Main Messages of the World Development Report 2012 xxi over the last 30 years as women's partici- UNDERSTANDING PROGRESS pation in paid work has risen in most of AND PERSISTENCE the developing world.An important rea- son has been the unprecedented reduc- Income growth by itself does not deliver tion in fertility in developing countries greater gender equality on all fronts.Indeed, as diverse as Bangladesh,Colombia,and where gender gaps have closed quickly,it is the Islamic Republic of Iran. because of how markets and institutions- formal and informalhave functioned and evolved,how growth has played out,and ..BUT OTHER GAPS PERSIST how all these factors have interacted through household decisions.For example,in educa- Gender disparities still remain in many areas, tion,income growth (by loosening bud- and even in rich countries.The most persis- get constraints),markets(by opening new tent and egregious gaps include: employment opportunities for women),and .Excess deaths of girls and women.Fe- formal institutions (by expanding schools and lowering costs)have all come together males are more likely to die,relative to to influence household decisions in favor of males,in many low-and middle-income countries than their counterparts in rich educating girls and young women across a broad range of countries. countries.These deaths are estimated at about 3.9 million women and girls under the age of 60 each year.About two-fifths Gender gaps persist where girls and women of them are never born,one-sixth die in face other disadvantages.For poor women in early childhood,and over one-third die in poor places,sizable gender gaps remain.And these disparities are even larger when pov- their reproductive years.And this number erty combines with other forms of exclusion, is growing in Sub-Saharan Africa,espe- such as remoteness,ethnicity,and disability. cially in childhood and the reproductive years and in the countries hardest hit by For ethnic minority women in Vietnam,for the HIV/AIDS epidemic. instance,more than 60 percent of childbirths occur without prenatal care-twice as many Disparities in girls'schooling.Despite as for the majority Kinh women. the overall progress,primary and second- ary school enrollments for girls remain Markets,institutions,and households can much lower than for boys for disadvan- also combine to limit progress.Gender gaps taged populations in many Sub-Saharan in productivity and earnings,for exam- countries and some parts of South Asia. ple,are pervasive.And they are driven by Unequal access to economic opportuni- deep-seated gender differences in time use ties.Women are more likely than men to (reflecting social norms about house and work as unpaid family laborers or in the care work),in rights of ownership and con- trol over land and assets,and in the workings informal sector.Women farmers tend to of markets and formal institutions,which farm smaller plots and less profitable work in ways that disadvantage women. crops than men.Women entrepreneurs operate in smaller firms and less profit- able sectors.As a result,women every- Globalization can help.In today's globalized world,forces such as trade openness and the where tend to earn less than men. spread of cheaper information and com- Differences in voice in households and munication technologies have the potential in society.In many countries,women- to reduce gender disparities by connecting especially poor women-have less say women to markets and economic opportu- over decisions and less control over re- nities,reshaping attitudes and norms among sources in their households.And in most women and men about gender relations, countries,women participate less in for- and encouraging countries to promote gen- mal politics than men and are under- der equality.But their impact will be muted represented in its upper echelons. without effective domestic public action.Main Messages of the World Development Report 2012 xxi UNDERSTANDING PROGRESS AND PERSISTENCE Income growth by itself does not deliver greater gender equality on all fronts. Indeed, where gender gaps have closed quickly, it is because of how markets and institutions— formal and informal—have functioned and evolved, how growth has played out, and how all these factors have interacted through household decisions. For example, in educa￾tion, income growth (by loosening bud￾get constraints), markets (by opening new employment opportunities for women), and formal institutions (by expanding schools and lowering costs) have all come together to infl uence household decisions in favor of educating girls and young women across a broad range of countries. Gender gaps persist where girls and women face other disadvantages. For poor women in poor places, sizable gender gaps remain. And these disparities are even larger when pov￾erty combines with other forms of exclusion, such as remoteness, ethnicity, and disability. For ethnic minority women in Vietnam, for instance, more than 60 percent of childbirths occur without prenatal care—twice as many as for the majority Kinh women. Markets, institutions, and households can also combine to limit progress. Gender gaps in productivity and earnings, for exam￾ple, are pervasive. And they are driven by deep-seated gender differences in time use (refl ecting social norms about house and care work), in rights of ownership and con￾trol over land and assets, and in the workings of markets and formal institutions, which work in ways that disadvantage women. Globalization can help. In today’s globalized world, forces such as trade openness and the spread of cheaper information and com￾munication technologies have the potential to reduce gender disparities by connecting women to markets and economic opportu￾nities, reshaping attitudes and norms among women and men about gender relations, and encouraging countries to promote gen￾der equality. But their impact will be muted without effective domestic public action. over the last 30 years as women’s partici￾pation in paid work has risen in most of the developing world. An important rea￾son has been the unprecedented reduc￾tion in fertility in developing countries as diverse as Bangladesh, Colombia, and the Islamic Republic of Iran. . . . BUT OTHER GAPS PERSIST Gender disparities still remain in many areas, and even in rich countries. The most persis￾tent and egregious gaps include: • Excess deaths of girls and women. Fe￾males are more likely to die, relative to males, in many low- and middle-income countries than their counterparts in rich countries. These deaths are estimated at about 3.9 million women and girls under the age of 60 each year. About two-fi fths of them are never born, one-sixth die in early childhood, and over one-third die in their reproductive years. And this number is growing in Sub-Saharan Africa, espe￾cially in childhood and the reproductive years and in the countries hardest hit by the HIV/AIDS epidemic. • Disparities in girls’ schooling. Despite the overall progress, primary and second￾ary school enrollments for girls remain much lower than for boys for disadvan￾taged populations in many Sub-Saharan countries and some parts of South Asia. • Unequal access to economic opportuni￾ties. Women are more likely than men to work as unpaid family laborers or in the informal sector. Women farmers tend to farm smaller plots and less profi table crops than men. Women entrepreneurs operate in smaller fi rms and less profi t￾able sectors. As a result, women every￾where tend to earn less than men. • Differences in voice in households and in society. In many countries, women— especially poor women—have less say over decisions and less control over re￾sources in their households. And in most countries, women participate less in for￾mal politics than men and are under￾represented in its upper echelons