Foreword The lives of girls and women have changed dramatically over the past quarter century.Today, more girls and women are literate than ever before,and in a third of developing countries, there are more girls in school than boys.Women now make up over 40 percent of the global labor force.Moreover,women live longer than men in all regions of the world.The pace of change has been astonishing-indeed,in many developing countries,they have been faster than the equivalent changes in developed countries:What took the United States 40 years to achieve in increasing girls'school enrollment has taken Morocco just a decade. In some areas,however,progress toward gender equality has been limited-even in devel- oped countries.Girls and women who are poor,live in remote areas,are disabled,or belong to minority groups continue to lag behind.Too many girls and women are still dying in child- hood and in the reproductive ages.Women still fall behind in earnings and productivity,and in the strength of their voices in society.In some areas,such as education,there is now a gen- der gap to the disadvantage of men and boys. The main message of this year's World Development Report:Gender Equality and Develop- ment is that these patterns of progress and persistence in gender equality matter,both for development outcomes and policy making.They matter because gender equality is a core development objective in its own right.But greater gender equality is also smart economics, enhancing productivity and improving other development outcomes,including prospects for the next generation and for the quality of societal policies and institutions.Economic develop- ment is not enough to shrink all gender disparities-corrective policies that focus on persist- ing gender gaps are essential. This Report points to four priority areas for policy going forward.First,reducing gender gaps in human capital-specifically those that address female mortality and education.Sec- ond,closing gender gaps in access to economic opportunities,earnings,and productivity. Third,shrinking gender differences in voice and agency within society.Fourth,limiting the reproduction of gender inequality across generations.These are all areas where higher incomes by themselves do little to reduce gender gaps,but focused policies can have a real impact. Public actions need to address the underlying determinants of gender gaps in each pri- ority area-in some cases,improving service delivery (especially for clean water,sanitation, and maternal care),for others,tackling constraints that originate in the workings of mar- kets and institutions to limit progress(for example,in reducing gender gaps in earnings and productivity). Development partners can complement public action.In each of the four priority areas, efforts need more funding(particularly to support the poorest countries as they address female mortality and gender gaps in education);better gender-disaggregated data;more experimentation and systematic evaluation;and broader partnerships that include the private sector,development agencies,and civil society organizations. xiiixiii Foreword The lives of girls and women have changed dramatically over the past quarter century. Today, more girls and women are literate than ever before, and in a third of developing countries, there are more girls in school than boys. Women now make up over 40 percent of the global labor force. Moreover, women live longer than men in all regions of the world. The pace of change has been astonishing—indeed, in many developing countries, they have been faster than the equivalent changes in developed countries: What took the United States 40 years to achieve in increasing girls’ school enrollment has taken Morocco just a decade. In some areas, however, progress toward gender equality has been limited—even in devel￾oped countries. Girls and women who are poor, live in remote areas, are disabled, or belong to minority groups continue to lag behind. Too many girls and women are still dying in child￾hood and in the reproductive ages. Women still fall behind in earnings and productivity, and in the strength of their voices in society. In some areas, such as education, there is now a gen￾der gap to the disadvantage of men and boys. The main message of this year’s World Development Report: Gender Equality and Develop￾ment is that these patterns of progress and persistence in gender equality matter, both for development outcomes and policy making. They matter because gender equality is a core development objective in its own right. But greater gender equality is also smart economics, enhancing productivity and improving other development outcomes, including prospects for the next generation and for the quality of societal policies and institutions. Economic develop￾ment is not enough to shrink all gender disparities—corrective policies that focus on persist￾ing gender gaps are essential. This Report points to four priority areas for policy going forward. First, reducing gender gaps in human capital—specifi cally those that address female mortality and education. Sec￾ond, closing gender gaps in access to economic opportunities, earnings, and productivity. Third, shrinking gender differences in voice and agency within society. Fourth, limiting the reproduction of gender inequality across generations. These are all areas where higher incomes by themselves do little to reduce gender gaps, but focused policies can have a real impact. Public actions need to address the underlying determinants of gender gaps in each pri￾ority area—in some cases, improving service delivery (especially for clean water, sanitation, and maternal care), for others, tackling constraints that originate in the workings of mar￾kets and institutions to limit progress (for example, in reducing gender gaps in earnings and productivity). Development partners can complement public action. In each of the four priority areas, efforts need more funding (particularly to support the poorest countries as they address female mortality and gender gaps in education); better gender-disaggregated data; more experimentation and systematic evaluation; and broader partnerships that include the private sector, development agencies, and civil society organizations