participation; promoting community-based health services; training female health personnel and female community health providers; campaigns, counseling, and advisory services to address female-focused violence; campaigns to contain the spread of HIV/AIDS among women; improving women’s access to land; training female agricultural extension workers; supporting labor-saving technologies; and enhancing women’s access to savings and credit services.

88. In the processing of new projects, including program and sector loans, gender concerns will be addressed as part of the ISA, which is now required for all ADB projects. Consultants’ terms of reference for PPTAs and feasibility studies will provide for gender analysis as an essential element of the ISA, and, if the ISA identifies important gender issues in the project, these will be examined further through a detailed social analysis, which will include a detailed gender analysis³². Where appropriate, gender mainstreaming strategies will be included in the project design.

89. During project implementation, GAD objectives and components will be systematically monitored and reported. Project completion and postevaluation reports will describe gender-specific project objectives, achievements, and their impact. The postevaluation report will assess the impact of the project on women and describe how women beneficiaries perceive the benefits of the project.

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