Poverty Reduction

Gender Equality
Essential to achieving the MDGs

Poverty impacts on poor women and men, boys and girls differently. Poor women and girls find it often more difficult to access suitable social services and income.

At the same time successful poverty reduction in societies in the region particularly gains from the active involvement of poor women and girls in the development process.

So, improving the status of women is essential to any strategy to reduce poverty.

Gender equality is embodied in Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Apart from goal 3, which directly addresses gender equality, the issue is an essential factor in achieving most of the other goals.

The Asia and Pacific region's performance on gender-related issues has been mixed. Despite substantial progress towards gender parity in education, the region is seriously "off-track" on other indicators of women's capabilities and opportunities. It is essential, therefore, to prioritize efforts toward gender equality and women's empowerment.

ADB's Policy on Gender and Development was adopted in 1998. It focuses on promoting gender equity in all relevant ADB operations. To this end, ADB's country partnership strategies (CPSs) are being aligned to better impact on gender equity.

Country Gender Assessments and gender experts in resident missions support gender mainstreaming. Lending and knowledge management products support gender equality. ADB also introduced specific gender action plans for relevant projects.

View ADB's knowledge products and operational expertise on impacting poverty reduction and MDG achievements through gender mainstreaming.