xxii WORLD DEVELOPMENT REPORT 2012 PRIORITIES FOR DOMESTIC and young women when poverty,ethnic- POLICY ACTION ity,or geography excludes them,and to reach boys where gender disadvantages Policy makers in developing countries will have reversed.Cash transfers conditioned need to focus on those gender gaps where on school attendance are often effective in the payoffs for development are potentially reaching these groups.Pakistan has used the largest,higher incomes by themselves do such transfers to get girls from poor fami- little to reduce these gaps,and a reorienta- lies to school,while Jamaica has relied on tion of policies would yield the greatest ben- them to keep at-risk boys in school. efit.These priorities are: To narrow disparities between women .Addressing excess deaths of girls and and men in earnings and productivity, women and eliminating gender disadvan- a combination of policies is needed to tage in education where these remain address the various constraints that dis- entrenched. proportionately affect women's access to economic opportunities.Depending on Closing differences in access to economic context,these include measures to: opportunities and the ensuing earnings and productivity gaps between women o Lift women's time constraints,by pro- viding child care as with Colombia's and men. subsidized day-care programs for work- .Shrinking gender differences in voice ing mothers,and improving infrastruc- within households and societies. ture as with South Africa's rural electri- Limiting the reproduction of gender in- fication program. equality across generations. o Improve women's access to productive resources,especially to land as was done Focused and sustained domestic pub- in Ethiopia by granting joint land titles lic action is essential to bring about gender to wives and husbands,and to credit as equality.And to be effective,these policies will in Bangladesh. need to target the root causes of gender gaps. In some areas,as with maternal mortality, o Tackle information problems and in- stitutional biases that work against governments will need to address the single women.These include the use of quo- binding constraint to progress(weak service delivery institutions).In others,as with dif- tas or job placement programs as is be- ing done in Jordan,or reforming gen- ferential access to economic opportunities, der biases in service delivery institutions policies will be needed that tackle the multi- ple constraints that come from the workings as was done for agricultural extension of markets and institutions to limit progress. through women's self-help groups in the Indian state of Orissa In these cases,policy makers will need to pri- oritize these constraints and address them To diminish gender differences in house- simultaneously or sequentially. hold and societal voice,policies need to address the combined influence of social To reduce excess deaths of girls and norms and beliefs,women's access to eco- women in infancy,early childhood,and nomic opportunities,the legal framework, the reproductive years,policy action to and women's education and skills: improve the delivery of services(especially o To equalize voice within households, of clean water,sanitation,and maternal care)is of primary importance.Vietnam measures that increase women's control has been able to reduce excess mortality over household resources and laws that among young girls by expanding access to enhance the ability of women to accu- clean water and sanitation.And Turkey mulate assets,especially by strengthen- has reduced maternal mortality through ing their property rights,are of particu- improved health care delivery and a focus lar importance.Recent reforms of family law in Morocco that equalized on expectant mothers the ownership rights of husbands and To shrink persisting educational gaps, wives over property acquired during policies need to improve access for girls marriage are an example.xxii WORLD DEVELOPMENT REPORT 2012 and young women when poverty, ethnic￾ity, or geography excludes them, and to reach boys where gender disadvantages have reversed. Cash transfers conditioned on school attendance are often effective in reaching these groups. Pakistan has used such transfers to get girls from poor fami￾lies to school, while Jamaica has relied on them to keep at-risk boys in school. • To narrow disparities between women and men in earnings and productivity, a combination of policies is needed to address the various constraints that dis￾proportionately affect women’s access to economic opportunities. Depending on context, these include measures to: Lift women’s time constraints, by pro￾viding child care as with Colombia’s subsidized day-care programs for work￾ing mothers, and improving infrastruc￾ture as with South Africa’s rural electri- fi cation program. Improve women’s access to productive resources, especially to land as was done in Ethiopia by granting joint land titles to wives and husbands, and to credit as in Bangladesh. Tackle information problems and in￾stitutional biases that work against women. These include the use of quo￾tas or job placement programs as is be￾ing done in Jordan, or reforming gen￾der biases in service delivery institutions as was done for agricultural extension through women’s self-help groups in the Indian state of Orissa. • To diminish gender differences in house￾hold and societal voice, policies need to address the combined infl uence of social norms and beliefs, women’s access to eco￾nomic opportunities, the legal framework, and women’s education and skills: To equalize voice within households, measures that increase women’s control over household resources and laws that enhance the ability of women to accu￾mulate assets, especially by strengthen￾ing their property rights, are of particu￾lar importance. Recent reforms of family law in Morocco that equalized the ownership rights of husbands and wives over property acquired during marriage are an example. PRIORITIES FOR DOMESTIC POLICY ACTION Policy makers in developing countries will need to focus on those gender gaps where the payoffs for development are potentially the largest, higher incomes by themselves do little to reduce these gaps, and a reorienta￾tion of policies would yield the greatest ben￾efi t. These priorities are: • Addressing excess deaths of girls and women and eliminating gender disadvan￾tage in education where these remain entrenched. • Closing differences in access to economic opportunities and the ensuing earnings and productivity gaps between women and men. • Shrinking gender differences in voice within households and societies. • Limiting the reproduction of gender in￾equality across generations. Focused and sustained domestic pub￾lic action is essential to bring about gender equality. And to be effective, these policies will need to target the root causes of gender gaps. In some areas, as with maternal mortality, governments will need to address the single binding constraint to progress (weak service delivery institutions). In others, as with dif￾ferential access to economic opportunities, policies will be needed that tackle the multi￾ple constraints that come from the workings of markets and institutions to limit progress. In these cases, policy makers will need to pri￾oritize these constraints and address them simultaneously or sequentially. • To reduce excess deaths of girls and women in infancy, early childhood, and the reproductive years, policy action to improve the delivery of services (especially of clean water, sanitation, and maternal care) is of primary importance. Vietnam has been able to reduce excess mortality among young girls by expanding access to clean water and sanitation. And Turkey has reduced maternal mortality through improved health care delivery and a focus on expectant mothers. • To shrink persisting educational gaps, policies need to improve access for girls