evaluating a decade of world bank gender policy:...

Evaluating aDecade of WorldBank GenderPolicy: 1990–99


THE WORLD BANK

THE WORLD BANK W O R L D B A N K O P E R A T I O N S E V A L U A T I O N D E P A R T M E N T

ISBN 0-8213-6217-8

Evaluating a D

ecade o

f World

Ban

k Gend

er Policy: 19

90–99

Evaluating a D

ecade o

f World

Ban

k Gend

er Policy: 19

90–99

The

World

Bank

gender equity_cover.qxp 7/21/2005 10:24 PM

ENHANCING DEVELOPMENT EFFECTIVENESS THROUGH EXCELLENCE AND INDEPENDENCE IN EVALUATION

The Operations Evaluation Department (OED) is an independent unit within the World Bank; it reports directly to theBank’s Board of Executive Directors. OED assesses what works, and what does not; how a borrower plans to run andmaintain a project; and the lasting contribution of the Bank to a country’s overall development. The goals of evaluationare to learn from experience, to provide an objective basis for assessing the results of the Bank’s work, and to provideaccountability in the achievement of its objectives. It also improves Bank work by identifying and disseminating the les-sons learned from experience and by framing recommendations drawn from evaluation findings.

OPERATIONS EVALUATION DEPARTMENTStudy Series2003 Annual Review of Development Effectiveness: The Effectiveness of Bank Support for Policy ReformAgricultural Extension: The Kenya ExperienceAssisting Russia’s Transition: An Unprecedented ChallengeBangladesh: Progress Through PartnershipBridging Troubled Waters: Assessing the World Bank Water Resources StrategyCapacity Building in Africa: An OED Evaluation of World Bank SupportThe CGIAR: An Independent Meta-Evaluation of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural ResearchDebt Relief for the Poorest: An OED Review of the HIPC InitiativeDeveloping Towns and Cities: Lessons from Brazil and the PhilippinesThe Drive to Partnership: Aid Coordination and the World BankFinancial Sector Reform: A Review of World Bank AssistanceFinancing the Global Benefits of Forests: The Bank’s GEF Portfolio and the 1991 Forest Strategy and Its ImplementationFiscal Management in Adjustment LendingIDA’s Partnership for Poverty ReductionImproving the Lives of the Poor Through Investment in CitiesIndia: The Dairy RevolutionInformation Infrastructure: The World Bank Group’s ExperienceInvesting in Health: Development Effectiveness in the Health, Nutrition, and Population SectorJordan: Supporting Stable Development in a Challenging RegionLesotho: Development in a Challenging EnvironmentMainstreaming Gender in World Bank Lending: An UpdateThe Next Ascent: An Evaluation of the Aga Khan Rural Support Program, PakistanNongovernmental Organizations in World Bank–Supported Projects: A ReviewPoland Country Assistance Review: Partnership in a Transition EconomyPoverty Reduction in the 1990s: An Evaluation of Strategy and PerformancePower for Development: A Review of the World Bank Group’s Experience with Private Participation in the Electricity SectorPromoting Environmental Sustainability in DevelopmentReforming Agriculture: The World Bank Goes to MarketSharing Knowledge: Innovations and Remaining ChallengesSocial Funds: Assessing EffectivenessUganda: Policy, Participation, PeopleThe World Bank’s Experience with Post-Conflict ReconstructionThe World Bank’s Forest Strategy: Striking the Right BalanceZambia Country Assistance Review: Turning an Economy Around

Evaluation Country Case SeriesBosnia and Herzegovina: Post-Conflict ReconstructionBrazil: Forests in the Balance: Challenges of Conservation with DevelopmentCameroon: Forest Sector Development in a Difficult Political EconomyChina: From Afforestation to Poverty Alleviation and Natural Forest ManagementCosta Rica: Forest Strategy and the Evolution of Land UseEl Salvador: Post-Conflict ReconstructionIndia: Alleviating Poverty through Forest DevelopmentIndonesia: The Challenges of World Bank Involvement in ForestsUganda: Post-Conflict Reconstruction

ProceedingsGlobal Public Policies and Programs: Implications for Financing and EvaluationLessons of Fiscal AdjustmentLesson from Urban TransportEvaluating the Gender Impact of World Bank AssistanceEvaluation and Development: The Institutional Dimension (Transaction Publishers)Evaluation and Poverty ReductionMonitoring & Evaluation Capacity Development in AfricaPublic Sector Performance—The Critical Role of Evaluation

Multilingual EditionsAllègement de la dette pour les plus pauvres : Examen OED de l’initiative PPTEAppréciation de l’efficacité du développement :L’évaluation à la Banque mondiale et à la Société financière internationaleDeterminar la eficacia de las actividades de desarrollo :La evaluación en el Banco Mundial y la Corporación Financiera InternacionalCôte d’Ivoire : Revue de l’aide de la Banque mondiale au paysFilipinas: Crisis y oportunidadesReconstruir a Economia de Moçambique

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OED PUBLICATIONS

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Gopal, Gita, 1954

The gender dimensions of World Bank assistance : and evaluation of results / Gita Gopal.

p. cm. — (Operations evaluation study)

Includes bibliographical references.

ISBN 0-8213-6217-8

1. World Bank—Developing countries. 2. Economic assistance—Developing countries. 3. Women in

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i i i

vii Acknowledgments

ix Foreword

xi Executive Summary

xvii Acronyms and Abbreviations

xix Glossary

1 1 Introduction2 The World Bank’s Gender Policy

5 2 Evaluating the Bank’s Gender Policy6 Evaluation Questions for OED’s Current Evaluation6 Evaluation Methodology8 Selecting Countries10 Selecting Projects10 Selecting Analytical Reports11 Evaluation Methods

13 3 Relevance of the Bank Gender Policy13 Is the Bank’s Gender Policy Relevant for Poverty Reduction?14 Is the Bank Gender Policy Consistent with the Policies of Other

Multilateral and Bilateral Development Agencies?16 Is the Bank’s Gender Policy Relevant for Countries?17 Is the Bank’s Gender Policy Appropriate to Evolving Lending, Client,

and Development Paradigms?

21 4 How Has the Bank Implemented Its Gender Policy?21 How Well Does Analytical Work Integrate Gender?24 How Well Does the Bank Integrate Gender into Country Assistance

Strategies?25 How Does the Bank Integrate Gender into Projects?29 Progress in Integrating Gender into Bank Assistance

33 5 Implementing and Operationalizing the Gender Policy: Why Has the Process Been Slow?33 Institutionalizing the Gender Policy37 Operationalizing the Gender Policy40 Conclusion

Contents

41 6 Results of the Bank’s Gender Policy41 Increased Human Capital42 Education44 Health46 Sustainability of Results in Health and Education47 Greater Participation in Economic Development47 Increasing Women’s Participation in Economic Development47 Greater Access to Economic Opportunities50 Microcredit: Greater Access to Credit Facilities51 Greater Access to Training or Upgrading Skills52 Is Successful Economic Participation Sustainable?52 Institutional Strengthening54 Greater Involvement of NGOs and Community Groups in Development54 Greater Availability of Gender-Disaggregated Data

57 7 Conclusions58 Improving Country-Level Assistance60 Improving Project-Level Results61 Operationalizing the Gender Policy

Annexes63 A: Operational Policy 4.20: Gender and Development65 B: Socioeconomic Indicators Used for Phase II Evaluation 69 C: Projects Reviewed for Phase II Evaluation75 D: Results of Staff Survey77 E: National WID Policies and Action Plans in 12 Countries81 F: Gender and Adjustment in 10 Countries85 G: Analytical Work 1990–200091 H: Adjustment Loans Reviewed

93 Endnotes

97 Bibliography

Boxes2 1.1: The Gender Policy of the Bank3 1.2: Current Bank Commitments under OMS 2.20 and OP 4.206 2.1: Gender Works: Oxfam Experience in Policy and Practice17 3.1: Comprehensive Development Framework18 3.2: Women as Agents of Change23 4.1: Gender Awareness in 10 Sector Strategy Papers27 4.2: Examples of Good Practices in Gender28 4.3: Has There Been Perceptible Progress since the OED Evaluation of

2000?35 5.1: Taking a Social Marketing Approach to Gender Mainstreaming:

Experiences from Latin America and the Caribbean Region42 6.1: Has There Been Progress since the OED Evaluation of 2000?43 6.2: Did the Quality of Education Rise as Gender Disparity Lessened?44 6.3: Sustainable Achievements in Education in Zambia45 6.4: Unanticipated, Unrecognized, and Undocumented Environmental

Impact on Men and Women

E VA L U AT I N G A D E C A D E O F WO R L D B A N K G E N D E R P O L I C Y: 19 9 0 – 9 9

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51 6.5: Microfinance Projects and Gender Relations55 6.6: Gender-Disaggregated Data59 7.1: Good Practices in Gender60 7.2: Implementing Agencies Can Save the Situation62 7.3: Messages from Regional Gender Workshops

Figures10 2.1: Relative Position of Evaluation Countries in Terms of GDP and

U.N. Gender Development Index (GDI)31 4.1: Regional Trends in Bank-Financed Projects with Gender Actions,

1988–98

Tables7 2.1: Indicators and Rating Systems for Consistency with Policy9 2.2: Representation of Countries15 3.1: Gender Policies of Multilateral and Bilateral Donor Agencies26 4.1: Bank Investment Projects with a Gender Analysis by Sector and

Rating, 1988–9927 4.2: Legal Agreement Covenants that Include Gender, by Type30 4.3: Integration of Gender in Bank Assistance to Countries: Total and

Adjusted Ratings31 4.4: Projects with No Gender Analysis, by Sector36 5.1: Compliance Procedures: Environment and Gender Policies42 6.1 How Did Bank Assistance Increase Women’s Human Capital?48 6.2 How Did Bank Assistance Increase the Economic Participation of

Women?49 6.3 Integration and Monitoring of Gender Issues during Adjustment53 6.4 How Did the Bank Influence Institutional Development for

Gender?58 7.1 How Did Bank Assistance Impact Country-Level Development

Effectiveness?

C O N T E N T S

v

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Acknowledgments

This publication was made possible throughthe contributions of a variety of people.The Gender Team of the Country Eval-

uations and Regional Relations Group of theOperations Evaluation Department (OED)—consisting of Brandie Sasser, Svenja Weber-Veng-haus, Ananya Basu, Chitra Bhanu, DianaCampillo, Shamit Chakravarti, Anna Maria In-verso, Sarah Lubega, Sohail Malik, InmaculadaMontero-Luque, Adyline Waafas Ofosu-Amaah,Vera Paquete Perdigao, and Carlos Reyes—re-searched and contributed significantly to thepreparation of the two original evaluation reports.Gita Gopal was Task Manager and responsiblefor the overall reports. Roziah Baba was also anintegral part of the evaluation process and is ac-knowledged for her dedicated and strong supportthroughout. Gita Gopal and Brandie Sasser, witheditorial support from Deborah Glassman, pre-pared this overall synthesis report.

The guidance and support of RobertPicciotto, former Director General,Operations Evaluation; Elizabeth McAllister,former Director, OED; and Ruben Lamdany,former Manager, OEDCR, are graciouslyacknowledged. This evaluation was possibleonly through their dedication to the subjectmatter and to improving the Bank’s assistance.

In addition, we acknowledge the coopera-tion and contribution of the Gender andDevelopment Board and would like to thankKaren Mason, Director, as well as CeciliaValdivieso and the other Board members, inparticular the Regional Gender Coordina-

tors, for their openness in discussing genderissues.

The guidance and input of both the peerreview and external review groups areacknowledged. The team also thanks MeeraShah, who organized the beneficiary assess-ments, and the various local teams whomanaged the country-specific assessments.OED appreciates the contributions of thecountry teams of the evaluation countries fortheir collaboration and feedback.

OED is grateful to the Swiss DevelopmentCorporation and the Norwegian governmentfor their support in conducting the regionalworkshops and the beneficiary assessments,without which this evaluation would havebeen very difficult. We would also like tothank the various development and countrypartners who collaborated on the regionalworkshops.

In particular, the team would like toacknowledge the participation of Jan Piercy,then U.S. Executive Director to the Bank, inall the regional gender workshops. Her inspir-ing presence helped to elevate the discussionsat these workshops.

We would like to extend our thanks toGregory K. Ingram, former Director-General,Operations Evaluation, for his supportthroughout this project.

We also acknowledge with gratitude thecontributions of the innumerable stakeholdersand project beneficiaries who provided thebuilding blocks for this evaluation.

Acting Director-General, Operations Evaluation: Ajay ChhibberActing Director, Operations Evaluation Department: R. Kyle Peters

Task Manager: Gita Gopal

i x

Foreword

As part of the Bank’s poverty reduction mandate, the Bank’s 1994Operational Policy (OP) 4.20 on Gender Dimensions of Develop-ment aimed to reduce gender disparity and increase the participa-

tion of women in the economic development of their countries. This reportcombines the findings of two OED evaluations—“Integrating Gender inWorld Bank Assistance” and “The Gender Dimension of Bank Assistance:An Evaluation of Results”—on the relevance and results of this policy.

Ajay ChhibberActing Director-General, Operations Evaluation

The evaluations found that despite positivedevelopments and gradual progress inincorporating gender considerations inCountry Assistance Strategies, the Bank hadonly partially implemented its policy, and thatlevels of integration into Bank assistance wereinadequate. The evaluations determined thatthere was no consensus on the scope of theBank’s policy, and strategy and institutionalsystems to measure the gender-disaggregatedimpact of Bank assistance were weak. Theevaluations found that there is a need toenhance the capacity of Bank staff and mid-level management to address gender issues. Interms of results in client countries, the evalua-tions concluded that the Bank had achievedsatisfactory results in the health and educationsectors, but was weak in promoting theeconomic participation of women and instrengthening institutions in client countries.

The evaluation findings supported thepremise that projects that addressed genderconcerns had better outcomes than those thatdid not. The evaluations recommended thatthe Bank clarify its gender policy, require theintegration of gender considerations into

Country Assistance Strategies based oncomprehensive diagnoses and relevant activi-ties, strengthen client institutions to supportthe implementation of national gender policiesand action plans, and establish monitoringand evaluation systems to measure progress inachievement of policy objectives.

These evaluations were conducted in closeconsultation with the Bank’s Gender andDevelopment Board, operational staff, clientstakeholders, and other development partners.Several regional gender workshops wereorganized to listen to Bank clients and tounderstand their perspectives on Bankassistance. Field assessments were alsoundertaken in several countries to incorporatebeneficiary views into the evaluation. Theevaluations were also timely in that they fedinto management’s revision of its genderstrategy and policy, and generated a highdegree of agreement on key strategic genderissues. On September 18, 2001, the ExecutiveBoard endorsed the Gender MainstreamingSector Strategy Paper (GSSP), and in March2003, management issued a revised policy thatadopted several of OED’s recommendations.

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Executive Summary

Gender issues are clearly an important dimension of the fight againstpoverty. It is increasingly recognized that gender must become an ex-plicit part of the design and implementation of development inter-

ventions and that if development policies and interventions do not addressgender issues, the outcomes will be inefficient and unsustainable. If gender-blind, even the most meticulously planned policies and interventions can af-fect gender-based social and economic factors in unanticipated ways. Suchignorance of gender will distort the distribution of benefits and opportuni-ties between men and women.

Gender issues were, therefore, central to thecommitments made by World Bank membercountries at the United Nations MillenniumSummit and at the Fourth World Conferenceon Women in Beijing. This report describes themethodology and findings of the two-partevaluation of the World Bank’s genderstrategy undertaken by the OperationsEvaluation Department (OED) in 2000 and2001 to provide timely feedback to the Genderand Development Board (GDB), which wasrevising the strategy. It describes the Bank’sinstitutional response to gender inequalityover time and its suggestions for goingforward.

Methodology and Scope of EvaluationBecause there is no single effective methodol-ogy for measuring gender-disaggregated

results, this evaluation had to develop itsown. It drew on Bank experience as well asthat of other development agencies, andtailored its approach to the specifics of eachcountry and sector. The Bank had set nobenchmarks for evaluating gender-relatedprogress in its work. This evaluation,therefore, set benchmarks for measuringprogress based generally on a quick appraisalof project and analytical reports. Indicatorswere then developed on the basis of goodpractice. To reduce any bias, empirical indica-tors were used to judge quality to the bestextent possible.

The evaluation was undertaken in twophases. Phase I answered the first two evalua-tion questions, focusing on the relevance ofthe Bank’s gender policy and its implementa-tion record. Phase II focused on the results

that had been achieved on the ground, whichwere evaluated along the dimensions ofwomen’s participation and economicdevelopment as outlined in the Bank’s 1994Strategy Paper. Results, therefore, have beenmeasured by the extent to which Bankassistance has influenced gender equity asreflected by:

• Reduced gender disparities in the health andeducation sectors

• More participation by women in economicactivities

• A better institutional framework for addressingthe advancement of women.

Given the virtual impossibility of attribut-ing results to Bank products and services,however, the evaluation takes a limitedapproach in assessing impact, and insteadlooks at how Bank assistance could havereasonably been expected to contribute totrends in gender disparities.

Phase I of the evaluation assessed theresults of 10 projects in each of 12 countriesthat had closed between fiscal 1995 and fiscal2000. Two countries were randomly selectedin each of the 6 Bank Regions from the groupof 27 to ensure Regional representation. Theevaluation assessed to what extent gender hadbeen integrated into the 112 projects in therelevant sectors (of the 120 projects, only 112were in relevant sectors).

In addition, to understand whether theBank had shifted from a Women in Develop-ment (WID) to a gender-analytical framework,the evaluation also examined 53 recentlyapproved Project Appraisal Documents(PADs). Sixty recently completed ICRs werealso reviewed to assess how well gender hadbeen integrated into projects.

In Phase II, the evaluation assessed all theresults of 180 projects in the selected 12countries that closed between fiscal 1995 andfiscal 2000 and that had ICRs (see Annex C).The Kyrgyz Republic and Vietnam haverelatively new portfolios, so the evaluationalso included a few ongoing projects.

Relevance of the Bank’s Current GenderPolicyThe overarching priority of the Bank and itsclient countries is the reduction of poverty.Given the growing evidence of the individualand social costs of gender inequalities—primarily to girls and women, but also tosocieties as a whole—women will be unable toderive the benefits of economic development tothe same extent as men so long as disparitiesexist in their access to and control overresources, as well as their rights, privileges, andduties, as dictated by law and custom.

The evaluation asked about the relevanceof the Bank’s gender policy with respect to:

• The Bank’s poverty reduction mandate • The practices of other development-assistance

agencies • The diverse institutional and cultural cir-

cumstances of developing countries • Changes within the Bank concerning lend-

ing, clients, and development paradigms.

Methods of Policy ImplementationThis review examined (1) the Bank’s analyti-cal work (Poverty Assessments [PAs], PublicExpenditure Reviews [PERs], and othereconomic and sector work [ESW], includingSector Reports and Gender Assessments) tounderstand the basis for the Bank’s assistancein gender; (2) Country Assistance Strategies tounderstand how the Bank integrated genderinto its country-level strategies; and (3) invest-ment and adjustment assistance documents(such as Project Appraisal Documents [PADs],legal agreements, Implementation CompletionReports [ICRs], and the President’s Memoran-dums [MOPs]) to measure how we integratedgender into the Bank’s actual assistance. Thereview found that:

• Nearly 90 percent of the PAs assessed makesome mention of gender or of women’s issues.However, critical gender issues in areas relatedto labor-intensive growth or social safety netsare rarely analyzed. PERs increasingly dis-cuss gender issues.

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• More than half of the sector reports revieweddid not address gender because gender issueswere not well understood or relevant, as in thecase of the transport sector, although severalreports examine areas where gender is com-monly acknowledged to be highly relevant—that is, basic and secondary education andhealth insurance.

• Gender assessments seem to balance the lackof gender analysis in other analytical reports.

• Only 41 percent of the Bank’s investmentprojects integrated a gender analysis, and only25 percent had gender-related actions or plans.

Overall, gender issues have been betterintegrated in the Bank’s work since theimplementation of the 1994 policy. However,the Bank has set no clear benchmarks forassessing its progress. The Operational ManualStatement (OMS) 2.20 suggests that a genderanalysis needs to be undertaken only in projectswhere women are an important group ofproject participants and beneficiaries, provid-ing little or no basis for a firm benchmark.

Challenges to Implementing the GenderPolicyAlthough gender has become more visiblewithin the Bank in the past few years, andinitiatives have emerged at the central andRegional levels that could affect operations,gender considerations have not been systemat-ically integrated into Bank assistance with anyspeed. This evaluation defined some primarychallenges to effective implementation of theBank’s policy on gender:

• Institutional Accountability for ImplementingPolicy. A staff accountability framework isnormally provided by a series of reviews at dif-ferent stages of processing to ensure that pol-icy is implemented during the preparation ofassistance—such as in safeguard policies. Thisevaluation found no similar processes or pro-cedures explicitly requiring a review of the han-dling of gender issues at any given stage ofproduct processing.

• Monitoring and Self-Evaluation of Policy Im-plementation. The Bank was one of the first

donor agencies to establish the Women inDevelopment rating system to evaluate howwell gender was integrated in projects in1987—but no quantitative targets or indica-tors were established to measure how well thepolicy was implemented. In the absence ofbenchmarks and targets, measuring progressis not practical. The absence of effective mon-itoring systems remains a significant weaknessin the Bank’s understanding of the differen-tial impact on women and men at projectand country levels.

• Clear Instructions and Guidance. For anystrategy to be effectively implemented, policyobjectives must be clearly communicated, andstaff guidance must be available. At the timeof the evaluation, the Bank’s policy on genderappeared piecemeal in several documents.Though the Bank has issued Bank Procedures(BPs) and Good Practices (GPs) for safeguardpolicies in several areas, it has not done so inthe area of gender, thereby increasing the pos-sibility of varying interpretations and the un-dermining of the mandatory character of theBank’s gender policy.

The review found that the scope, focus,method of analysis, and lack of staff trainingand support proved detrimental to effectiveimplementation of the Bank’s gender policy:

• First, there is no consensus about the exact el-ements of the Bank’s strategy, even amongstaff working on gender.

• Second, the Bank’s general objective to re-duce “gender disparity and enhance the par-ticipation of women in economicdevelopment” has been blurred by its corre-sponding focus on the mission of the BeijingPlatform for Action, which focuses onwomen’s empowerment.

• Third, the Bank has adopted two distinctapproaches in operationalizing its objectivesfor women or gender. Projects require a so-cial analysis that incorporates a considera-tion of women’s issues. At the country level,however, the Bank shifts to a gender analy-sis. Without a definite overall framework, theBank’s method of analysis proves incoherent,

E X E C UT I V E S U M M A RY

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leading to different solutions in the samecontext.

• Last, it is only possible to shift from a pureWomen in Development approach to genderafter a cohort of trained staff has been es-tablished. Currently, staff receive no sys-tematic training on the Bank’s gender policyand implementation strategy. Staff also needsaccess to technical support to perform thework.

Results after Policy ImplementationThe review examined the results of 180projects in 12 selected countries to understandthe results of the policy implementation. In thehealth and education sectors the results of theBank’s objectives will be sustainable becausethe objectives are simple—getting girls intoschool, improving maternal health. Theseobjectives resonate with and are fully ownedby the clients. Two concerns could lower long-term sustainability, however. First, the princi-ples of cost recovery and imposed user fees forsocial services still present a challenge for theBank. Second, improvements in women’shealth and an increase in girls’ enrollments areessential for sustaining growth, but are notsufficient measures to reduce women’spoverty.

Studies have shown that growth helps reducepoverty where there is more education andhigher literacy rates, but where education levelsare low, the link is negligible. In addition toinvesting in women’s human capital, therefore, itis critical that women participate more ineconomic activities to reduce poverty andenhance women’s welfare overall. But the Bank’sefforts to address issues related to the economicparticipation of women lacked a strategy andwere limited to small, ad-hoc WID components.Nor is there any indication that the Bank orgovernments have been able to effectively scaleup or replicate any of these more successfulproject-level activities. The results were,therefore, varied and unsustainable.

The Bank has also done very little tostrengthen institutional and legal frameworksto support greater social and economic partic-ipation of women. For example, Bank

assistance has focused on gender issues at thecommunity level. However, the impact ismarginal in some countries because no overallinstitutional framework for equitable partici-pation has been established. Relegating Bankassistance to the microlevel has yielded someresults, but they have not been adequate toimpact results at the national level. The 1984OMS and the 1994 OP specifically require theBank to monitor the gender impact of itsassistance and to provide help to countries incollecting, analyzing, and using gender-disaggregated data. The Bank’s efforts havebeen marginal in the first case and have hadonly negligible impact as a result.

Conclusions and Implications for the FutureThis evaluation suggests that the Bank’sconceptual and analytical frameworks foraddressing gender considerations urgently needclarification. The Bank seems to have focusedon addressing gender issues in countries wherethere is noticeable gender disparity in educationenrollments or where women’s health status ispoor. The Bank needs to clarify how its genderpolicy is linked to its poverty-reductionmandate, and explain the operational implica-tions for Bank processes and practices. Thisbasic conceptual framework must be clarified ifcountry strategies and instruments andappropriate tools are to be developed to meetdesired policy objectives.

The evaluation finds that gender-awareBank assistance responsive to or framedwithin a country’s agenda for women andgender issues proves very important forsuccessful results. A country’s ownership ofthe project is critical.

Bank assistance must be holistic, focusingon human capital, economic empowerment,and institutional development within acountry-led agenda, and it must include linksamong its relevant projects. This evaluationalso suggests that the Bank can obtain thebiggest returns for its efforts when it can assistin creating or transforming developmentinstitutions in the borrowing country. Thisassistance can, in turn, play a pivotal role in

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delivering gender-aware programs andprojects.

At the project level, the evaluation finds atendency for results to be superior for womenwhen gender considerations are integratedinto the design and implementation ofassistance, especially when such projects arebased on sound gender analysis. It is particu-larly important to integrate gender into Bank-supported projects in countries where genderdisparities are greater.

The Bank can mainstream gender moreeffectively by paying attention to gender issuesin a more systematic and inclusive way. Thisevaluation found that staff are largelyunaware of the Bank’s gender policy, thatthere is no consensus on its scope or other

elements, and that the Bank has not madeadequate implementation arrangements orestablished accountabilities for policyimplementation. The evaluation also foundthat there are no effective systems with whichto monitor and evaluate progress achieved inpolicy implementation and effectiveness.

The Bank should clarify the rationale,intent, and scope of its gender policy. Manage-ment should require staff to integrate genderconsiderations into the implementation ofexisting social and environmental safeguardpolicies. Consensus building and client consul-tation should become an integral part ofpolicy formulation. It would be helpful for theBank to ensure that all its interventions takeappropriate account of gender considerations.

E X E C UT I V E S U M M A RY

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Acronyms and Abbreviations

ADB Asian Development BankAfDB African Development BankCAS Country Assistance StrategyCDF Comprehensive Development FrameworkCEDAW Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against WomenCIDA Canadian International Development AgencyDAC Development Assistance Committee; Development Co-operation DirectorateDFID Department for International DevelopmentEBRD European Bank for Reconstruction and DevelopmentECE Eastern and Central EuropeEGCG External Gender Consultative GroupESW Economic and sector workFAO Food and Agriculture OrganizationFDI Foreign direct investmentFHH Female-headed householdGAD Gender and DevelopmentGDB Gender and Development BoardGDI Gender-Related Development IndexGDP Gross domestic productGEM Gender empowermentGNP Gross national productHDR Human Development ReportHIV/AIDS Human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immune deficiency syndromeIADB Inter-American Development BankICR Implementation Completion ReportISNAR International Service for National Agricultural ResearchJICA Japan International Cooperation AgencyLCR Latin America and the Caribbean RegionNGO Nongovernmental organizationOD Operational Directive

OECD Organization for Economic Cooperation and DevelopmentOED Operations Evaluation DepartmentOM Operational MemorandumOMS Operational Manual StatementOP Operational PolicyPA Poverty AssessmentPAD Project Appraisal DocumentPER Public Expenditure ReviewPPP Public/private partnershipsPREM Poverty Reduction and Economic Management (Bank vice presidency)PRSP Poverty Reduction Strategy PaperSAP Structural Adjustment ProgramSAR Sector Analytical ReportTTL Task team leaderUNDP United Nations Development ProgramUNIFEM United Nations Development Fund for WomenWDR World Development ReportWID Women in Development


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Glossary

Approach. The conceptual tools the Bankadopts to achieve its gender-related goals. Inthis report, approach refers not to implemen-tation strategy but to broader strategicconcepts, such as a Women in Development(WID) approach or a gender approach, thatthe Bank uses to achieve its objectives.

Bank Procedure (BP). A statement that specifiesprocedures and documentation required forBankwide consistency and quality.

Entry Workshop. A workshop held onSeptember 8–9, 1999, to discuss the approachfor OED’s gender evaluation.

Fiscal Year (FY). The period from July 1 toJune 30 of any year.

Gender. Differences created by social (includ-ing cultural, religious, and political)constructs that result in different roles for, andpower relationships between, men andwomen. Such roles are learned, vary acrossdifferent societies, and change over time.However, in this document, gender is alsoused, as commonly understood within theBank, as a synonym for sex.

Gender Analysis. Analysis that focuses onunderstanding and documenting the differences

in gender roles, activities, needs, and opportu-nities in a given context. Gender analysisinvolves the disaggregation of quantitative databy gender as well as qualitative analysis of lawsand institutions. It highlights the different rolesand learned behavior of men and women basedon gender attributes, because these vary acrossculture, class, ethnicity, income, education, andtime; thus, gender analysis does not treatwomen as a homogeneous group or genderattributes as immutable.

Gender and Development (GAD). An approachthat bases the design of interventions on ananalysis informed by gender differences andthat targets fundamental social, economic,political, legal, and cultural factors that restrainor prohibit women from equitable access to thebenefits of development (Kabeer 1994, Jacksonand Pearson 1998).

Gender-Aware. A term describing interven-tions or activities that have considered genderor WID issues.

Gender-Blind. A term describing an interven-tion that does not identify or recognize itsdifferential gender-disaggregated impact, if any.

Gender Empowerment Measure (GEM). SeeGender-Related Development Index.

Gender Mainstreaming. For the purposes ofthis report, a process in which gender concernsand women’s needs and perspectives are fullytaken into account in all aspects of Bankoperations.

Gender-Related Development Index (GDI).One of the two new indicators of well-beingintroduced in 1995 by the United NationsDevelopment Program (UNDP), a measure thatincludes gender inequality in its overall assess-ment of aggregate well-being in a country.

Operational Directive (OD). A Bank directivethat contains a mixture of policies, procedures,and guidance, gradually being replaced byOperational Policy, Bank Procedure, and GoodPractice.

Operational Manual Statement 2.20 (OMS2.20). A Bank policy statement pendingconversion of the requirements relating tosocial assessments that constitutes Bankpolicy. Since it was not practice for the Boardto consider or approve OMSs, the status ofthese requirements are clearly short of require-ments that the Board has approved.

Operational Policy (OP). A short, focusedstatement that follows from the Bank’sagreement and broader policies approved bythe Board.

Policy. A set of statements that providespecific institutional directions, guidelines, orprocedures across a particular sector orthematic area.

Regional Gender Workshops. RegionalGender Workshops were organized in fourregions (Manila [December 1999], Nairobi

[May 2000], Quito [October 2000], andWarsaw [January 2001]) to listen to eachclient’s perspective.

Safeguard Policy. A policy that aims to protectthe rights of third parties that may be affectedby Bank-financed interventions.

Strategy. Guidelines for institutionalizing apolicy and the processes for implementingpolicy (used generally to cover policy,approach, and strategy).

WID Ratings. Starting in 1988, a systematicinternal Women in Development (WID) ratingsystem was instituted for all projects. Thesystem rates appraisal documents, and theratings process is carried out and maintainedby the Poverty Reduction and EconomicManagement (PREM) Unit of the World Bank.Three possible ratings exist under this system:

0: Projects with no attention to women/gender

1: Projects with some discussion of gender or WID issues but no specific action to address them

2: Projects with concrete, specific activities addressing gender or WID-related issues.

Women in Development (WID). An approachthat focuses exclusively on women, their roles,responsibilities, and needs, without regard tothe power relationships between men andwomen.

x x


1

11Introduction

When I began to visit the now over 80 countries that I have traveled to, I was confrontedwith how crucial it is on an international basis to conceive of gender as fundamental tothe whole question of development . . . . There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that thesingle most important issue in most of the countries we are dealing with is the enfranchisementof women.

James D. Wolfensohn, introductory remarks, Gender Equality: The Right Thing for Business,

Preston Auditorium, World Bank, Washington, D.C., March 31, 1999

Despite the increase in female educationalenrollment since the 1970s, females constitute64 percent of the world’s 854 million illiteratepeople and 60 percent of the 113 millionchildren not enrolled in primary school. Everyyear, more than 500,000 women die as a resultof pregnancy and childbirth. Although womenaccount for more than half of all workinghours worldwide, they earn only 75 percent ofwhat men earn. In 1995, women accountedfor less than one-seventh of the administratorsand managers in developing countries, andcurrently they account for only 14 percent ofparliamentarians worldwide, and 10 countrieshave no female representatives at all. In mostcountries, women are responsible forhousehold chores; they carry water and collectdomestic fuel. The deterioration in theirnatural environment increases the burden ofwork and reduces their sources of food, fuelwood, and fodder. Without adequate humancapital, equitable access to economicresources, or fair representation in decision-making, poor women find themselves engagedin sectors with low incomes and few opportu-nities (UNDP 2002). Gender disparities existworldwide. Several major World Bank reports

provide strong empirical evidence that thegender-based division of labor, and theinequalities to which it gives rise, tend to slowdevelopment, economic growth, and thereduction of poverty (World Bank 2000h;2001a,b; 2002b).

Gender issues are, therefore, clearly animportant dimension of the fight againstpoverty. It is increasingly recognized thatgender must become an explicit part of thedesign and implementation of developmentinterventions (World Bank 2001a) and that ifdevelopment policies and interventions do notaddress gender issues, the outcomes will beinefficient and unsustainable. If gender-blind,even the most meticulously planned policiesand interventions can affect gender-basedsocial and economic factors in unanticipatedways. Such ignorance ofgender will distort the distri-bution of benefits andopportunities between menand women. Gender issuesare therefore central to thecommitments made by WorldBank member countries atthe United Nations Millen-

If development policiesand interventions donot address genderissues, the outcomeswill be inefficient andunsustainable.

nium Summit and at the Fourth World Confer-ence on Women in Beijing. This reportdescribes the methodology and findings of thetwo-part evaluation of the World Bank’sgender strategy undertaken by the OperationsEvaluation Department (OED) in 2000 and2001 to provide timely input to the Genderand Development Board (GDB), which wasrevising the strategy. It describes the Bank’sinstitutional response to gender inequalityover time and its suggestions for goingforward.

The World Bank’s Gender PolicyIn 1977, the Bank appointed a Women inDevelopment (WID) adviser, and it establisheda WID unit in 1986, which subsequently influ-enced many Operational Policies (OPs). In1990, an Operational Directive (OD) onpoverty reduction recommended thatwomen’s issues be considered when designingpoverty-reduction programs (see Murphy1995 for a full discussion of the evolution ofgender policy in the Bank). At its 1994 meet-ing, the Bank Board discussed a strategypaper, Enhancing Women’s Participation inEconomic Development. The discussion ledto OP 4.20 on the Gender Dimensions ofDevelopment (Annex A). OP 4.20 requiredstaff to “reduce gender disparity and increasethe participation of women in the economic

development of their countries” as part of itsmandate to reduce poverty. OP 4.20 acknowl-edged that to reduce poverty effectively and ina sustainable manner, development assistanceneeded to be designed to address the differen-tial impact of development interventions onwomen and men. OP 4.20 marked a shiftfrom the WID approach (see Glossary), whichis based on distinct components, to a broaderintegration of gender issues into Bank assis-tance, which would increase women’s partici-pation in economic development.

Institutionally, gender became more visibleat the Bank in the mid-1990s. The Bankpresident participated at the Beijing FourthWorld Conference on Women in 1995, and in1996, an External Gender Consultative Group(EGCG) was established. The groupcomprised 14 members, including representa-tives of national women’s organizations,nongovernmental organizations (NGOs),academic institutions, and political organiza-tions from around the world. These memberswere to assist the Bank in designing andimplementing gender policies and helpstrengthen gender-related dialogue with Bankpartners and interested sectors of civil society.In addition, a Gender and Development(GAD) unit was created in 1997 as part of thePoverty Reduction and Economic Manage-ment (PREM) Network. The GAD Board is

2


Successive general counsels have assisted the executive di-rectors in interpreting the Articles of Agreement in response tothe changing needs of the Bank membership. There is no doubtthat raising women’s productivity would improve key develop-ment goals everywhere and directly reduce poverty. Failure toaddress this aspect of development work could lead to ineffi-ciency and exacerbate inequities between men and womenand threaten the sustainability of development efforts. From thepoint of view of Bank staff, not only is work on gender permis-sible under the Articles of Agreement, but is also required by thepolicy framework of the institution. Indeed, there is a specific

policy on gender approved by the executive directors and re-flected in Operational Policy (OP) 4.20. The OP contains the in-structions of management to the staff and resulted directly froma strategy paper on gender issues. To this effect, women’s issuesneed to be considered in the design of poverty programs and, gen-erally, to be taken into account to mitigate projects’ adverse ef-fects. This policy is not a stand-alone policy, but is linked to otheroperational policies dealing with poverty reduction, indigenouspeoples, and involuntary resettlement. In dealing with genderissues, the Bank has been most effective by listening and con-sulting with member countries.

T h e G e n d e r P o l i c y o f t h e B a n kB o x 1 . 1

A. Rigo, Acting General Counsel, at the OED Entry Workshop, World Bank 2000b, p 11.

I N T R O D U C T I O N

3

responsible for knowledge management,monitoring and reporting on the status ofpolicy implementation, and building capacity.The Board is certainly better positioned thanits predecessors to undertake this challengingtask, with the Gender and DevelopmentGroup as its secretariat.

Despite this progress, the Bank’s overallgender policy and strategy are only evidentafter piecing them together from severaldocuments: the 1984 Operational ManualStatement (OMS) 2.20, which applied toinvestment projects; the strategy paperdiscussed at the Board in 1994; and thesubsequent OP 4.20. Differences among thedocuments have created confusion about theBank’s stance. It is not clear, for example, ifthe gender strategy is focused only oncountries with high gender disparity, which isthe position taken in the Approach Paperpresented to the Board in January 1994. Andwhile the Board endorsed an operational

focus on five sectors (health,education, labor, agriculture,and financial services), the OPdoes not indicate a selectivestrategy. Additionally, OMS2.20 has been interpreted indifferent ways: Some arguethat a gender analysis isrequired only in projectswhere it is generally acknowl-edged that “women aresometimes a particularly important group ofproject participants and beneficiaries”(OMS, para. 5). Others argue that a prelimi-nary analysis is required in all projects todetermine if women are important partici-pants or beneficiaries. These issues arediscussed later, but in order to establish thebenchmarks for this evaluation, OEDinterpreted the Bank’s policy as summarized(see box 1.2) in consultation with the sectorboard and the Legal Department.

• Analyze the impact of Bank investment projects on womenand appraise whether the design adequately considers:changes that might be disadvantageous to women; local cir-cumstances that would enhance the participation of womenin project activities; and contributions needed by women toachieve the project’s objectives. (OMS 2.20 states that soci-ological aspects, including the analysis of women’s issues,are particularly important for projects designed to assistspecific beneficiaries or . . . whose success depends uponparticipation by the beneficiaries . . . but may be less important

for projects involving primary infrastructure . . . and for some. . . have relatively little significance.)

• Integrate gender considerations based on sound analysisinto country programs through Country Assistance Strategies(CASs) to reduce gender disparity and increase women’sparticipation in economic development (OP 4.20).

• Establish monitoring and evaluation systems to evaluate thegender-disaggregated impact of Bank assistance at a proj-ect level, and at the country level, assist borrowers to es-tablish such systems (OMS 2.20 and OP 4.20).

C u r r e n t B a n k C o m m i t m e n t s u n d e r O M S 2 . 2 0 a n d O P 4 . 2 0

B o x 1 . 2

Despite thisprogress, the Bank’soverall genderpolicy and strategyare only evidentafter piecing themtogether fromseveral documents.

5

Evaluating the Bank’sGender Policy

In order to overcome the methodological difficulties of assessing gender-disaggregated outcomes, development agencies such as the Bank tend tomeasure gender integration in analytical reports and project documents.

In 1994, an OED study traced how theconcept of Women in Development (WID)and, later, the broader concept of gender, cameto be reflected in Bank policies and lending. In1997, OED reviewed lending and nonlendingwork for evidence of progress in implement-ing the Bank’s policies and its 1994recommendations. This evaluation builds onthese previous evaluations.

A few internal assessments have been madeof the Bank’s gender policy (Morgan 1998;Moser, Tornqvust, and van Bronkhorsf 1998).Documents prepared for the 1995 BeijingFourth World Conference on Womendiscussed the Bank’s policy and experience inimplementation, while others focused specifi-cally on projects or sectors.

External assessments have also beenundertaken. A 1999 evaluation financed bythe Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairscompared the work of multilateral organiza-tions, including the United Nations Develop-ment Program (UNDP), the Food andAgriculture Organization (FAO), and theBank to see how well gender had been

integrated into their work. The review foundthat the organizations were at different stagesof operationalizing gender-mainstreaminggoals, and that the Bank was the “leastdeveloped,” concluding that “beyond promis-ing that the Bank would strengthen its currentmonitoring system to assess the progress inintegrating gender into its operations, no goal,measure, or indicators are in fact suggested”in its strategy (Christian Michelsen Institute1999). Another evaluation stressed theabsence of a compelling conceptualframework (Commission on the Advancementof Women 1997). Yet another (Bread for theWorld Institute 1996) suggested that“emphasis on economicefficiency achieved by gender-inclusive policies” is not anadequate framework.

Because there is no singleeffective methodology formeasuring gender-disaggre-gated results, this evaluationhad to develop its own. Ittherefore drew on Bank

22

Because there is nosingle effectivemethodology formeasuring gender-disaggregated results,this evaluation had todevelop its own.

experience as well as that of other develop-ment agencies, and tailored its approach to thespecifics of each country and sector. The Bankhad set no benchmarks for evaluating gender-related progress in its work. This evaluation,therefore, set benchmarks for measuringprogress based generally on a quick appraisalof project and analytical reports. Indicatorswere then developed on the basis of goodpractices. To reduce any bias, empiricalindicators were used to judge quality to thebest extent possible (see table 2.1 for indica-tors and ratings used during the evaluation toassess how gender was integrated into Bankdocuments).

Evaluation Questions for OED’s CurrentEvaluationThe current evaluation builds on the 1994 and1997 OED evaluations, and asks threequestions about the extent to which:

• The Bank’s gender strategy has been relevantat the country and global levels.

• The Bank has effectively integrated genderinto its Country Assistance Strategies (CASs)and programs.

• Bank assistance has been effective in terms ofsustainable outcomes, impacts, and institu-tional strengthening in the area of gender.

These questions are shaped by the 1993gender strategy and the 1994 gender policy.Both of these shifted the Bank’s focus from

WID, on which OMS 2.20 and the 1991 ODon poverty both focused, to gender. Given thatso many of the projects reviewed for thisevaluation were governed by a WID perspec-tive, the evaluation measured results in terms ofhow women or girls were affected. It did notfocus on altered gender relationships. The fieldassessments and participatory workshopsoffered opportunities to examine some genderissues, and lessons from these have beenintegrated into the reports.

Evaluation MethodologyThe evaluation covered Bank assistancebetween fiscal 1988 and 1999. Individualcountries were considered the appropriateunit of account, since they provide the focusfor the Bank’s strategies, as well as formanagerial accountability.

The evaluation was undertaken in twophases.1 Phase I answered the first two evalua-tion questions, focusing on the relevance ofthe Bank’s gender policy and its implementa-tion record. Phase II focused on the resultsthat had been achieved on the ground, whichwere evaluated along the three dimensions ofwomen’s participation and economic develop-ment as outlined in the Bank’s 1994 StrategyPaper. Results, therefore, have been measuredby the extent to which Bank assistance hasinfluenced gender equity as reflected by:

• Reduced gender disparities in the health andeducation sectors

• More participation by women in economicactivities

• A better institutional framework for addressingthe advancement of women (see Annex B).

Given the virtual impossibility of attribut-ing results to Bank products and services,however, the evaluation takes a limitedapproach in assessing impact, and insteadlooks at how Bank assistance could havereasonably been expected to contribute totrends in gender disparities in the country.

A desk review served as the initial basis forevaluation. The review sought to understandwhether the Bank had integrated gender

6


We are aware that we will never be able to report with absolute ac-curacy on the achievements of our work in relation to women and gen-der. All we can provide is our best judgment, and continually learn aboutwhat seems to have benefited women and girls, and what has not, orproduced negative effects. Nevertheless, the discipline of having to re-port this may force us to be more rigorous in our efforts to seek out proj-ects that will achieve more positive change for women and girls, of directrelevance to their everyday lives.

G e n d e r W o r k s : O x f a mE x p e r i e n c e i n P o l i c ya n d P r a c t i c e

B o x 2 . 1

From Oxfam 1999.

E VA L U AT I N G T H E B A N K ’ S G E N D E R P O L I C Y

7

Level of aggregation Evaluation criteria Rating system 0–3

Country • Use of gender-disaggregated data and implications thereof 0: No referenceAssistance • Indication of participatory preparation involving women 1: PoorStrategy (CAS) • Levels of meaningful diagnosis in reducing disparity (investment 2: Satisfactory

in human capital), in poverty reduction strategy (empowerment and 3: Highly satisfactoryother constraints to labor and economic resources in particular), Average rating for each CASand in sectoral discussions (evaluators did not look for treatment in separate paragraphs but for indications of awareness of relevant gender issues)

• In countries with low Gender-Related Development Index numbers, CASs were reviewed for a strategy to reduce gender disparity and increase participation of women in economic development

• Indications of whether issues are priorities for government• Recommendations to improve the situation• Analysis linked to recommendations• Gender-disaggregated monitoring indicators• Reference to institutional/regulatory issues related to gender

Poverty • Inclusion of a Gender Profile Rated 0–3 as aboveAssessment (PA) • Meaningful analysis of investment in human capital (health, • Bullet points rated separately before

nutrition, and education) averaging• Removal of constraints and greater participation in economic • Average rating for each PA

activities (agriculture, land, financial credit) • Analysis depends on the country; for• Growth (labor, other) example, in Malaysia or Philippines,• Discussion of gender issues in designing safety nets did the analysis go beyond the human• Discussion of gender in poverty reduction capital issues?• Gender-related recommendations that convincingly address • Because it is difficult to quantify the link

identified issues to CASs, it was not rated.’y’ or ‘n’ was• Link to previous CAS (y/n) considered adequate• Participatory assessment (y/n)• Reference mainly to female-headed households? (y/n)• Probe below household levels?• Reference to regulatory or institutional issues affecting

women? (y/n)

Public • Country context assessment in terms of degree of gender inequity; Rated 0–3 as aboveExpenditure fiscal constraints facing country and necessary fiscal reform; Review (PER) development objectives and whether the pattern of public spending

is conducive to achieving these goals• Based on the above, assessment of the following:

(i) Does the PER explicitly note the existence of gender inequity (where relevant) and inform us of the main factors responsible for it? (ii) Does the PER recommend specific reforms to the government to make public spending more gender-sensitive? Does it quantify the trade-offs involved in pursuing alternate paths of fiscal reform aimed at making revenue mobilization and public spending more equitable, efficient, transparent, and sustainable? (iii) Does the PER explicitly focus on cushioning the impact of fiscal reform—cut back on subsidies, retrenchment of public sector employees—on the poor, especially women? (iv) Does the PER restrict itself to gender analysis and action only in social sectors such as health and education, or does it go beyond to other sectors—agriculture, transport, and water—where there remains tremendous potential for increasing the gender sensitivity of public spending?

I n d i c a t o r s a n d R a t i n g S y s t e m s f o rC o n s i s t e n c y w i t h P o l i c y

T a b l e 2 . 1

8


considerations into Bank-supported invest-ment projects, whether it had made reason-able attempts to monitor and respond to thegender-differentiated results in a timelymanner, and to understand the results ofBank-supported projects.

Selecting CountriesTo understand how the Bank integratedgender into its assistance, Phase I consideredBank assistance in 27 countries: Algeria,

Argentina, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Côted’Ivoire, Ecuador, Ethiopia, The Gambia,Guatemala, Haiti, India, the KyrgyzRepublic, Lao People’s Democratic Republic,Malawi, Malaysia, Mali, Mexico, Mongolia,Morocco, Nepal, the Philippines, Poland,Romania, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Tunisia,Vietnam, and the Republic of Yemen. Thisinitial group of countries accounted for about35 percent of all Bank assistance during the1990s (see table 2.2).

Level of aggregation Evaluation criteria Rating system 0–3

Public (v) Does the PER cite gender-disaggregated data (for example, Rated 0–3 as aboveExpenditure pertaining to poverty and enrollment numbers) that help gauge the Review (cont.) magnitude of gender inequity better?

(vi) Does the PER draw on and inform other economic and sector work? • Based on the above, rate the overall relevance and depth of gender

analysis and specific recommendations in the PER.

Sector Report • Examples of Women’s Issues 0: No specific mention or passing• More than mere reference to sex-disaggregated data; for example, reference to women or gender without

maternal mortality rates and primary school enrollment. Some analysis or recommendationsanalysis of different gender roles and needs, and some attention 1: Analysis of at least one gender/WIDto gender constraints issue with a corresponding

• Differentiated roles; separate or joint ownership of productive recommendationassets; control of income; men’s and women’s different incentives 2: Analysis of more than one gender/WID for engaging in a particular economic activity issue (note: not necessarily more than

• Identification of inequitable access to social services; for example, one sector) with multiple and education appropriate recommendations

• Identification of a gender issue; for example, women’s time 3: Recommendations based on genderconstraints given gender-based division of labor analysis—implicit or explicit

• Attention to cultural constraints to women’s participation; understanding of the relationshipregulatory barriers to women’s access to economic resources between men and women, their different

roles, needs, priorities and constraints, and attention to regulatory or institutional barriers to women’s participation

Project • Qualitative data (differentiated roles, needs; differentiated Rated 0–3 as aboveAppraisal project impact; analysis of constraints and how to increase Document women’s equitable or equal access) and how qualitative data

were backed up. Women’s participation in project stages• ESW or some analytical thinking prior to appraisal• Specific interventions or components to assist women by removing

gender constraints• Gender-disaggregated monitoring indicators• Participatory assessments include women for evaluation of impact

I n d i c a t o r s a n d R a t i n g S y s t e m s f o rC o n s i s t e n c y w i t h P o l i c y ( c o n t ’ d )

T a b l e 2 . 1

Countries were selected to ensure Regionalrepresentation from the five quintiles of theOrganization for Economic Cooperation andDevelopment (OECD).2 The OECD dividescountries on the basis of their progress inachieving specific development goals.Progress is measured by seven indicatorsdesigned to capture the multidimensionalityof development. Other criteria for selectingcountries within each quintile included:Regional representation; significance of Bankassistance; the need for a gender focus (manycountries were therefore selected from the

first, as opposed to thefifth, quintile); and theexistence of ongoing orrecently completed OEDwork.

To understand the resultsof Bank assistance, theassessment focused on 10 ofthe initial 27 countries(Côte d’Ivoire, Ecuador,The Gambia, Haiti, the Kyrgyz Republic, thePhilippines, Poland, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, andthe Republic of Yemen), to which Bangladesh


9

Countries were selectedto ensure Regionalrepresentation from thefive quintiles of theOrganization forEconomic Cooperationand Development.

R e p r e s e n t a t i o n o f C o u n t r i e sT a b l e 2 . 2

Total number of Lending to samplecountries eligible for countries as

Bank borrowing (as in Number of sample percentage of totalNumber of countries World Bank Annual countries as percentage Bank lending by

Region in sample Report FY99) of all eligible clients (%) Region (%)

Africa 6 48 13 27

East Asia and Pacific 5 21 24 15

Europe and Central Asia 4 27 15 23

Latin America and the 5 30 17 50

Caribbean

Middle East and 4 9 44 64

North Africa

South Asia 3 8 38 67

Total 27 143 19 35

Based on Human Development Index (UNDP 1999)

Total number of countries

Level of human for which Human Development Number of countries

development Report 1999 provides data in sample Representation (%)

High 45 2 4

Medium 94 15 16

Low 34 10 29

Based on DAC indicators

Quintile Total number of countries Number of countries in sample Representation (%)

First 34 7 21

Second 34 10 29

Third 34 5 15

Fourth 34 6 18

Fifth 33 1 3Note: Countries are ranked in quintiles based on their relative distance from development goals; that is, the level of human development attained by developed countries. Indicators forgross national product per capita, fertility rate, maternal mortality ratio, and net enrollment ratio in primary education capture the multidimensionality of development.

and Zambia were added toensure Regional representa-tion and a wide range ofgender disparities withoutchanging the overall resultsof the evaluation. These 12countries were well-distrib-uted relative to other low-and middle-income countries

with Bank operations (for which data wereavailable) in terms of gender disparities asindicated by gross domestic income (GDI)values and per-capita income (adjusted byPublic/Private Partnerships in 1998). Most arein the low- or low-mid-income range, exceptfor Poland, which has the highest per capitaincome of all evaluated countries (see figure2.1).

Selecting ProjectsDuring Phase I, to understand how genderconsiderations have been integrated intoproject documents, the evaluation examined10 projects that had closed between fiscal 1995and fiscal 2000 in each of 12 countries,randomly selecting 2 countries, in each of the 6

Bank Regions from the group of 27 to ensureRegional representation. In addition, tounderstand whether the Bank had shifted froma WID to a gender-analytical framework, theevaluation also examined 53 recentlyapproved Project Appraisal Documents(PADs). Sixty recently completed ICRs werealso reviewed to assess how they reported ongender-related issues.

In Phase II, the evaluation assessed theresults of all 180 projects in the selected 12countries that closed between fiscal 1995 andfiscal 2000 (see Annex C). The KyrgyzRepublic and Vietnam have relatively newportfolios, so the evaluation also included amid-way review of a few ongoing projects.

Selecting Analytical ReportsCountry Assistance Strategies and analyticalreports are the main tools for integratinggender at the country level. A CAS is a shortdocument designed to highlight three or fourcritical issues in a country. The CAS is derivedfrom analytical reports—Poverty Assessments(PAs), Public Expenditure Reviews (PERs),and Sector Analytical Reports (SARs). To

1 0


R e l a t i v e P o s i t i o n o f E v a l u a t i o n C o u n t r i e s i n T e r m s o f G D P a n d U . N . G e n d e r D e v e l o p m e n t I n d e x ( G D I )

F i g u r e 2 . 1

Per capita GDP and GDI for selected countries

0.25

0.45

0.65

0.85

6 6.5 7 7.5 8 8.5 9 9.5 10

Per capita GDP (log values)

GDI v

alue

s

Evaluation countriesOther

Zambia

YemenBangladesh

Haiti

The Gambia

Côte d’Ivoire

Vietnam Kyrgyz

Sri Lanka

Ecuador

The Philippines

Poland

Note: The Kyrgyz Republic has no GDI value, but is assigned a value equal to the average GDI of the two countries that are closest in the raw data on different GDI components.

Country AssistanceStrategies andanalytical reports arethe main tools forintegrating gender atthe country level.

determine whether gender was integrateddifferently into CASs before and after the1994 policy, one CAS prepared before, andone CAS prepared after, 1994 was selected foreach country. A total of 53 CASs werereviewed (rather than 54), because Bosnia hadno pre-1994 CAS.

All of the most recent PAs for the 27countries, prepared as of June 30, 1998, werereviewed (25 were available); 29 PERs wereprepared for the 1990s and, whereveravailable, informal PERs were reviewed. ForPAs and PERs, a before and after policy reviewwas conducted at a global level because therewere not enough before and after documentsat a country level.

Forty-eight sector reports were reviewed inthe relevant sectors.3 It was difficult to respectthe before and after rule for sector reportdesign because only 48 reports were reviewed,and not all countries had reviewed thesesectors twice during the evaluation period. Inaddition to the formal economic and sectorwork (ESW), 10 country gender assessmentswere reviewed.

Evaluation MethodsTo begin, a comparative study wasundertaken of the gender policies of selectedmultilateral and bilateral agencies, as well asan assessment of key documents and lendingpatterns in a representative sample ofcountries. An entry workshop was alsoorganized in July 1999 for gender specialistsfrom the Bank, donor agencies, researchinstitutions, and NGOs. Discussions wereongoing with the Gender Sector Board and allRegional gender coordinators. Based on thisinitial work, an evaluation design wasformulated.

Desk reviews were undertaken of allanalytical and project documents, usingframeworks defined for the purpose. Foreach project, the evaluation relied on projectappraisal documents, legal agreements,supervision documents, ICRs, and any otherevaluation reports available. Because theinformation in ICRs on gender-differentiatedresults varied considerably and was usually

insufficient to provide a picture ofoutcomes,4 desk reviews were supplementedwith participatory assessments in selectedcountries (Bangladesh, Ecuador, India, thePhilippines, Poland, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, andZambia) to ascertain the perceptions of maleand female beneficiaries of Bank-financedprojects. Project audits were conducted inCôte d’Ivoire and The Gambia.

The desk review and field assessments in 10countries were themselves supplemented by anumber of participatory meetings. In Septem-ber 2000, a roundtable was organized withkey policymakers from client and donorcountries, and in October 2000, meetingswere held with staff from the Offices of theExecutive Directors in the Bank and withNGOs in Washington. Regional workshopswere organized (with the government of thePhilippines in Manila in December 1999; withthe United Nations Development Program[UNDP] and International Service forNational Agricultural Research [ISNAR] inNairobi in May 2000; with Inter-AmericanDevelopment Bank [IADB] in Quito inSeptember 2000; with the United NationsDevelopment Fund for Women [UNIFEM],Eastern and Central Europe [ECE] for EasternEurope and Central Asia in Warsaw inJanuary 2001).

A staff survey was carried out (see AnnexD) to assess staff understanding of the Bankgender policy framework. Staff from the AsianDevelopment Bank (ADB), the AfricanDevelopment Bank (AfDB), and the IADBwere also interviewed. Thegender workshop organized bythe Development AssistanceCommittee (DAC) WorkingGroup on Gender provided arich source of information onthe gender policies of bilateraldonors.

Analysis based on the finalproduct or language in a reportmisses the process of debateand discussion that precededthe preparation of eachproduct. For example, it is


1 1

To determine whethergender wasintegrated differentlyinto CASs before andafter the 1994 policy,one CAS preparedbefore, and one CASprepared after, 1994was selected for eachcountry.

possible that there may havebeen discussion on genderduring preparation. However,such analysis should have beenreflected in the documents,since this is required by policy.Also, text evaluation can beopen to interpretation. To

reduce bias, two reviewers independently readat least 25 percent of the documents in eachset to detect and correct for any variance. Athird party independently reviewed GoodPractices that are cited in this report. In allthese cases, other OED self- and externalassessments were used to validate the findingsof the OED review.

1 2


A staff survey wascarried out to assessstaff understandingof the Bank genderpolicy framework.

1 3

Relevance of the BankGender Policy

The evaluation asked about the relevance of the Bank’s gender policywith respect to:

• The Bank’s poverty reduction mandate • The practices of other development-assistance agencies • The diverse institutional and cultural circumstances of developing

countries• Changes within the Bank concerning lending, clients, and devel-

opment paradigms.

Is the Bank’s Gender Policy Relevant forPoverty Reduction? The overarching priority of the Bank and itsclient countries is the reduction of poverty.Given the growing evidence of the individualand social costs of gender inequalities—primarily to girls and women, but also tosocieties as a whole—women will be unable toderive the benefits of economic developmentto the same extent as men as long as dispari-ties exist in their access to, and control over,resources, as well as their rights, privileges,and duties as dictated by customary laws andlegal statutes. Given also that disparities leadto less-than-optimal levels of participation ineconomic activity (Elson 1991; Anker 1998;World Bank 2001a), such disparities must be

removed to enhance equity and promoteeconomic efficiency and performance.

At the macroeco-nomic level, there isevidence that removinggender disparities spursgrowth. According toone estimate, growthrates in Sub-SaharanAfrica, South Asia, andthe Middle East andNorth Africa wouldhave been 30 to 45percent higher hadthese Regions closedthe gender gaps duringthe school years as fast

33

Women will be unable toderive the benefits ofeconomic development tothe same extent as men aslong as disparities exist intheir access to, andcontrol over, resources, aswell as their rights,privileges, and duties asdictated by customarylaws and legal statutes.

1 4


as East Asia did between1960 and 1992 (Klasen1999). Other data point tothe correlation between girls’secondary education andeconomic growth: a one-percentage-point increase inthe share of women insecondary school educationis associated with a 0.3-percentage-point increase inper capita income (Dollar

and Gatti 1999). Inefficient allocations ofproductive resources among male and femalemembers of farm households in Africa havehampered productivity by as much as 20percent (Udry and others 1995; Quissumbing1996; Udry 1996; World Bank 2001a).Gender affects governance. Cross-countryevidence suggests that corruption is less likelyto be a problem in countries with fewerrestrictions on women’s rights (Kaufmann1998).

One example of the high costs of genderinequalities to human and social welfare is thegender gap in education. Studies confirm thatincreased schooling for women directlycontributes to a family’s welfare by reducinginfant and child mortality, lowering fertility,and improving the nutritional status ofchildren (Hill and King 1995; Klasen 1999;Smith and Haddad 1999). Thus, when genderconstraints prevent or severely limit girls’education, the effects in terms of death,illness, malnutrition, and poverty alsobecome disadvantageous to the next genera-tion. Similarly, the balance of power within ahousehold is significant. When householdincome is controlled by women, the health,

nutrition, and education ofchildren improves morethan when it is controlledby men (Thomas 1990,1997; Hoddinott andHaddad 1995; Khandker1998; Pitt and Khandker1998; as cited in WorldBank 2001a). As long astraditional gender roles give

men the primary financial and decisionmak-ing power, the potential benefits of genderequality will be lost to the next generation.Some aspects of gender inequality evenaccelerate the spread of HIV/AIDS (Over1998).

Poor women are unlikely to benefit frommicrofinance services. For example, when menand women have unequal access to marketsand transport, disparity between skill sets andtraditional forms of collateral remainsunresolved. When new technologies areintroduced without a sound gender analysis,they can reduce the income of poor womenand shift productive activity to men. Forwomen to be assisted effectively, genderanalysis that comprehends the differentialimpact of a project on men and women iscritical.

Given the above linkages between genderand poverty reduction, the Bank’s genderpolicy that requires design of Bank assistancein a manner that both men and women willbenefit from such assistance, and that focuseson enhanced human capital for women andtheir increased participation in economicactivities, as well as institutional strengthen-ing to support such goals, is clearly relevantfor the Bank’s overarching mandate of povertyreduction.

Is the Bank Gender Policy Consistentwith the Policies of Other Multilateraland Bilateral Development Agencies?This evaluation compared the Bank’s genderstrategy with those of other multilateral andbilateral organizations (see table 3.1).

Policies vary. The European Bank forReconstruction and Development (EBRD) hasno gender-specific goals. The Asian Develop-ment Bank (ADB), the African DevelopmentBank (AfDB), and the Inter-AmericanDevelopment Bank (IADB) have all adoptedpolicies and process-related goals focused onincreasing economic opportunities andreducing barriers to the economic and socialwell-being of women. As in the Bank, thesegoals are justified on the grounds of efficiency,equity, and poverty reduction. These institu-

As long as traditionalgender roles give menthe primary financialand decisionmakingpower, the potential

benefits of genderequality will be lost to

the next generation.

For women to beassisted effectively,

gender analysis thatcomprehends the

differential impact ofa project on men and

women is critical.

R E L E VA N C E O F T H E B A N K G E N D E R P O L I C Y

1 5

tions generally integrate gender issues intotheir assistance programs and policies thathighlight the need to address the practical andstrategic issues facing women. These organi-zations primarily seek to enhance the status ofwomen by improving their social andeconomic participation in the developmentprocess. Overall, the policies of these multilat-eral agencies are largely consistent with thatof the Bank.

At the same time, bilateral donors, espe-cially OECD members, have adopted substan-tive gender-specific goals. Given the

increasing evidence from the backgroundpapers to Engendering Development, a policyresearch report (World Bank 2001a), it can beseen that gender inequality ineducation, employment, andhealth outcomes has adverselyaffected many valuable devel-opment goals (Klasen 1999),and bilateral donors have pro-gressively made gender equal-ity and the empowerment ofwomen central goals of theirdevelopment assistance and

Institution Gender-related objective

Multilateral Institutions

African Development Bank Greater support for functional literacy programs; eliminate gender disparity in primary and

secondary education; infant and maternal mortality; one of two crosscutting issues in four

areas of focus. Focus on women.

Asian Development Bank Five strategic objectives include the improved status of women and the elimination of

discrimination. In 1998, gender mainstreaming was adopted as the key strategy to promoting

gender equity, but the focus remains the improvement of the status of women, with

concurrence and cooperation of men.

European Bank for Reconstruction and No explicit gender considerations.

Development

Inter-American Development Bank Fuller integration of women into all stages of the development process and improved

socioeconomic situation through a gender analysis.

United Nations Development Program Gender equality and advancement of women. Focus on equality of capacities and

opportunities to ensure that women and men participate equally as agents and as

beneficiaries in the development process.

World Bank Lower gender disparity and greater participation of women in economic development as part

of the overall strategy to reduce poverty.

Bilateral Agencies

Development Assistance Committee, Gender equality and empowerment of women.

Organization for Economic Cooperation and

Development

Canadian International Development Agency Gender equality. Policy supports achieving equality between women and men to ensure

sustainable development.

Department for International Development Empowerment of women through greater gender equality.

Japan International Cooperation Agency Empowerment of women by mainstreaming gender equality.

Source: Web pages and interviews in the cases of the AfDB, ADB, and IADB.

G e n d e r P o l i c i e s o f M u l t i l a t e r a l a n dB i l a t e r a l D o n o r A g e n c i e s

T a b l e 3 . 1

Women would ratherbe the agents of thechanges affectingthem than the passivebeneficiaries ofexternally imposedparadigms.

1 6


have endorsed it at many international meet-ings. The approaches of bilateral donors,therefore, differ from that of the multilateralagencies.

During the late 1990s, gender issues werebeing redefined by a wide range of stakeholderswho recognized the diversity of socialconstructs within and across countries(Momsen 1991, p. 102). Stakeholders focusedon economic empowerment to trigger whatthey considered to be necessary social andpolitical changes. The understanding was thatwomen would rather be the agents of thechanges affecting them than the passive benefi-ciaries of externally imposed paradigms from adifferent set of experiences (Heward andBunwaree 1999, p. 4). Development literaturefrom the South suggests that the best change isone that a society “forges for itself on the anvilof its own specific conditions” (Goulet, quotedin Sittirak 1998, p. 17).

Some participants at the OED EntryWorkshop for this evaluation suggested that itwas time to change, and that “gender equalityand empowerment of women” would be amore relevant goal for the Bank than theprocess-related goals of OP 4.20. Adoptingthese goals at a country level would havemany implications. A gender policy goaldeliberately and systematically geared towardgender equality is much broader and moreflexible than one confined to simply address-ing gender considerations, which currentlymakes up a part of the Bank’s overall develop-ment and poverty-reduction mandate. Whilethe Bank cannot include political considera-tions in its decisionmaking, it does have abroad economic and social developmentmandate. Working within the framework ofits Articles of Agreement and using partner-ships judiciously (with partners such asbilateral agencies, local NGOs, and the WorldFaith Dialogue), the Bank can connecteffectively with other actors and helptransform society to enhance gender equity,contribute to development, and reducepoverty. Steering clear of political considera-tions, the Bank can work toward equality ofopportunity in its advice, lending, and other

activities. A goal of gender equality wouldrequire an approach based on individualrights, which is not the preferred approach insome client countries where duties and obliga-tions to community and family override thenotion of individual rights (UNDP 1999, p.82). Dismantling existing family andcommunity support systems, however gender-biased they may be, could also leave poor,unskilled women more vulnerable thanbefore, without providing effective andalternative forms of security (Serageldin1999).

Although there may be differences ofopinion on how to formulate the goals, at thecountry level, the evaluation finds that theBank’s currently stated goals are indeedrelevant. In order to accomplish these goals,the Bank must move in consultation withclient stakeholders, and be aware of Regionaldifferences and priorities, seeking consensuswhile maintaining its focus. This strategywould conform to the principles in theComprehensive Development Framework(CDF) of ownership, partnership, and resultsorientation (see box 3.1).

Is the Bank’s Gender Policy Relevant for Countries? The Bank’s gender strategy is relevant only if itcan be implemented in client countries, whoseinstitutional, regulatory, and cultural contextsvary. Gender issues must be incorporated intodevelopment actions in ways that respondsensitively and specifically to the conditions ofa given country. No general policy can beeffective, so a clearly focused, relativelyuncontroversial, flexible strategy that fits withprevailing national values may be moresuccessful than a direct challenge to vestedinterests (Boneparth 1983, p. 10). Progress isbest achieved when a country internalizes thedemand for change. Accordingly, OP 4.20stresses the need for country ownership anddefines the Bank’s role as being supportive,increasing its relevance for the client.

The policy is by and large in line withpolicies and strategies in the Bank's clientcountries, which are all committed to improv-

ing the status of women. All of the 12countries examined to assess results, forexample, have WID policies and action plansor suitable entry points for addressinggender/WID issues to differing degrees (seeAnnex E).

Accessions to the Convention on the Elim-ination of All Forms of DiscriminationAgainst Women (CEDAW), effective Septem-ber 3, 1981, indicates a broad global andcountry-level consensus on addressing dis-crimination against women, although somesignatories have registered more reservationsthan those who have ratified other interna-tional instruments (upon ratification,CEDAW becomes part of the laws of the rat-ifying country) (Ragazzi 1999). A number ofstates consider religious and other culturalconsiderations incompatible with CEDAWgoals. For example, issues such as equalrights during marriage and the allowance ofdivorce have caused considerable reserva-tions, primarily in Algeria and Morocco inNorth Africa, in the Middle East, and in afew countries in Asia, notably Bangladesh,India, and Pakistan. These reservations limitthe universal acceptance of gender-equalitynorms and suggest that other views must beunderstood.

Further, the 1999 UNDP Human Develop-ment Report (HDR) reiterated the relevanceof Bank goals for client countries. Genderdisparities exist in all 143 countries. Wherethe Gender Development Index (GDI) wascalculated for a country, it was consistentlylower than the Human Development Index(HDI). Gender Empowerment (GEM) isanother measure that attempts to capturegender inequality in key areas of economicand political participation: of 102 countries,only 33 have a GEM higher than 0.50, reflect-ing significant gender inequality. Thereduction of gender disparity is therefore arelevant goal in all of the Bank’s clientcountries, and its policy, with its process-related goals, emphasis on country ownership,and culturally sensitive interventions, willreflect the diversity among developingmember countries.

Given the widespread commitment togender/WID in client countries (reflectedthrough their accession to CEDAW andnational gender/WID policies and strategies),the evaluation concluded that the Bank’sgender policy was generally consistent withcountry approaches.

Is the Bank’s Gender Policy Appropriateto Evolving Lending, Client, andDevelopment Paradigms?The evaluation reviewed whether the Bank’sgender policy and strategy kept pace withevolving client and development paradigms.

The Bank’s lending portfolio changed inthe mid-1990s. Commitment for investmentlending remained virtually unchanged, whileadjustment lending has almost doubled sinceOP 4.20 was passed.1 Structural AdjustmentPrograms (SAPs) have become regular Bankinstruments.2 The 1995 declara-tion of the U.N. CopenhagenWorld Summit on SocialDevelopment identified the socialimpact of adjustment programsas one of its 10 main commit-ments. The assumption that allactors are equally able to reap thebenefits of improvements in amarket economy is no longer a


1 7

Where the GenderDevelopment Indexwas calculated for acountry, it wasconsistently lowerthan the HumanDevelopment Index.

Adopted in 1998 by the development community, the CDF approach topoverty reduction emphasizes the interdependence of all social, struc-tural, human, governance, environmental, economic, and financial dimensions of development. It advocates a holistic long-term strategyand encourages the country to take the lead in owning and directingits development agenda with the Bank and other partners. The CDF ap-proach also requires each partner to define the role it will take to sup-port the country. The CDF also advocates stronger partnerships amonggovernments, donors, civil society, the private sector, and other development stakeholders in implementing the country strategy. Additionally, the CDF recommends a transparent focus on develop-ment results to ensure better practical success in reducing poverty.

C o m p r e h e n s i v eD e v e l o p m e n tF r a m e w o r k

B o x 3 . 1

given, however (Geisler 1993;Heward and Bunwaree 1999).In Africa, for example, SAPsassume the prevalence of aformal labor force and a risein wage levels with greatercompetition, whereas mostworkers in the informal

sectors, where women constitute a largemajority, do not benefit from these measures(Heward and Bunwaree 1999, p. 19).However, in 1994, when Board membersraised the issue of gender and adjustment,staff responded that existing researchindicated only provisional links betweengender and adjustment, particularly for long-term impact. Development practitioners stilldo not agree on whether it is possible toforecast the gender-disaggregated impact ofindividual adjustment programs, given thatthe impact depends on several other extrane-ous variables in the country. Current Bankpolicy requires that gender be consideredwhen designing a country-level assistanceprogram. When a sound analysis indicates apotentially adverse gender-disaggregatedeffect, the overall program may incorporate asafety net, although no gender-impactanalysis is specifically required. Neither OP4.20 nor the Operational Memorandum(OM) on Adjustment Programs requires thatindividual programs consider gender.

The nature of Bank clients has shifted sinceEastern European countries were admittedand the economy of East Asia changed.Lending commitments to lower-middle-income and upper-middle-income countrieshave increased over the past decade, and thosefor lower-income countries have decreasedslightly.3 Despite the evidence of a correlationbetween countries with higher per capitaincomes and better status of women (WorldBank 2001), gender issues in these countriescontinue to persist (Sen 1992, p. 125). Forexample, there is increasing evidence that thefailure to address gender issues in EasternEurope has led to a deterioration in the statusof women’s employment (World Bank 1999a).Bank policy must, therefore, consider allgender disparities relevant to sustainedpoverty reduction.

The conceptual framework underlying theWorld Development Report (WDR) 2000–2001strategy for poverty reduction goes beyondgrowth to emphasize:

• Empowerment: helping state institutions re-move social barriers to poverty reduction

• Security: helping the poor manage the risksthey face every day and overseeing nationaldownturns to minimize their impact

• Opportunity: expanding economic opportu-nity for the poor by building up their assetsand increasing the returns to them through acombination of market-oriented and non-market actions.

The introduction of the borrower’s PovertyReduction Strategy Paper (PRSP) alsoprovides an important entry point forintegrating gender issues into client strategiesfor poverty reduction. Development in differ-ent Regions must also be considered informulating a gender strategy. For example,the HIV/AIDS pandemic, in combination withpast and current conflicts, is changing thenature of rural households in many parts ofAfrica. Globalization is another critical factorinfluencing communities in important ways.Gender relations and systems are fluid in

1 8


Bank policy mustconsider all genderdisparities relevant

to sustained povertyreduction.

In Development as Freedom (1999), Amartya Sen reiterates the relevanceof the Bank’s current goals, citing empirical evidence that women’s well-being is strongly affected by variables that have the most influence ontheir power to act as agents of change. Sen isolates the economicparticipation of women as “both a reward on its own (with associatedreduction of gender bias in the treatment of women in family deci-sions) and a major influence for social change in general.” He arguesthat supporting such activities would reinforce the role of women asagents of change.

W o m e n a s A g e n t so f C h a n g e

B o x 3 . 2

many countries, and any global strategy theBank promotes will need to be flexible toaccommodate varying Regional situations.

In sum, given the Bank’s mandate, itsmultilateral obligations, and the diversity ofits clients, its goals of reducing gender dispar-

ity and increasing women’s participation ineconomic activities are relevant and consistentwith those of similar multilateral organiza-tions. But the scope of the policy must beclarified, if not rewritten, for it to remainrelevant.


1 9

2 1

How Has the BankImplemented ItsGender Policy?

Chapter 1 described the history of the institutionalization of genderissues and policy into Bank work. Such integration into Bank as-sistance can only be deemed effective, however, if gender dispari-

ties are reduced and if women participate to a greater extent in economicdevelopment.

OP 4.20 states that the Bank uses PovertyAssessments (PAs), Public ExpenditureReviews (PERs), and other economic andsector work (ESW) to identify and analyzerelevant gender issues. This chapter, therefore,assesses how the Bank’s analytical work—PAs,PERs, and other ESW—identifies and analyzesrelevant gender issues; it examines the CASs,drawn from this analytical work, tounderstand how well they integrate thefindings of the analytical work, and examinesproject documents to see how project designand implementation in each country addressesrelevant gender issues. Throughout, thischapter focuses on measuring output andprocess.

How Well Does Analytical WorkIntegrate Gender?

Poverty Assessments A total of 25 PAs were assessed for the 27sample countries. Nearly 90 percent of these

make some mention of gender or of women’sissues. Gender is acknowledged to differentdegrees in these PAs, from a passing referenceto households headed by women or somemention of gender disparity in health andeducation, to a meaningful, holistic genderanalysis of a variety of relevant issues. How-ever, critical gender issues in areas related tolabor-intensive growth or social safety netsare rarely analyzed. Barriers that may exist toequitable access to land, extension services,credit, and other productive resources are notdiscussed or even identified in countrieswhere these disparities are high. Forty percentof the PAs, for example,probed below the householdlevel, but only 12 percent iden-tified regulatory or institu-tional constraints specific towomen’s progress. Except forthe education sector and stan-dard references to targetedsocial spending, even PAs that

44

Critical gender issuesin areas related tolabor-intensivegrowth or socialsafety nets are rarelyanalyzed.

included strong analyses barely mention gen-der in their policy recommendations.

These findings are consistent with the OEDevaluation of poverty assessments (World Bank1999b). Other evaluations supported thesefindings (both external and self-assessment).

A study prepared for the Policy ResearchReport on gender and development (WorldBank 2000c) focused on the treatment of a

range of welfare indicators,including health, education,nutrition, and labor forceparticipation—critical areas ofimportance identified by OP4.20. This review indicatedinconsistent treatment of thesecritical issues. For example,only one of 28 PAs reviewed inAfrica discussed gender issuesin relation to labor, and nonereferred to women’s nutritionalissues. Fourteen of the 69 PAsreferred to women’s health; 23to education; 2 to nutrition;

and 13 to labor (of which 9 were in LatinAmerica). None of these PAs evaluated genderissues from a holistic standpoint. All evalua-tions promoted the implicit assumption thatgender issues were related primarily toinstances of female-headed households. A1996 self-evaluation of PAs had findingsconsistent with the above: Then, as now,gender analysis was “often minimal orabsent,” and the PAs rarely contained a stronganalysis of the link between gender andpoverty (World Bank 1996b).

An internal review of six PAs in the AfricaRegion concluded that even in such a smallsample, there is a disparate range of genderconcepts (Whitehead and Lockwood 1999). Inthe absence of a clear analytical frameworkfor understanding gender and detailedguidance of how to produce a gender-sensitivepoverty profile, the treatment of gender in thePAs is effectively driven on the one hand by aset of epistemological and methodologicalchoices about measuring poverty, and on theother hand by a set of prescriptions forreducing poverty, which originate in the 1990

World Development Report (Whitehead andLockwood 1999, p. 3).

Public Expenditure ReviewsPERs increasingly discuss gender issues. Ofthe 29 PERs reviewed, 15 discussed genderissues, mainly in the health and educationsectors. Of these 15, 7 followed up withconcrete recommendations for addressinggender inequity. Gender issues were morevisible in South Asia PERs, and two-thirds ofthe PERs in the Africa Region that werereviewed did not discuss gender issues. PERsdo not consider gender issues in labormarkets, such as public-sector retrenchment,pension reform for women, the impact of taxreform, and phasing out subsidies for women.In agriculture, PERs do not discuss theunequal rights and obligations of men andwomen that lead to unbalanced genderdivision of labor and access to and control ofeconomically productive resources.

Sector ReportsForty-seven sector reports in agriculture,education, health, and transport werereviewed. Twenty-seven reports did notaddress gender because gender issues were notwell understood or considered to be relevant,as in the case of the transport sector, althoughseveral examine areas where gender iscommonly acknowledged to be highlyrelevant; that is, basic and secondaryeducation and health insurance. The other 20sector reports did discuss gender issues. Ofthese, eight included a satisfactory treatmentof the issues; four others were highly satisfac-tory and analyzed the different roles of menand women, their relative human-capitalendowments, and differential access toproductive assets such as land, labor, credit,labor-saving technology, and extensionservices and included suitable recommenda-tions to address the identified issues. Eightothers included a WID or gender analysis of asingle issue, but five of these eight were in thehealth sector and touched on standard issuesof fertility or maternal and child health (seebox 4.1).

2 2


Except for theeducation sector and

standard references totargeted social

spending, even PAsthat included strong

analyses barelymention gender in

their policyrecommendations.

Gender is often only taken into account inthe health and education sectors, and is largelyignored elsewhere. Most analytical work inthe social sectors examined issues related togirls’ low enrollment in schools and tomaternal and family health. Elsewhere, therural development and agricultural sectorwork only briefly considered women’s orgender issues and tended to ignore differencesin access to and control over assets andresources. Where these are addressed, theanalysis does not usually lead to appropriaterecommendations. ESW related to private-sector development, small- and medium-sizeenterprises, or public-sector management giveno consideration to women’s or gender issues.The widest gap in knowledge concernswomen’s participation in economic develop-ment.

The timing and dissemination of theanalyses also presented problems. In Ecuador,the Republic of Yemen, and Vietnam, forexample, a satisfactory gender analysis wasundertaken only in the late 1990s, whichmade it less relevant for the decade underconsideration. In Côte d’Ivoire, The Gambia,and Zambia, WID assessments remainedinternal documents. In Poland, even women’sNGOs were not aware of the in-depthexamination of gender issues in the PAs.

Gender AssessmentsIn addition to the formalESW, the Bank also preparedgender assessments in 8 ofthe 27 sample countries.Preparing such assessmentswas a regular Bank practicein the Africa and South AsiaRegions in the late 1980sand early 1990s, but the reports have not beensystematically updated for lack of resources.1

The Latin America and Caribbean Region hasrevived such assessments and now preparescountry profiles to inform operational staff ofkey issues, initiate dialogue with clients, andestablish mechanisms to strengthen the Bank’slending programs.

These specific gender assessments seem tobalance the lack of gender analysis in otheranalytical reports. For example, the 1991Gender and Poverty in India report, whichwas well received both in the Bank and inIndia, contributed to the greater integration ofgender issues in the Bank’s lending portfolio inIndia. In recent assessments, the Bank hasadopted a more participatory process inpreparing women’s or gender assessments, inwhich client stakeholders, including women,are more visible. The Republic of Yemen’sgovernment, with the support of the Bank and

H OW H A S T H E B A N K I M P L E M E N T E D I T S G E N D E R P O L I C Y ?

2 3

Gender is often onlytaken into account inthe health andeducation sectors,and is largely ignoredelsewhere.

Ten recent Sector Strategy Papers (SSPs) were examined tounderstand the Bank’s analytical work at a global level. The Bankis gender-aware in sectors related to education, population,and social protection, whereas in rural development, the gen-der-awareness component of a 1997 report was absent in the 1999update. Gender issues were negligible in the six other SSPs. ThePublic Sector Management Strategy states that issues relatedto gender, military expenditure, and human rights are not inte-grated into the strategy paper but discussed separately to avoidlosing focus. Neither the Private Sector (PS) nor the Small- and

Medium-size Enterprises (SME) Strategies discuss gender issues. The PS strategy sees the poor as a homogeneous group, al-

though it does emphasize the SMEs as particularly important forcreating jobs for the poor (World Bank 2002a), while the SMEstrategies argue that SME workers and owners are unlikely tobe the poorest people, and that these enterprises are, therefore,not instruments of poverty reduction (World Bank 2001a, p. 8).

Overall, this examination confirms the need for serious in-trospection on the scope, degree of integration, and implemen-tation of the Bank’s gender strategy.

G e n d e r A w a r e n e s s i n 1 0 S e c t o r S t r a t e g y P a p e r s

B o x 4 . 1

other donors, led the preparation of the 1998WID assessment. In Ecuador, the 1999 genderassessment was prepared with substantialstakeholder involvement. The assessments ofEthiopia and the Republic of Yemen haverelied on participatory assessments (WorldBank 1998c, d). The process of preparing thesereports led to a greater awareness of genderand capacity in the country, enhanced therelevance of the reports for the client, andensured timely dissemination.

How Well Does the Bank IntegrateGender into Country AssistanceStrategies?

Country Assistance StrategiesCASs are short documents that are expectedto highlight only three or four critical issues ina country. The 67 CASs2 (including 11Comprehensive Development Frameworks[CDFs]) were evaluated according to (i) howcomprehensively they presented issues ofselect gender dimensions; (ii) whether or notthey articulated a strategy to measure theprogress of implementation using gender-related indicators and benchmarks; and (iii)the realism of the gender strategy proposed inthe context.

The evaluation found that gender has beenbetter integrated overall into the design andimplementation of the Bank’s portfolio sincethe establishment of the 1994 gender policy,which has had a positive effect on the prepara-

tion of the CASs. EveryCAS prepared before the1994 policy was ratedunsatisfactory on genderintegration, whereas 63percent of the 27 CASsprepared after the policywere rated satisfactory.One-half of the CASsincluded no gender-disaggregated monitoringindicators, an improve-ment over the 88 percentof CASs with no gender-disaggregated indicators

before the 1994 policy. After 1994, a quarterof the CASs neglected gender. The Philippinesis an exception: the 1996 Philippines CASreflected concern with gender issues, a factorthat did not appear in the 1999 CAS, despitethe government’s very strong focus on genderequality. The education and health sectorsreceive more attention than the others,however, while efforts to increase theeconomic participation of women have beenfew and sporadic. Monitoring indicators arenot evident even in the latest cases, and theCAS analysis needs to be better linked to thefinal elements of the strategy proposed.

The starting point for considering genderissues in CASs seems to be the disparity inschool enrollment of boys and girls. Wheredisparity is greatest, the most recent CASscover a wider range of issues and better reflecttheir critical nature. In countries where thereis no pronounced disparity in education orhealth, the treatment is mixed, althoughgender issues do receive greater attention, ingeneral, than in earlier CASs. In the KyrgyzRepublic and Sri Lanka, for example, thegender disparity in education enrollments islower than in other countries. The 1998Kyrgyz Republic CAS argues that gender isnot a significant issue, whereas the ADB hadpublished a self-standing assessment theprevious year identifying many gender issuesbased, to some extent, on Bank-financedhousehold-survey results. The latest Sri LankaCAS also proposes actions to address genderissues in the labor market, but argues thatgender inequality in the social sectors is notsignificant except in a few specific regions.

In the cases where the CASs do include agood gender analysis, there is only a weak linkmade between the analysis and the assistancestrategy. After 1994 and the establishment ofa gender policy, only 34 percent of the CASsincluded recommendations for addressinggender issues, and several overlooked issuesthat had been previously identified by themore gender-aware PAs. The 1996 EcuadorCAS, for example, made no comment on theanalysis of women’s labor-force participationthat was discussed in the PA. Similarly, neither

2 4


The evaluation foundthat gender has been

better integratedoverall into the design

and implementation ofthe Bank’s portfolio

since the establishmentof the 1994 gender

policy, which has had apositive effect on thepreparation of CASs.

the 1995 Mali CAS nor the 1998 Malawi CASfully examined the gender recommendationsof previous PAs. In many other countries, suchas the Kyrgyz Republic, Poland, and SriLanka, on the basis of a few selected indica-tors, CASs concluded that gender was notrelevant, which contradicts the ADB reportson gender issues in the Kyrgyz Republic andSri Lanka. In contrast, the 1999 Republic ofYemen CAS integrated gender issues betterthan the PA. Additionally, a detailed analysisin the Vietnam CAS highlighted gender issuesthat were not fully recognized earlier (WorldBank 2000g).

Several of the later CASs were prepared in aparticipatory manner and seem to betterintegrate gender considerations. EighteenCASs were prepared at satisfactory levels ofparticipation. Fifteen of these, or 83 percent,contained satisfactory gender analyses. SomeCASs indicated support for the genderNational Action Plan (NAP) prepared by thecountry. While this is desirable in principle,because it encourages country ownership andintegrates activities into the overall nation-building process, no CAS indicates whetherthese gender action plans have been reviewedor prepared using a representative participa-tory process.

Although gender analysis is notmandatory in the case of individual adjust-ment programs, 20 President’s Memoran-dums (MOPs) for adjustment programs inthe 27 countries were assessed for theirtreatment of social impact. Eight includedsome analysis of social impact, and 10proposed or indicated some action tomitigate the identified impact, while 2contained no analysis. Considerations ofgender issues were explicit only in two of theeight documents with some analysis—thosefor India and Mali. Although the Indiaadjustment program reflected an analysissolely of issues in the social sectors, specialmention must be made of the memorandumfor the 1996 Mali Economic ManagementCredit. This document stands out for its in-depth treatment of gender, indicating that itis possible to deal with these issues in MOPs.

How Does the Bank Integrate Gender into Projects?The evaluation examined the extent to whichthe Bank’s gender analysis and its gender-awareCASs have been reflected in the design of itsprojects. In 1987, the Bank established aninternal system of ratings to monitor how muchattention was paid to WIDand gender in all loanspresented to the Board. Aproject was rated “0” if theappraisal document includedlittle or no mention ofgender, “1” if it includedsome gender analysis, and“2” if it included a gendercomponent or a gender-specific action.

This rating system hasbeen criticized for providing a simplisticquantitative picture and for not capturingdata or progress achieved during implementa-tion where gender issues may have beenconsidered. These reservations may be valid,but the system is useful in providing at least a“first glance” estimate of policy compliance,and the Bank has often used the WID ratingsto track its own performance (World Bank2000a).

To assess the reliability of the WID ratingsystem, the evaluation examined 112 projectdocuments from 12 countries in 4 sectors toassess the extent to which gender wasintegrated. Table 4.1 shows that, using its ownrating methodology, OED found no significantdifference between its rankings and thosegenerated by the WID rating system, with theexception of the agriculture sector. This dispar-ity reflects the difference in country samples:the OED sample represented all Regions,whereas almost half of the gender-awareagricultural projects in the WID-rating systemwere in the Africa and South Asia Regions.

This WID system indicates that only 38percent of the investment projects approvedbetween fiscal 1988 and fiscal 1999 includedany meaningful reference to women or gender,and fewer than 25 percent of the projectsincluded gender-related actions or plans. The


2 5

In 1987, the Bankestablished an internalsystem of ratings tomonitor how muchattention was paid toWID and gender in allloans presented to theBoard.

documents presented to the Board for at least60 percent of the projects ignored gender.Paradoxically, the number of references togender or to women at the project leveldropped from 44 percent in fiscal 1989–93 to39 percent in fiscal 1994–99. This was notrelated to the entry of the Eastern Europeancountries, but might have been brought aboutby the 1993 decentralization of WID responsi-bilities, before gender practices were consoli-dated in operations.3

Forty-five projects rated “0” by the WIDsystem were reviewed to see if gender issuesmight have been relevant. Gender could havebeen relevant in at least 40 percent of theseprojects, based on a primary analysis of thepotential of the projects, in terms of overallgender-differentiated roles in the countries. Forexample, the Lake Victoria EnvironmentalManagement Project in Tanzania proposed thefinancing of a number of small subprojects tomaximize the sustainable benefits to ripariancommunities of using resources within the

basin to generate food,employment, and income;supply safe water; and sustaina disease-free environment.While the project officerscreening subproject proposalsis expected to consider genderissues as the project isimplemented, an analysis of thedifferent roles and needs ofmen and women in the basinshould have been undertakenbefore putting together theproject’s overall scope and

design. Since OMS 2.20 requires project designto enhance women’s participation, the projectshould have included incentives andmechanisms at the overall project level toincrease the financing of subprojects that wouldbenefit women equally. In the remaining 60percent of these “0” projects, gender consider-ations were not evident.

The evaluation also examined legalagreements in the Bank’s database from theperiod under review. Table 4.2 shows thatgender issues were poorly integrated into theagreements. Only about 7 percent, or 210 ofagreements for 3,028 projects in the Bank’sdatabase, contained some reference to genderor women. Such references were foundprimarily in health-sector agreements, followedclosely by agriculture- and education-sectoragreements.

In addition to evaluating the quantity ofgender integration, the evaluation also lookedat the quality of the Bank’s gender integrationin the sample of 112 projects. A discussion ofeither gender or WID issues was consideredadequate because OMS 2.20 still retains afocus on women. Only about 25 percent of theprojects considered gender roles and differen-tiated impact and supported the analysis withquantitative data, which is satisfactory. Eightypercent of these satisfactory projects were inthe health and education sectors; very fewprojects in other sectors treated gender issuesin a highly satisfactory way, as did the 1999India Uttar Pradesh Sodic Lands Project(Gibbs, Fumo, and Kuby 1999; see box 4.2).

Overall, fewer than 15 percent of sampleprojects used gender-disaggregated data as a

2 6


Overall, fewer than15 percent of sampleprojects used gender-

disaggregated data asa basis for their

analysis, and abouthalf of these were in

the health, nutrition,and population

sectors.

WID ratings OED equivalent ratingsSector 1 and 2 (%) (112 projects) (%)

Overall 38 41

Health, nutrition, and population 89 85

Education 68 70

Agriculture 56 36

Transport 7 8

B a n k I n v e s t m e n t P r o j e c t s w i t h a G e n d e rA n a l y s i s b y S e c t o r a n d R a t i n g , 1 9 8 8 – 9 9

T a b l e 4 . 1

basis for their analysis, and about half of thesewere in the health, nutrition, and populationsectors. Projects rated poorly on monitoring;only 20 percent used gender-disaggregatedmonitoring indicators, and 70 percent of these

were in health projects. Only 22 percent (24projects) involved some participatory processin their preparation, and only 9 percentreferred explicitly to the involvement ofwomen.


2 7

Type clause Percent Number

Action 70 145

Component 6 13

Dated covenant 10 21

Descriptive 12 26

Disbursement condition 1 2

WID projects 1 3

Total 100 210

L e g a l A g r e e m e n t C o v e n a n t s t h a t I n c l u d eG e n d e r , b y T y p e

T a b l e 4 . 2

The Tanzania Population, Health, and Nutrition Sector Review ofJanuary 1989 made appropriate connections to the distributionof labor between men and women. It recommended an infor-mation, education, and communication program to change atti-tudes about gender roles and suggested that the program shouldaim toward having men increasingly share the burden of familychores. It also recommended interventions to reduce women’stime and energy spent on burdensome household chores.

The 1997 Romania CAS contained gender analysis on key gen-der issues, providing both qualitative and quantitative informa-tion. It discussed gender and land issues and specificallyincluded participatory surveys on land holdings. It planned a spe-cial pilot to help female entrepreneurs deal with gender-basedconstraints, and proposed a high-level briefing to increase gen-der awareness among senior policymakers. Although the ma-trix did not include gender-disaggregated monitoring indicators,it referred to a gender action plan to be included in the SocialDevelopment Fund project.

Lessons from a Client on Allocating Resources for Gender Work:The Philippines government has required by law that each gov-ernment department set aside 5 percent of its administrativebudget for gender mainstreaming. According to the NationalCommission on the Role of Filipino Women, the law has catalyzed

gender mainstreaming, and now even departments such as Cus-toms and Excise turn to the law for guidance.

Gender Assessments have recently been conducted in Ghana(FY99), Argentina (FY98), and Ethiopia (FY98). These were allundertaken in a highly participatory manner and have been use-ful in (i) obtaining a holistic understanding of gender issues inthe countries; (ii) providing input for designing more gender-aware products or constituting the basis for more detailed re-search; (iii) helping understand and establish contact with thekey players, and initiating and establishing dialogue with dif-ferent stakeholders in the countries; and (iv) enhancing coun-try ownership and creating demand for Bank-financed products.

The India Uttar Pradesh Sodic Land Project was noted for its par-ticipatory preparation and implementation. It has successfullyreclaimed 60,000 hectares of sodic soils through efforts of localcommunities mobilized into self-help groups, including 2,609Women’s Self-Help Groups. The project ensured that spouseswere registered as co-titleholders of allotted lands. It defineda role for women in reclamation through participation in proj-ect-specific user groups, notably Site Implementation Commit-tees, and empowered women to play the role oftechnology-transfer agents and animators in a number of areassuch as literacy, health, and animal husbandry.

E x a m p l e s o f G o o d P r a c t i c e s i n G e n d e rB o x 4 . 2

The evaluation examined all Project StatusReports (PSRs) available in the system for the85 projects that were reviewed to see howgender issues were monitored during supervi-sion. The focus on results was highly unsatis-factory: 46 percent of the projects did not rategender objectives; 35 percent indicated thatgender was not applicable; 14 percent saidgender objectives were satisfactory; and 4percent, highly satisfactory. In the last twocategories, only five PSRs explained therating.

ICRs were examined toassess how they dealt withgender issues. Sixty ICRs wereevaluated during Phase I tounderstand how gender issueswere monitored or treatedwhen projects closed. Sixty-one percent, or 37 ICRs,stated that gender was “notapplicable,” although for 25percent of these, the WIDrating system indicates thatgender did apply at appraisal(for example, the EmergencyDrought Recovery, SecondForestry Development and

National Agricultural Credit Projects inMorocco, and the Human Resources Manage-ment project in Côte d’Ivoire).

In its 1997 gender evaluation, OED recom-mended that ICRs document results separatelyfor men and women, regardless of whether ornot the projects included some gender-relatedaction. Management responded that thisrequirement was “rigid.” However, the previ-ous Good Practice (GP), retired in June 1999,and the new ICR guidelines recommended thateach ICR evaluate whether planned and imple-mented actions were consistent with the CAS,the quality of the results, and whether the inte-gration of gender issues helps achieve projectobjectives. The evaluation, therefore, relied onthe latest guidelines. Of the 131 investmentprojects with ICRs that were prepared after theissuance of the guidelines in the 12 countries,48 percent had a WID rating system of “1” or“2.” In 44 percent of these projects, the ICRssaid that gender was not applicable. Onlyabout 20 percent provided a satisfactory orhighly satisfactory WID or gender analysis ofthe results.

In order to assess progress in genderintegration into project documents, theevaluation examined 53 recently approvedPADs (see box 4.3).

The Bank has set no clear benchmarks forassessing its progress. The OMS suggests thata gender analysis needs to be undertaken onlyin projects where women are an importantgroup of project participants and beneficiaries

2 8


In its 1997 genderevaluation, OED

recommended thatICRs document

results separately formen and women,

regardless of whetheror not the projects

included somegender-related

action.

• The previous evaluation found that 70 percent of the CASs afterfiscal 1997 integrated gender concerns better than those pro-duced earlier. This evaluation examined the 57 latest PADsin the 12 countries and found that this positive trend in theCASs was increasingly reflected at the project level.

• PADs that include activities for gender/WID have increased,compared with fiscal 1999. About 45 percent includedWID/gender activities, and another 10 percent containedanalysis without an activity. One-third of those analyzedgender, and two-thirds analyzed WID.

• Eighty-nine percent of the PADs indicate some participa-

tory process in project design, 35 percent of which explic-itly refer to the participation of women. Sixty-five percent ofthe PADs indicate NGO participation.

• Gender-disaggregated monitoring indicators are present in31 percent of the PADs, while only one project proposed tomeasure gender impact.

• In fewer than 10 percent of the projects, the Bank missed agood opportunity to integrate gender/WID considerations; 16percent of projects with male Task Team Leaders had WIDactivities, while 14 percent of projects with female TaskTeam Leaders engaged in WID activities.

H a s T h e r e B e e n P e r c e p t i b l e P r o g r e s s s i n c e t h e O E D E v a l u a t i o n o f 2 0 0 0 ?

B o x 4 . 3

(see chapter 6), providing little or no basis fora firm benchmark. A benchmark could beestablished in relation to sectors where theBank’s 1994 strategy paper documented thedifferential gender impact of developmentinterventions: education, health, agriculture,environment, water supply and sanitation,social protection, rural roads, and urbandevelopment. Over the past decade, 60 per-cent of Bank-financed projects have related tothese sectors. An alternative benchmarkwould be to measure the Bank’s performanceagainst targets defined in 1995 by the IADB,which aimed to integrate gender action plansor components into 50 percent of its projectsby 2000 (IADB 1998, p. 10). The Bank’sequivalent rating is currently around 25 per-cent, about the same level or slightly higherthan that of the IADB’s current levels. Somebilateral agencies, such as the Canadian Inter-national Development Agency (CIDA),require gender analysis in all projects, ratherthan predetermining that gender is not a keyissue in certain sectors or projects. By all thesestandards, the 25 percent achievement is per-ceived to be inadequate, although perhaps notdifferent from that achieved by other multi-lateral institutions.

Progress in Integrating Gender into BankAssistanceIn light of these findings, this evaluationdetermined that gender issues have been betterintegrated in the Bank’s work at the countrylevel since the 1994 policy, and this is clearlyvisible in the CASs. At the Regional level,Africa and South Asia have achieved betterintegration in their country programs thanother Regions. Their analytical work is alsoclearly more gender-aware. Improvements inthe other Regions are more recent. In Europeand Central Asia and Latin America and theCaribbean, CASs, for the most part, continueto be gender-blind, although in Latin Americathere has been significant progress at anoperational level since fiscal 1997, with theestablishment of a separate Gender Unit, aswell as a number of ongoing initiatives. In theMiddle East and Northern Africa and in East

Asia and the Pacific, moreCASs are integrating genderconsiderations, but thereremains a need for improve-ment at the project level.

In the health andeducation sectors, two of thesix sectors of focus identifiedin the 1994 strategy paper,the Bank has progressed well,and the next phase willevaluate results on theground in selected countries.4

In the agriculture sector, the Bank has madeprogress, but there is need for uniformtreatment of critical issues, such as access toand control over productive assets andservices. At the same time, if the Bank’sstrategy is one of general mainstreaming andapplication in all sectors, there remains muchroom for improvement in terms of implemen-tation. In the population, labor, and microfi-nance sectors, little attention was paid togender (see table 4.3).

Aggregating a variety of scores into onesingle number has its limitations. Neverthe-less, in order to compare gender integration incountry assistance, an average rating for eachcountry was calculated based on the levels ofgender integration into the analytical work(PAs and PERs), the CASs, and projects. Thisanalysis shows that the Bank has achievedbetter integration in countries with greatergender disparity (see table 4.3, columns 1–3)on a scale of 0–3. The diagnos-tic improves further whenthese ratings are adjusted forgender disparity, based onGDI (see table 4.3, columns4–6). With this adjustment,the Bank’s relatively lowintegration of gender issues inArgentina or Poland is consid-ered satisfactory, given the low gender dispar-ity in these countries. If the Bank’s strategywas not intended to be selective, then efficacyhas been modest because of the low levels ofgender integration, particularly in countrieswith low gender disparity.


2 9

This evaluationfound that genderissues have beenbetter integrated inthe Bank’s work atthe country levelsince the 1994 policy,and this is clearlyvisible in the CASs.

The Bank hasachieved betterintegration incountries with greatergender disparity.

3 0


Rating adjusted Country U.N. GDI value Total country rating Country U.N. GDI value for gender disparitya

The Gambia 0.384 2.67 Argentina 0.814 3.59

Mali 0.367 2.33 Poland 0.800 2.62

Republic of Yemen 0.408 2.33 Malaysia 0.763 2.60

India 0.525 2.30 Guatemala 0.608 2.44

Guatemala 0.608 2.17 India 0.525 2.26

Côte d’Ivoire 0.404 2.00 The Gambia 0.384 2.25

Ethiopia 0.287 1.83 Philippines 0.736 2.24

Nepal 0.441 1.83 Mexico 0.778 2.16

Mongolia 0.616 1.67 Sri Lanka 0.712 2.01

Tanzania 0.418 1.67 Republic of Yemen 0.408 2.00

Algeria 0.642 1.50 Mali 0.367 1.94

Morocco 0.565 1.50 Mongolia 0.616 1.91

Haiti 0.426 1.33 Algeria 0.642 1.82

Lao PDR 0.483 1.33 Tunisia 0.681 1.80

Malaysia 0.763 1.33 Côte d’Ivoire 0.404 1.71

Philippines 0.736 1.33 Vietnam 0.662 1.70

Romania 0.750 1.33 Nepal 0.441 1.62

Sri Lanka 0.712 1.33 Ecuador 0.728 1.62

Tunisia 0.681 1.33 Morocco 0.565 1.56

Vietnam 0.662 1.33 Romania 0.750 1.52

Argentina 0.814 1.17 Tanzania 0.418 1.45

Malawi 0.390 1.17 Ethiopia 0.287 1.44

Ecuador 0.728 1.00 Lao PDR 0.483 1.24

Mexico 0.778 1.00 Haiti 0.426 1.16

Poland 0.800 1.00 Malawi 0.390 0.99

Bosnia NA 1.00 Bosnia NA NA

Kyrgyz Republic NA 1.00 Kyrgyz Republic NA NANote: GDI = gross domestic income.

a. The rating was divided by the difference between the GDI index and 0.88, the highest GDI index (for Sweden), converted to a 1–4 rating, and adjusted again by adding 50 percent of

the country rating for performance (column 3).

I n t e g r a t i o n o f G e n d e r i n B a n k A s s i s t a n c et o C o u n t r i e s : T o t a l a n d A d j u s t e d R a t i n g s

T a b l e 4 . 3


3 1

R e g i o n a l T r e n d s i n B a n k - F i n a n c e d P r o j e c t sw i t h G e n d e r A c t i o n s , 1 9 8 8 – 9 8

F i g u r e 4 . 1

Perc

ent

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998

AFR

EAP

ECA

LCR

MNA

SAR

Note: AFR = Africa Region; EAP = East Asia and Pacific Region; ECA = Europe and Central Asia Region; LCR = Latin America and Caribbean Region; MNA = Middle East and North Africa

Region; SAR = South Asia Region.

Investment only Investment and adjustment(% of projects approved with (% of projects approved with

Sector group gender analysis) gender analysis)

Population, health and nutrition 89 88

Agriculture 56 53

Education 68 66

Water supply and sanitation 34 34

Social protection 73 74

Electric power and energy 7 7

Environment 34 34

Finance 16 12

Industry 14 13

Mining 12 17

Multisector 13 24

Public-sector management 11 11

Transportation 7 7

Urban development 30 29

Oil and gas 4 4

Telecommunications 0 0

Total 38 35Source: WID database 1988–99.

P r o j e c t s w i t h N o G e n d e r A n a l y s i s , b y S e c t o r

T a b l e 4 . 4

3 3

Implementing andOperationalizing theGender Policy: Why Hasthe Process Been Slow?

Mainstreaming gender effectively into Bank development policiesand interventions requires establishing institutional accountabil-ities, responsibilities, and systems for implementing and monitoring

the impact of the policy. This has proved to be a complex task. This chap-ter describes the constraints to the process based on a review of the meas-ures that have been adopted to institutionalize and operationalize the genderpolicy.

Institutionalizing the Gender Policy

Institutional ArrangementsIn 1977, the Bank appointed a WID adviser, achange that influenced many operationalpolicies. The decision led, among other things,to the formulation of OMS 2.20 and to theintegration of gender considerations into OP4.15 on poverty reduction. In 1986, a WIDUnit was established. In 1990, the Bank’ssenior vice president issued an OM instructingeach Region to appoint a WID coordinatorand resource person. Each Region, therefore,received one extra post for the coordinator,and each country department was asked todesignate a WID resource person (Murphy1995). The evaluation found that, although

these coordinators lacked formal authorityand few resources, the additional visibility ofgender led to success in the early 1990s,primarily in health and education. By the late1980s and early 1990s, Regional gender unitsseemed to have achieved a certain momentum.There was clear progress in both the SouthAsia and Africa Regions, although not allRegions achieved as much.Some continued to have asingle gender coordinatorwith limited resources whowas not necessarily able toprovide adequate technicalsupport to an entire Region.In 1993, however, furtherrearrangement of Regional

55

By the late 1980sand early 1990s,Regional genderunits seemed to haveachieved a certainmomentum.

responsibilities and greaterdecentralization slowed themomentum of the previousyears. The Africa WID unit, forexample, was disbanded and re-vested with a single Regionalcoordinator. Responsibilitiesand accountabilities becameeven further diffused for wantof resources.

Since 1997, the Bank hasinstituted systemic changes thathave the potential to facilitate

the integration of gender into its assistance.Country directors disburse funds and areaccountable to the vice president for countryportfolio performance and budget manage-ment, and they hold the best position todemand that gender be included as a specificissue in the work program. Technicalmanagers also could be made responsible forhow well gender is integrated by focusing ongender during the ex ante review ofdocuments. This change would have implica-tions for training and capacity building.

In 1998, the Bank established four thematicnetworks, including the Poverty Reductionand Economic Management (PREM)network, which included a Gender SectorBoard (later renamed the Gender andDevelopment [GAD] Board). The GAD Boardwas responsible for knowledge management,regular monitoring and reporting of policyimplementation, and for building capacity tomainstream gender within the Bank.

The GAD Board financednew and innovative analyticalwork and integrated genderconsiderations into differenttypes of operations. Its Webpage was improved and nowprovides guidelines and toolsfor interested staff. TheGender Group providestechnical backup in areaswhere the effects of ademonstration are expected tobe significant, such as its workon gender and transport, and

gender and law. The GAD Board is still in theprocess of establishing a Bankwide monitor-ing system to provide feedback on theprogress of gender mainstreaming and itseffectiveness on the ground. The Boardorganizes several thematic and sectoraltraining sessions for Bank staff. A core courseon the Bank’s gender policy and approaches isstill being developed.

Placing the GAD Board in the PREMnetwork lends it more authority than itspredecessors have enjoyed, but limits itscapacity to influence other networks. Forexample, until recently, the GAD Board wasnot involved in formulating social assessmentguidelines. Its influence on operations islimited to persuading country directors, as ithas no authority to influence project process-ing. This lack of authority could marginalizethe Board, just as the WID unit was marginal-ized. Further, while the Regional representa-tives on the Environment Board are mostlysector directors or managers, only one of thesix Regional gender coordinators on the GADBoard is an operations manager.

Regional arrangements for integratinggender continued to evolve while the GADBoard was still new. Some Regions have asingle gender coordinator housed in thePREM or another network, while the LatinAmerica and Caribbean Region (LCR)established a separate gender unit with amanager. This appointment gave issues ofgender more prominence and access toresources. As a result, the gender unit was ableto integrate gender more effectively intooperations (see box 5.1). The Latin Americaand Caribbean Region sees the greater central-ization of a gender unit as an effective step inimplementing gender policy, and prima facie,this view seems correct.

Institutional Accountability for Implementing PolicyA staff accountability framework is normallyprovided by a series of reviews at differentstages of processing to ensure that policy isimplemented during the preparation ofassistance, as in safeguard policies (see table

3 4


Since 1997, theBank has instituted

systemic changesthat have the

potential tofacilitate the

integration ofgender into its

assistance.

Placing the Genderand Development

Board in the PREMnetwork lends it

more authority thanits predecessors

have enjoyed, butlimits its capacity to

influence othernetworks.

I M P L E M E N T I N G A N D O P E R AT I O N A L I Z I N G T H E G E N D E R P O L I C Y: W H Y H AS T H E P RO C E S S B E E N S L OW ?

3 5

Soon after its consolidation in early 1998, the Latin America andCaribbean Region Gender Team recommended a gender-basedapproach to social marketing principles rather than mandat-ing for a number of reasons. First, it was felt that the key driv-ing force behind effective gender mainstreaming was thecommitment of operational staff; mandating was not consideredeffective for achieving this necessary commitment. Second,mandating was not perceived as effective for overcoming theimplementation constraints related to gender mainstreaming.Third, the Region lacked the human resources and systems totrack and monitor the mandate’s effective implementation.Fourth, the mandating approach was felt to be incompatible withthe Bank’s new horizontal structure of decentralizing author-ity and decisionmaking to Task Teams and operating on thebasis of client-country demand. And Fifth, it was felt that thegender program in the Latin America and Caribbean Regioncould be developed on its own competitive merits without theneed for mandates.

Following this decision, the Latin America and Caribbean Re-gion Gender Team organized itself as a service-oriented unit tosupport Regional staff and country clients in their gender work.In recognition of the culture of the Bank, it set off to generateas much economic evidence of the relevance of gender in theBank’s work as possible.

The Latin America and Caribbean Region strategy and ap-proach that contributed to launching the program included: (a)

securing bilateral “seed money” and some Bank budget from theRegion to get the program going and to establish a critical massof gender specialists; (b) adopting a broader “technical” ap-proach to gender analysis that identified and considered malegender issues; (c) establishing alliances and building relation-ships with key government officials in client countries and as-sisting these groups to voice their demands for gender work; (d)recognizing the operational constraints of task managers andcountry clients, and establishing strategies and mechanisms toovercome these; and (e) developing a culture of enthusiasm, sup-port, and inclusion surrounding the gender program.

Some results are already visible. More than 25 pieces of an-alytical work on gender, including three country gender re-views, have been completed. Bank budgets for direct genderwork more than doubled to about US$600,000 from fiscal 1999 tofiscal 2000. In terms of leveraging gender impact through lend-ing, the Region is currently piloting a field-based technical as-sistance facility in Ecuador and other countries in CentralAmerica to provide support directly to project counterparts. Thefacility will: (a) monitor gender actions in the project portfolio,(b) provide day-to-day supervision on gender as well as spe-cialized gender technical assistance as required, and (c) gen-erate lessons on how to integrate gender into operations. Themedium-term goal is to establish technical facilities in all clientcountries and subregions and, over the long term, to operate thefacilities on a cost-recovery basis.

T a k i n g a S o c i a l M a r k e t i n g A p p r o a c h t oG e n d e r M a i n s t r e a m i n g : E x p e r i e n c e s f r o mL a t i n A m e r i c a a n d t h e C a r i b b e a n R e g i o n

B o x 5 . 1

Source: Maria Correia, Manager, Gender Team, Latin America and Caribbean Region.

5.1). This evaluation found no similar processesor procedures explicitly requiring a review ofthe handling of gender issues at any given stageof product processing, including supervision. Inthe South and East Asia Regions, the socialassessment clearance for projects includes averification that gender issues are covered, butthis verification is not mandatory.1

The Project Concept Document/ProjectAppraisal Document (PCD/PAD) templatesmake no reference to gender. The accompany-ing February 2000 guidelines suggest consid-ering “any gender-based differences (in roles,responsibilities, or access to resources) thatcould lead to negative project impact or

provide opportunities to increase projectbenefits and indicate how these differencescontribute to project design,” which is by andlarge consistent with OMS 2.20. ThePCD/PAD includes a checklist on policycompliance, but the OMS is not mentioned init. As a result, there has been very little institu-tional accountability for failure to integrategender considerations. Between fiscal 1996and fiscal 1997, each Region was asked toprepare and implement gender action plans,but this implementation was not systemati-cally monitored, possibly because of thesubsequent reorganizations and changes inmanagement.

3 6


Dimension Environment Gender

Project-level OP and Bank Procedure (BP) 4.01. The Bank requires an OMS 2.20 requires Bank staff to appraise whether

requirements Environmental Assessment (EA) of projects proposed for its the design of a project adequately considers: (a) local

financing to help ensure that they are environmentally circumstances that impede or encourage the

sound and sustainable, and to improve decisionmaking. The participation of women; (b) contributions that women

breadth, depth, and type of analysis included in an EA could make to achieve the project objectives;

depends on the nature, scale, and potential environmental (c) changes that the project will introduce that might

impact of the proposed project. disadvantage women; and (d) whether the provisions

Responsibility: The borrower is responsible for the EA for a for monitoring the impact of the project include the

proposed Bank-financed project. Bank staff assists the implications for women.

borrower as appropriate. The Region coordinates the Bank Responsibility: The Bank task team is responsible for

review of EA in consultation with its environment sector the gender analysis.

unit and, as necessary, with the support of the Environment

Department.

Project preparation The Bank undertakes environmental screening of each No gender-specific requirement beyond those that

proposed project to determine the appropriate extent and are part of overall project clearance. Some Regions—

type of EA and classifies it in one of four categories, South Asia and East Asia and Pacific—are reviewing

depending on the type, location, sensitivity, and scale of the the treatment of gender issues as part of the

project and the nature and magnitude of its potential Regionally required clearance for social development.

environmental impacts. The Environment Department must

clearance the categorization and appraisal decisions.

Project The borrower reports on (a) compliance with measures No gender-specific requirement; the Project Status

implementation agreed upon by the Bank on the basis of the EA findings and Report (PSR) includes a check box on meeting gender

results, including implementation of any Environment objectives, if applicable.

Management Plan (EMP), as set out in the project

documents; (b) the status of mitigating measures; and (c) the

findings of monitoring programs. The Bank bases supervision

of the project’s environmental aspects on the findings and

recommendations of the EA, including measures set out in

the legal agreements, any EMP, and other project documents.

Project completion Guidelines suggest need to consider impact on the Guidelines suggest consideration of gender-

environment. disaggregated impact of project intervention.

Country-level OP and BP 4.02 require the Bank to encourage and support OP 4.20 requires the Bank to support the government

approach the efforts of borrowing governments to prepare and to ensure that its development efforts have an

implement an appropriate Environmental Action Plan (EAP). equitable impact on both men and women. The Bank

The Bank works with each government to ensure that must also ensure that gender is considered in

information from the EAP is (a) integrated into the CAS, and designing the Bank’s Country Assistance Program.

(b) informs the development of program- and project-level However, no tool similar to the EAP is provided. There

details in a continuing environmental planning process. is no BP.

C o m p l i a n c e P r o c e d u r e s : E n v i r o n m e n t a n d G e n d e r P o l i c i e s

T a b l e 5 . 1

Monitoring and Self-Evaluation of PolicyImplementationInstitutionalizing a policy requires that policyimplementation and effectiveness bemonitored. OMS 2.20 requires the Bank toestablish monitoring systems to understandthe impact of interventions on women, butvery few projects include any. OP 4.20requires that the Bank assist client countries inestablishing systems to understand the gender-disaggregated impact of its developmentassistance, yet the PAs and CASs that wereexamined do not indicate that this concern isbeing addressed adequately. The Bank was oneof the first donor agencies to establish theWID rating system to evaluate how wellgender was integrated in projects in 1987, butno quantitative targets or indicators wereestablished to measure how well the policywas implemented. In the absence ofbenchmarks and targets, measuring progressis not practical. Periodic reviews of policyimplementation were conducted, as requiredby the Board, and these consisted primarily ofa compendium of Good Practices (GPs). It isnoted that issues of monitoring and evalua-tion are applicable to areas other than gender,and the Bank is addressing them. However, theabsence of effective monitoring systemsremains a significant weakness in the Bank’sunderstanding of the different impact onwomen and men at project and country levels.

Assessments by the Bank’s Quality Assur-ance Group (QAG) and by OED have influ-enced Bank accountability and understanding.By and large, QAG reports on quality at entryand supervision did not focus on OMS 2.20and its implementation, although recentreports have started to identify gender issues.OED seems to have fared better at integratinggender into its products. Of 13 Country Assis-tance Evaluations (CAEs) in the database, 11included some reference to gender and 2(Mozambique and Poland) included specificand clear recommendations. The MozambiqueCAS adhered to OED recommendations explic-itly in health and education. OED’s 1994 and1997 gender reviews made several recommen-dations, but they did not have the desired

impact because of the Bank’sreorganization.

The importance of address-ing gender issues in ICRs wasnot adequately stressed byOED: 61 percent of the ICRsreviewed for this evaluationnoted that gender was notapplicable, although the WIDrating system at entry on morethan a quarter of these projectsindicated gender content.Regional departments andOED both failed to identify this deficiency.OED’s own internal monitoring system has alsobeen ineffective in providing data for thisevaluation. Of 1,187 reviews, fewer than 10percent identify gender as having been animportant issue in the ICR. In almost a quarterof these, evaluators left the section blank.

Operationalizing the Gender Policy

Clear Instructions and Guidance For any strategy to be effectively imple-mented, policy objectives must be clearlycommunicated, and staff guidance must beavailable. Weakly worded strategies lessenstaff commitment (Keller 1999). At the timeof the evaluation, the Bank’s policy on genderappeared piecemeal in several documents. Toglean a comprehensive or coherent policyrequired consolidating the documents andreconciling inconsistencies by referring toBoard minutes. Though the Bank has issuedBPs and GPs for safeguard policies in severalareas, it has not done so in thearea of gender, therebyincreasing the possibility ofvarying interpretations,2 andundermining the mandatorycharacter of the Bank’s genderpolicy.

Scope of the StrategyThere is no consensus about theexact elements of the Bank’s strategy, evenamong staff working on gender. The followinglack clarity:


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Of 13 CountryAssistance Evaluationsin the database, 11included somereference to genderand 2 (Mozambiqueand Poland) includedspecific and clearrecommendations.

There is no consensusabout the exactelements of theBank’s strategy, evenamong staff workingon gender.

• A “Management Approach Paper,” presentedto the Board in January 1994, emphasized afocus on countries with higher gender dis-parity. OP 4.20 sets the policy in the contextof reducing gender disparity, without anycountry priority.

• Management assured the Board that the Bank’sgender policy is part of its poverty-reductionmandate. Is the Bank’s policy on gender at thecountry level concerned exclusively with thegender issues that hamper the reduction ofpoverty, or with all gender issues at a coun-try level?

• The Bank’s 1994 Gender Strategy Paper sug-gested focusing on five sectors where there isdemonstrable evidence that investment inwomen generates high results. The Board en-dorsed this approach, but the OP does notspecify this focus in its strategy.

• The OMS states that an analysis of women’sissues is required in projects where women aresometimes an important group of project par-ticipants and beneficiaries (OMS 2.20, para.62). Does this mean that a preliminary gen-der analysis must be undertaken during everyproject appraisal, or only in projects where itis generally acknowledged that women areparticipants or constitute a special group ofbeneficiaries?

• How does the Bank’s gender policy apply toStructural Adjustment Programs (SAPs) orother programmatic lending? OMS 2.20 ap-plies only to investment projects and not toindividual adjustment operations; OP 4.20does not apply to individual projects or pro-grams. Currently the Bank’s gender policyapplies only to individual investment proj-ects, not to adjustment programs.

• Several Bank publications suggest that theBank’s gender policy is, indeed,broad. The first progress re-port on gender policy statedthat “Bank policy is to inte-grate gender concerns into allpolicies and programs” (WorldBank 1996a, p. 1). Anotherpublication indicated that theBank began integrating gen-der equality into its work since

the Beijing Fourth World Conference onWomen in 1995 (World Bank 2000e). With-out clarifying the difference between thesepublications and others that frame gender asparticular to women, staff have no choice butto come to their own interpretations, whichleads to inconsistency and confusion.

Focus of the Gender Policy The mission statement of the 1995 BeijingPlatform for Action, which was developedfrom the proceedings of the Beijing FourthWorld Conference on Women, opens bystating that the “Platform for Action is anagenda for women’s empowerment.” In themission statement, all strategic objectives andactions are focused on women, and “equalitybetween men and women” is a necessarycondition for empowering women. The Bank’sgeneral objectives to reduce “gender disparityand enhance the participation of women ineconomic development” are less clear. Bypartially shifting its goals to focus on gender,the Bank blurs the primary focus on women inits client countries and the Beijing Platformfor Action. The ADB and IADB have not madethis shift, however, and continue to strive forthe enhancement of the status of women. Theyfocus on women but emphasize that ananalysis of gender is central to findingsolutions.3 The Bank’s strategy must beclarified. If client countries focus on women intheir development interventions while theBank focuses on gender, there may be adisconnect. The shift could influence thenature of the assistance. For example, inMongolia, where the gross school enrollmentrate for boys is significantly lower than forgirls, the Bank’s policy would focus onimproving boys’ enrollments to reduce genderdisparity, but the country’s focus might focuson maintaining the level of girls’ enrollment.Additionally, project design might be altered,depending on the focus. An approach thatfocuses on women would aim to understandthe impact of projects on women, whereas afocus on gender would measure whetherwomen have reached levels equal to those ofmen.

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If client countriesfocus on women intheir developmentinterventions whilethe Bank focuses ongender, there may bea disconnect.

Social Versus Gender AnalysisThe Bank has adopted two distinctapproaches in operationalizing its objectivesfor women or gender. Projects require a socialanalysis that incorporates a consideration ofwomen’s issues. This holistic approachsubsumes the integration of gender intosafeguard policies, while also consideringother forms of social differences, such as class,ethnicity, age, and caste. In these projects,gender may not always be an important factorfor analysis. At the country level, however, theBank shifts to a gender analysis. A gender-analysis framework focuses on a gender-disaggregated analysis of gender roles andaccess to or control over resources, emphasiz-ing other social factors less. Without a definiteoverall framework, the Bank’s method ofanalysis proves incoherent, leading to differ-ent solutions in the same context.4

Selective Country, Analytical, and Project-Level AssistanceDoes the Bank’s policy require that gender beintegrated into its assistance in all countries,into all analytical and advisory activities, andinto all project- or program-level interven-tions? The current policy provides no clearanswer to these questions. It seems inefficientto require an equal focus in countries withvery different gender situations—take, forexample, Uruguay as opposed to Ethiopia.While differences may exist from country tocountry, however, it is still important tounderstand the gender situation in Uruguay toensure that Bank assistance does not uninten-tionally exacerbate gender relations (forexample, there is a perception that womenmay have been harmed in transitioneconomies because gender issues were notaddressed [World Bank 1999a]). The revisedgender strategy must ensure that, at aminimum, Bank assistance does not harmwomen or worsen the gender situation in anycountry. ADB determines the nature of itsassistance in each country by requiring apreliminary gender assessment for eachcountry, which it updates periodically. Theassessment identifies key issues and

recommends areas for intervention in eachclient country. The assessments evaluate theproposed interventions, highlight specificareas that need to include gender considera-tions, and propose areas for further analysis.The ADB’s procedure may be effective fordetermining areas of focus at various levels.

Systematic Training and Support It is only possible to shift from a pure WIDapproach to gender after a cohort of trainedstaff has been established (Buvinic, Gwin, andBates 1996). The World Bank Institute (WBI)and the GAD Board have focused on specifictraining, such as integrating gender intomicrolevel economic activities, particularly ingrassroots management with a focus onwomen. Gender considerations have alsobeen integrated into courses in traditionalsectors of health and education (Murphy1997, p. 40). However, unlike environment-sector projects, staff received no systematictraining on the Bank’s gender policy andimplementation strategy, although there wasa general course in 1994 and a course given inthe Middle East and North Africa Region in1996 (World Bank 1996a, p. 9). Staff alsoneeds access to technical support to performthe work. Experience in Ecuador with theGender Technical Facility shows that taskmanagers respond positively when technicalsupport is provided to them. In general, thestaff was provided with few practical instru-ments or methodological tools to achieve itsgoals. Development literature indicates thatother agencies use a number of tools—withdifferent strengths and weaknesses— toanalyze gender, but the Bank provides noguidance to staff on any analytical frameworkfor gender analysis.5 As recently as 1996,specialized toolkits were issued on agricultureand water supply and sanitation (World Bank1996c), and were publicized on the genderWeb page, but it is difficult to assess howwidely they were used.

ResourcesThe 1994 policy paper assumed thatimplementation would be based on reallocat-


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ing existing resources, anoptimistic outlook.6 Additionalresources may not have beennecessary, had staff been trainedand motivated to address genderissues. As this was not the case,however, additional technicalstaff was needed to support theintegration of gender considera-tions. Regional gender coordina-tors confirmed in interviews thatit was difficult to obtain adequatefunds; interested staff had to seekfunding from alternative sources.

The GAD Board now funds severalknowledge-management activities andacknowledges that the Gender and TransportThematic Group provided well overUS$300,000 in fiscal 2000 for integratinggender considerations into about 15 to 20projects. Trust funds do not cover staff time;consultants are often selected to work on theseissues with little supervision from taskmanagers, which often produces poor-qualityresults. A rough comparison of resourcesavailable to Regional gender coordinatorsindicates that the level of funds has risen signif-icantly over the past three years in Latin

America and the Caribbean and East Asia andthe Pacific. Both units confirm that funds wereeasier to obtain once results on the groundcould be demonstrated and demand wasestablished in client countries. In Europe andCentral Asia, fewer funds have becomeavailable to the gender coordinator.

ConclusionGender has become more visible within theBank in the last few years, and initiatives haveemerged at the central and Regional levels thatcould affect operations. Despite these develop-ments, however, gender considerations havenot been systematically integrated into Bankassistance with any speed. Gender policies arenot fully understood, and instructions to staffare unclear. The responsibilities for integrat-ing gender are not well established, nor arethere any processes to monitor quality at entryor during implementation. Staff do notsystematically receive training and technicalsupport on matters of gender. The resourceshave not been sufficiently allocated tojumpstart the process of policy implementa-tion. The systems that monitor how wellgender policy is implemented and its effective-ness are weak.

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Regional gendercoordinatorsconfirmed in

interviews that itwas difficult to

obtain adequatefunds; interestedstaff had to seek

funding fromalternative sources.

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Results of the Bank’sGender Policy

The results of the Bank’s gender policy were assessed in 12 countriesfor the extent gender disparities in the health and education sectorswere lowered (human capital); the participation of women in economic

activities was increased; and the institutional changes that support the ad-vancement of women were influenced (institution strengthening).

These assessments are based on OP 4.20 andare consistent with the 1994 strategy paper,which argues that investing solely in women’shuman capital is insufficient, and that womenmust have greater access to economic resourcesand assets to improve their overall welfare. Theevaluation assessed the results for their efficacy,their sustainability (based on ICR ratings ofoverall sustainability adjusted for any country-specific gender issues identified by the evalua-tion), and the potential for institutionaldevelopment (see chapter 2).

Forty-eight percent of projects reviewed hadbeen assessed to have a gender dimension. Innearly half of these (44 percent), Implementa-tion Completion Reports (ICRs) indicated thatgender was “not applicable.” Only 20 percentof the ICRs incorporated a satisfactory or highlysatisfactory analysis of the results for women.The desk review did not adequately understandresults on the ground and was instead supple-mented with selected field assessments.

During Phase II, the evaluation alsoexamined recent project reports to ascertain

whether or not progress has been made since1994 (see box 6.1). The evaluation foundperceptible progress after fiscal 2000.

Increased Human CapitalImproving the human capital of women has apositive effect on development outcomes.Studies show that across the developingworld, the mortality of children under agefive is lower in households where the mothershave some schooling, and it is much lowerwhere mothers have some sec-ondary schooling. The sametrend holds for child immu-nization levels (World Bank2001a). The Bank’s 1994 strat-egy recognized the need toinvest more in women’s educa-tion and health. All countriesexcept the Kyrgyz Republic andPoland had education projects,and all except Ecuador andPoland had health projects. Toassess the projects’ impact on

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The mortality ofchildren under agefive is lower inhouseholds where themothers have someschooling, and it ismuch lower wheremothers have somesecondary schooling.

human capital, the evaluation examined howBank assistance helped to lower gender dis-parity in educational enrollments andimprove women’s health1 and found thatoverall, the Bank achieved satisfactory results(see table 6.1).

EducationBank assistance supported a wide range of

demand- and supply-based interventions toincrease girls’ access to education in four ofthe six countries where the gender disparitiesin school enrollments were significant:Bangladesh, The Gambia, the Republic ofYemen, and Zambia. (In Haiti and Côted’Ivoire, the Bank focused on physicalconstraints and sectoral management issuesand paid insufficient attention to identifying

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This evaluation examined the 53 latest PADs in the 12 countriesand found that the positive trend in the CASs was increasinglyreflected at the project level. • PADs, including activities for gender/WID, have increased

compared to fiscal 1999. About 45 percent included WID/gen-der activities, and another 10 percent contained analysiswithout an activity. One-third of those analyzed gender, andtwo-thirds analyzed WID.

• Eighty-nine percent of the PADs indicate some participa-tory process in project design, 35 percent of which explic-

itly refer to the participation of women; 65 percent of the PADsindicate NGO participation.

• Gender-disaggregated monitoring indicators are present in31 percent of the PADs, while only one project proposed tomeasure gender impact.

• In fewer than 10 percent of the projects, the Bank misseda good opportunity to integrate gender/WID considerations;16 percent of projects with male TTLs had WID activities,while 14 percent of projects with female TTLs implementedWID activities.

H a s T h e r e B e e n P r o g r e s s s i n c e t h e O E DE v a l u a t i o n o f 2 0 0 0 ?

B o x 6 . 1

Bangla- Côte The Philip- Sridesh d’Ivoire Ecuador Gambia Haiti Kyrgyz pines Poland Lanka Vietnam Yemen Zambia

Outcomes in HS U MS S U NA MS NA S HS MU MS

education

Results in health HS U NA S MU S MS NA MS HS MS MS

Sustainability in HL UL L L* UL NA L NA L L L* L*

education

Sustainability in HL UL NA L* UL NA UL NA L L L* L*

health

Institutional H N M SU N NA M NA M SU M SU

development in

education

Institutional H N NA M N M M NA N SU M N

development in

health

Overall efficacy H N M SU N M M NA M SU N M*In these cases it is uncertain.

Note: H/high; SU/substantial; M/modest; N/negligible; HS/highly satisfactory; S/satisfactory; MS/moderately satisfactory; MU/moderately unsatisfactory; U/unsatisfactory; HU/ highly

unsatisfactory; NA/not available; L/likely; HL/highly likely; UL/unlikely.

H o w D i d B a n k A s s i s t a n c e I n c r e a s e W o m e n ’ s H u m a n C a p i t a l ?

T a b l e 6 . 1

and addressing other supply-and-demandfactors that kept girls out of school.)

Results and improvements varied. InBangladesh and The Gambia, Bank assistancelargely achieved its objectives of improvinggirls’ enrollment and reducing gender dispar-ity (see box 6.2). Despite considerable effortsin the Republic of Yemen and Zambia,however, Bank lending did not reduce genderdisparity.

In Bangladesh, the Bank helped to increasegirls’ enrollments by (i) building 30 percent ofthe estimated number of schools needed forthe decade; (ii) supporting better water andsanitation facilities in schools; (iii) trainingmore female teachers; and (iv) supporting avery successful scholarship program thatreduced the opportunity costs for girls. Whereschools were built with Bank assistance,overall girls’ enrollments rose from 3.53million (45 percent) in 1990–91 to 4.75million in 1996 (47 percent).

In The Gambia, girls’ enrollment in primaryschools rose from 40 percent in 1989–90 to 44percent in 1997. The Bank supported this trendby increasing female enrollment in TheGambia’s teacher-training colleges from 10 to40 percent, implementing a school-buildingprogram that led to more seats for primary-school children, and building toilets in schools,which encouraged many parents to send theirdaughters to school (World Bank 1999c). Bankassistance also helped to reduce gender stereo-

typing and biases in textbooksand introduced a gender-awareness component into theteacher-training programs.

In the Republic of Yemen,the Bank focused mostly onincreasing the numbers offemale teachers and residen-tial facilities for girls. Inisolation, these measurescould not have any significantchanges. The high rate ofpopulation growth, the GulfWar, the civil war, and a majorflood all affected results.

In Zambia, Bank assistanceenhanced gender awarenessinstitutionally, with some pos-itive results (see box 6.2), butthere is no evidence of greatergirls’ enrollment in project sufficient toreduce the national gender disparity, partlybecause the Bank financed more schools inurban areas where gender disparity was low(Clark 1999; World Bank 2000f).

In countries where the disparity in enroll-ments is less pronounced, such as Ecuador, SriLanka, and Vietnam, Bank assistance foreducation was generally gender-blind.2 Fieldassessments suggest that this had no signifi-cantly adverse effect on girls as opposed toboys. In Ecuador, beneficiary assessmentsclearly indicate that both boys and girls

R E S U LT S O F T H E B A N K ’ S G E N D E R P O L I C Y

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In Bangladesh andThe Gambia, Bankassistance largelyachieved its objectivesof improving girls’enrollment andreducing genderdisparity. Despiteconsiderable efforts inthe Republic of Yemenand Zambia, however,Bank lending did notreduce genderdisparity.

Most beneficiaries acknowledge that the quality of educationalservices has improved after Bank intervention, but the evidenceon improved learning is mixed. In Bangladesh, a 1998 OEDaudit of the education project points out that only 60 percentof students complete primary school at a cycle cost of 7.5years, while their competency is still at second-grade level,which may be due to inadequate teacher training and lowteacher attendance. In The Gambia, student-teacher ratiosrose from 30:1 to 45:1 because schools were consolidated,used double shifts, and had multigrade teaching that may

have increased efficiency, but had uncertain impact on qual-ity. In addition, the textbook-rental scheme was poorly ad-ministered and clearly unsustainable. An OED audit for 2000reports that student achievement has only somewhat im-proved, and that capacity building was less than satisfactory.In Zambia, despite an increase in the average number of teach-ers in urban areas, their numbers dropped in project and non-project rural areas. Poor-quality education results in fewerbenefits to a greater number of girls in schools (Ravallion andDatt 1999).

D i d t h e Q u a l i t y o f E d u c a t i o n R i s e a s G e n d e r D i s p a r i t y L e s s e n e d ?

B o x 6 . 2

benefited from improved educational facilitiesand that their enrollments rose proportion-ately. In Sri Lanka, beneficiaries felt thatbuilding schools in remote areas would havebenefited girls more, because they are moreadversely affected when schools are fartheraway. A better-designed program would havealso targeted building a greater number offemale teachers. In Vietnam, field assessmentsindicate that the largely gender-blind educationproject generated more benefits for girls thanfor boys for several reasons, including aneffective gender-equality policy that promotedthe equitable participation of girls in the sector,relatively better gender-aware local institu-tions, and poverty targeting. In all threecountries, however, the Bank missed opportu-nities to redress issues related to gender stereo-typing and gender-based constraints in

accessing labor markets, andtraining was usually designed formale management.

HealthHealth intervention in Bangladesh,Côte d’Ivoire, The Gambia, Haiti,the Kyrgyz Republic, the Philip-pines, Sri Lanka, the Republic ofYemen, Vietnam, and Zambia wereexamined. In Bangladesh and Viet-nam, these projects have influencedthe overall positive trends forwomen. However, these projectsmostly addressed maternal health

and family-planning aspects and did not focuson other gender issues in the sector. The evalu-ation also revealed unanticipated impacts onwomen’s health in a few cases, such as inEcuador (see box 6.4). In other countries,intervention was not holistic and was unlikelyto have influenced national trends.

In Bangladesh, national outcomes—such asdeclining fertility rates, under-five mortalityrates, and rising female life expectancy in the1990s—can be attributed partly to the Bank-assisted health project (US$756 million) sup-ported by many donors who providedconsistent, coordinated assistance to a commit-ted government. The project expanded accessto family planning and maternal and childhealth for rural beneficiaries by creating ruralsatellite clinics. A wide range of Information,Education, and Communication (IEC) pro-grams stressed the responsibilities of men andwomen for family health. Beneficiary assess-ments indicate that behavior is being influ-enced. The assistance was also very focused oninstitutional gender issues, including:

• Developing a gender strategy• Expanding women’s role and employment in

the Health Ministry• Establishing a Gender Issues Office headed by

a joint secretary• Building an Institute for Mother and Child

Health with a half-female staff• Recruiting and training 4,500 female health

assistants (experience shows that female health

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Although enrollments did not show less disparity between girlsand boys, other positive results ensued. A gender awarenessmodule was introduced into the training curriculums for edu-cation management and staff, which led to several gender-awareness measures:• Managers became more gender-aware, and a pool of gender

trainers was created in the Education Ministry in Lusaka andat the provincial levels. Training programs at all levels led togreater awareness of gender issues, even at local levels.

• Students report that boys were being asked to clean class-rooms and girls were being asked to act as monitors, sug-gesting that such training can reduce gender stereotyping andimprove gender relationships in the long term.

• The District Education Officers articulated a gender balancepolicy, requiring that schools headed by males have a femaledeputy. It was difficult to implement this policy, however,given the dearth of female teachers willing to work in ruralareas.

S u s t a i n a b l e A c h i e v e m e n t s i n E d u c a t i o n i n Z a m b i a

B o x 6 . 3

In countries wherethe disparity in

enrollments is lesspronounced, such

as Ecuador, SriLanka, and

Vietnam, Bankassistance for

education wasgenerally

gender-blind.

assistants deliver services to women more ef-fectively).

The 1999 ICR notes that three intersectoralpopulation programs generated positiveresults on women’s family-planning measures.The project also made NGOs, rather than theMinistry, responsible for many issues, whichincreased the overall efficiency in the sector.

In Vietnam, 50 percent of the country’s pop-ulation is expected to benefit from an interven-tion designed to improve primary health careservices. Some indications already exist that byupgrading facilities, providing IUDs, essentialdrugs, and trained commune and family-plan-ning workers, the project may be facilitatingdeclining fertility rates. Beneficiary assessmentsindicate that more women than men usedCommunity Health Center (CHC) services dur-ing the year previous to field assessment. Anactively disseminated IEC program includesmaterials that encourage family planning andthe equal treatment of sons and daughters. Thepopularity of family-planning methods andbeneficiary assessments indicate that targetedpopulations are listening, although it is tooearly to discuss impact. On the positive side,the majority of trained workers are women,but beneficiaries complain that staff is not wellqualified, that costs are higher, and that manyCHCs have limited operating hours.

Gender-related results were positive inother countries, although documents provide

no gender-disaggregated data.In the Kyrgyz Republic, thehealth project is ongoing, thegovernment and NGOs con-sider it satisfactory, and posi-tive results for women areexpected.3 In The Gambia,Bank assistance helped reha-bilitate a number of healthfacilities, providing them withsuch essential services as water,electricity, and the necessaryequipment to offer better serv-ices. The Bank has establishedseveral housing units in remoteareas to address what is asevere constraint in redeploy-ing health personnel. Bank assistanceincreased the training of nurses, who aremostly female, and helped to improve the cur-riculum. In the Philippines, Bank assistancehas helped improve maternal health and childservices. About 450 midwives were appointedto provide field services, and there was someindication that women had more access tomaternal services. Partnerships with NGOshelped services in several remote, underservedcommunities become more efficient.

In the Republic of Yemen, project ICRs didnot provide information on results forwomen. However, the services they have pro-vided in rural areas most likely benefitedwomen. The health project also made every


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When the environmental impact of a project goes unaddressed,women’s health can be adversely affected. For example, Bankassistance in Ecuador supported projects that financed severalsubloans that led to creating banana plantations and flower-pro-duction farms on which women constitute about 60 percent ofthe labor. The women complained about the effect of the pesti-cides on their health and suggested that the effluents from these

small industries were contaminating water sources that theyused for household consumption. Men did not see this as a pri-ority, which raised the concern that these issues may not nec-essarily be addressed. The Project ICR did not see gender as anapplicable issue; the Borrower ICR stated that gender issues hadbeen partly achieved. Neither contribution recognized the en-vironmental issue as it related to gender.

U n a n t i c i p a t e d , U n r e c o g n i z e d , a n d U n d o c u m e n t e d E n v i r o n m e n t a l I m p a c t o n M e n a n d W o m e n

B o x 6 . 4

Source: OED Beneficiary Assessment in Ecuador (September 2000).

In Bangladesh,national outcomes—such as decliningfertility rates,under-five mortalityrates, and risingfemale lifeexpectancy in the1990s—can beattributed partly tothe Bank-assistedhealth project.

effort to increase the number offemale staff and health assistantsin the Health Ministry by build-ing training facilities with resi-dential quarters closer to ruralcommunities. In Zambia, theBank-supported social-fund proj-ects financed the construction ofseveral health clinics in ruralareas, giving women greateraccess to services. In many cases,the Zambia project also cofi-nanced residential facilities for

health workers, as lack of staff housingseverely restricts services for the rural poor.Communities were involved in designing,implementing, and managing these facilities.Limited field assessments indicate that womenhave spearheaded health activities in somecases, and that services in these areas haveimproved overall. Despite the positive resultsin eight of these countries, the efforts wereless comprehensive than in Bangladesh orVietnam, and were not likely to have anational impact.

In both the education and health sectors,Bank assistance focused on institutionalstrengthening, although it had no overall strat-egy. There is evidence that management skillshave improved for addressing gender issues

and delivering more gender-aware education programs inBangladesh, The Gambia,Zambia, and the Republic ofYemen. The Bank has hadsome influence integratingfemale-enrollment issues intopolicy in these countries andhas trained large numbers ofwomen; there is also someevidence to show that theysubsequently obtained jobs.Female teachers were trainedin all countries, although notalways in equal numbers.The gender biases in text-books were eliminated inBangladesh, The Gambia,Zambia, and even in Viet-

nam, where there has been significant trainingin health and education, where women pre-dominate, and where the majority of traineeshave been women. In Bangladesh, the HealthMinistry absorbed 4,500 female health assis-tants, whereas in the Republic of Yemen, thepublic sector absorbed only a small percentageof trained women. There is evidence, however,that women have set up some small clinics inavailable places in the villages, and that theirservices were welcomed by resident women.The Bank has increased the number of its part-nerships in Bangladesh, The Gambia, the Kyr-gyz Republic, Vietnam, and Zambia bycollaborating with NGOs and local communi-ties on designing and delivering services.

Overall, Bank performance and projectresults were satisfactory. However, the impacton the effectiveness of development forwomen was modest in eight countries andsubstantial in only three.

Sustainability of Results in Health and Education It is likely that in the health and educationsectors, the results will be sustainable becausethe objectives are simple—such as getting girlsinto school and improving maternal health.These objectives resonate with and are fullyowned by the clients. An approach based onbroader gender issues may have beenappropriate, but these were premature duringthe late 1980s and early 1990s in thesecountries.

Two concerns could lower long-termsustainability, however. First, the principles ofcost recovery and imposed user fees for socialservices still present a challenge for the Bank.The evaluation finds that Bank assistance hasinvolved cost-recovery measures in Côted’Ivoire, The Gambia, Haiti, Ecuador, Vietnam,and Zambia without adequately protecting thepoorest people.4 On the one hand, cost recoveryhas led to better services because communitiesare involved in management, and because staffhas a greater say over how funds are spent.Nonetheless, beneficiary assessments inVietnam, Zambia, The Gambia, and Ecuadorindicate that women complain about the costs

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In both theeducation andhealth sectors,

Bank assistancefocused on

institutionalstrengthening,

although it had nooverall strategy.

It is likely that in thehealth and education

sectors, the resultswill be sustainable

because theobjectives are

simple—such asgetting girls into

school andimproving maternal

health. Theseobjectives resonatewith and are fully

owned by the clients.

of services. In Ecuador, where there was aneconomic crisis, one mother said, “When wehad to buy textbooks, we had to make ourchildren go without food.” Closer monitoringand analysis are required to ensure sustainableresults.

Second, the improvements in women’shealth and an increase in girls’ enrollments areessential for sustaining growth, but are not insufficient measure to reduce women’s poverty.The Bank focused effectively on increasinggirls’ enrollments but failed to focus onemployment issues for girls entering the laborforce after secondary education. In the longterm, if secondary school graduates cannotfind jobs, households will be less enthusiasticabout sending girls to schools beyond theprimary level.

Greater Participation in EconomicDevelopmentIt is not enough to invest in women’s humancapital to improve their overall welfare. Usingdata from 15 states in India, Ravallion andDatt (1999) found that growth helped reducepoverty in states where there was moreeducation and higher literacy rates, but thatwhere education levels were low, the link wasnegligible. Moreover, they argue that not evenformal education has a positive effect unlessopen markets are reformed. In addition toinvesting in women’s human capital,therefore, it is critical that women participatemore in economic activities to reduce povertyand enhance women’s welfare overall.Therefore, the elimination of distortions thatinhibit women’s access to labor markets andthe increase of their incomes through self-employment must occur simultaneously.

Increasing Women’s Participation in Economic DevelopmentOnly about one-quarter of the projects outsidethe health and education sectors haveaddressed issues related to the participation ofpoor women in economic development. Theseefforts lacked a strategy and were limited tosmall, ad hoc WID components. Nor is thereany indication that the Bank or governments

have been able to effectivelyupscale or replicate any of thesemore successful project-levelactivities.

In understanding the resultsof Bank assistance in thisdimension, the evaluation meas-ured changes in (i) opportunitiesfor income generation (includ-ing, where relevant, reducedhousehold burden and increasedtime for productive activities);(ii) access to credit or other rel-evant economic services; and(iii) participation in training or skills-upgrad-ing activities (including literacy programs).

Except for Bangladesh, The Gambia,Poland, and Vietnam, the results of Bankassistance in increasing women’s participationin economic development are unsatisfactory.In The Gambia and Bangladesh, Bankassistance addressed economic development ina holistic manner, touching on all three areas,which led to satisfactory results for women. InPoland and Vietnam, Bank assistance was byand large gender-blind, but strong institutionalarrangements that supported gender equalityin these countries made it possible for womento benefit. Elsewhere, Bank assistanceaddressed only one or two of the above areasrandomly, which resulted in limited, localizedimpact (see table 6.2).

Greater Access to EconomicOpportunitiesIn several sample countries, women constitutethe backbone of the agricultural labor force.To increase their productivity and incomes,they need more access to services, assets, andcapital. Given different rolesand responsibilities in the sec-tor and the wide gender dis-parity in terms of access toland and other resources, theeffect of gender-blind develop-ment interventions is bound tobe different, and oftenadverse, for women. However,scant attention was paid to


4 7

Improvements inwomen’s health andan increase in girls’enrollments areessential forsustaining growth,but are not insufficient measureto reduce women’spoverty.

It is critical thatwomen participatemore in economicactivities to reducepoverty and enhancewomen’s welfareoverall.

these issues in the projects thatwere evaluated. Only 14 of the42 agricultural sector projectsincluded components or activi-ties to benefit women, most ofwhich were scattered, generatingisolated positive results forwomen.

The example of Bangladeshillustrates this point: Only fourof the seven projects reviewed in

the agricultural sector of Bangladesh includedWID considerations. One project included aUS$2 million component for supporting theeconomic activities of women’s groups, butthis project ultimately disbursed onlyUS$200,000 and financed about 16 income-generating projects, eight of which were forwomen. The results were mixed and marginal.The ICR team visited one subproject andfound unsatisfactory results, mainly becauseof an uncontained disease that affected shrimpcultures cultivated by women’s groups. TheOED audit team visited another subprojectand found that it was a Good Practice worthreplicating. Another project component hadtwo activities for women: the first was retrain-ing 560 female program coordinators, but ithad not been implemented because thegovernment program of which it was a parthad been cancelled; the second involved agender-focused extension program, which wasformulated and implemented in partnershipwith NGOs to enhance homestead produc-tion. The activities resulted in greater

homestead production and better householdnutrition, and NGOs therefore replicated it.Further, direct contact also occurred betweenfemale clients and the Department of Agricul-tural Extension, which was financed byoverseas development assistance. Otherprojects dealt with irrigation, targetinglandless women for temporary constructionwork as part of a popular, effective Food forWork program.

The social safety net interventions thataccompanied the projects did not adequatelyprotect women from economic risks (see table6.3). Social fund projects were implemented inEcuador and Zambia to provide decentralizedmechanisms that would assist the poorthrough community-initiated and community-managed subprojects. The projects focused onconstructing extensive, small-scale infrastruc-tures in remote areas; none included a genderstrategy. They generated temporary employ-ment, mainly for men, while in many cases,women provided free community labor.Communities were also burdened by having tocofinance these activities through monetary orother contributions.

Adjustment operations had mixed results(see Annex F). Kumar (1994) suggests thatadjustment measures, such as the agriculturalcommercialization that led to the adoption ofhybrid maize in Zambia, are disadvantageousto women.5 Results indicate that female-headed households adopted hybrid maizemore slowly than male-headed households,primarily because they have smaller farms.

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Bangla- Côte The Philip- Sridesh d’Ivoire Ecuador Gambia Haiti Kyrgyz pines Poland Lanka Vietnam Yemen Zambia

Resultsa MS U MU S U U MU S MU S MU MU

Sustainabilityb UL UL UL L UL UL L L UL L UL UL

Institutional M N N SU N N M M N M M N

developmentc

Efficacyc M N N SU N N N M N M M Ma. HS/highly satisfactory; S/satisfactory; MS/moderately satisfactory; MU/moderately unsatisfactory; U/unsatisfactory; HU/ highly unsatisfactory.

b. HL/highly likely; L/likely; UL/unlikely; HU/highly unlikely.

c. H/high; SU/substantial; M/modest; N/negligible.

H o w D i d B a n k A s s i s t a n c e I n c r e a s e t h e E c o n o m i c P a r t i c i p a t i o n o f W o m e n ?

T a b l e 6 . 2

The effect ofgender-blinddevelopment

interventions isbound to be

different, and oftenadverse, for

women.

Kumar also shows that adopting hybrid maizeis associated with less decisionmaking powerfor women about input allocation, loweraccess to proceeds from sales of output, andlower contributions to household expendi-tures on food. At the same time, another studyfound that workers laid off in Zambia havethe same unemployment rate as the generalpopulation (28 percent), despite having ahigher skill base. Women are slightly over-represented among laid-off workers, but theygravitate toward self-employment more thanmen and are thereby less subject to poverty(Kikeri 1998).

Only three of the 11 water-supply projectsintegrated gender considerations. In thePhilippines, the involvement of womenimproved the use and sustainability ofphysical facilities. Many women in Sri Lankacould diversify their incomes because a Bank-supported intervention helped them save time.One-third of the participants in communityleadership roles were women, and the projectbrought together a core set of women whoworked at each level to develop women’scapacity to participate actively. In somesettings, thanks to the project, women have

begun savings schemes, have become increas-ingly trained, and have begun assumingpositions as technical officers. The interven-tion in Haiti had unsatisfactory results thatwere not likely to be sustainable, but kiosksand standpipes supplied water to about500,000 people from disadvantaged localities.Some gender-blind water-sector projects havehad positive results for women, such as in theRepublic of Yemen, where women spent lesstime collecting water.

Some gender-blind projects have hadunanticipated adverse effects on women’seconomic activities. For example, a bus stationbuilt in Ecuador leased new stalls mainly tomen. Women had been selling informally totravelers and saw their income drop as a resultof the stalls. The Municipal Corporationpromised to compensate them but never did. InBangladesh, the technology (shallow tube wellsand low lift pumps) was too expensive forwomen, preventing them from benefiting fromthe project. In Zambia, two projects that weresupposed to raise the incomes of poor peopleled to inequitably distributed employment andcash income, and disproportionate increasesin women’s workload.6 Men controlled cash


4 9

Integration of gender into social Monitoring of gender issuesCountry Severity of gender disparitiesa protection measuresb in adjustment measures c

Kyrgyz M N N

Ecuador M M N

Zambia H M M

Bangladesh H M N

Vietnam M M N

Yemen H M N

Philippines M N N

Poland N M M

Sri Lanka M M N

Côte d’Ivoire H M N

Average SU M NNote: All ratings are on a four-point scale, where N = negligible, M = modest, SU = substantial, and H = high.

a. This is based on a relative ranking of countries according to the U.N. Gender-Related Development Index.

b. This rating is provided by the evaluation based on an integration of gender issues into the design of social protection measures that are financed by the Bank. These measures are not

only the ones classified by the Bank as “Social Protection,” but also include social protection components in other Bank-supported projects of the 1990s.

c. This rating is provided by the evaluation based on monitoring of gender-disaggregated results in adjustment measures, supported by the Bank in the 1990s.

I n t e g r a t i o n a n d M o n i t o r i n g o f G e n d e r I s s u e s d u r i n g A d j u s t m e n t

T a b l e 6 . 3

crops like coffee and maize, which theypromoted; extending the production area ledto more work for women with minimalbenefits. Similarly, a market built in Zambiasolely for women without any considerationfor demand became a women’s communitycenter rather than a place to generateadditional income. The only advantage towomen in this case was that men were notinterested in leasing the stalls.

A road built in Zambia without anycommunity participation benefited both menand women and made it easier for men to getalcohol, thanks to increased traffic. Womencomplained that men spent the eveningsdrinking while they continued to work. Theformal bidding procedures for a market wereoften cornered by the “local musclemen,” andas a result, women were unlikely to have fairaccess. In some projects, primary benefitswent to land-owning farmers, but landlesswomen earned money for their labor.

Though both men and women were affectedduring the transition in the Kyrgyz Republic,the deteriorating education and health caresectors have reduced employment possibilitiesfor women in sectors where they oncedominated. Reduced social assistance forchildren and the elderly has intensified domesticwork burdens. To increase efficiency, the statescaled back on retirement pensions, delayed thenormal age of retirement differential for menand women, and withdrew programs for theunemployed. The results were different forwomen than for men (World Bank 1992);women were literally left “holding the baby,”making it harder for them to work and, in somecases, forcing them to take their daughters outof school to ease the burden. In this case, theBank did not mitigate this situation, even in itssafety nets. Another project supported theregistration of land, a major economic asset. Inmany oblasts, land was registered in the nameof the male head of household, eliminating anyrights for women under previous land-ownership customs. The gender impact of thischange was not monitored; an opportunity waslost for better understanding gender issuesduring the transition.7

On a positive note, some gender-blind proj-ects improved women’s access to economicresources.8 One such project in Zambiaincreased employment on coffee farms. Onlyone of the 76 permanent employees was awoman, but during the coffee-picking season,women constituted most of the casual labor.Rural women opened up a new wage labormarket in the coffee sector, which was unan-ticipated; this involved seasonal and occasion-ally part-time work, and provided income towomen. In some cases, it also opened upaccess to school and health services supportedby the coffee farms. Rural men were not dis-placed in this wage labor market and gener-ally accepted the change.

The Poland Mining Technical AssistanceProject resulted in mixed changes in women’ssocial position. Field assessments indicate thatthe project led to the retrenchment of men andthe loss of their formal wage employment.Women, therefore, had to be both the primarybreadwinners and run their homes. They ransmall businesses before the men lost their jobs,and therefore had to struggle even more tofeed their families. Gender roles changed asmen reportedly spent more time at home andtook on a larger share of domestic work.

Microcredit: Greater Access to CreditFacilitiesTwenty-five projects in 10 countries duringthe period under review had microcreditcomponents. Of these, 16 did not integrateany gender considerations, and only twoprojects, in the Philippines and Sri Lanka,provided flexible forms of collateral. Ninetypercent of the Philippines’ projects werecanceled despite a design that promised tobenefit women. The Sri Lanka projectgenerated some good results for women,although it seemed unlikely that it could beentirely sustained.

Some gender-blind microcredit projects ben-efited both men and women. In Vietnam, fieldassessments indicate that both women and menbenefited from smallholder credit and thattheir repayment record exceeded 95 percent be-cause women’s NGOs were involved, and be-

5 0


cause of a local regulation requiring that bothspouse applicants sign. Women benefited eq-uitably, and despite the drawbacks of the creditprograms (small amounts, complicated appli-cation procedures), male and female respon-dents agreed that the low-interest credits helpedimprove their lives and production. The as-sessment also found that “the increasing roleof women in family access to credit (as co-signer or principal applicant) combined withtheir traditional role as family money-keeperappear to improve their decisionmaking powerin the family.” Additionally, outreach programsfor ethnic minorities in the uplands and moun-tains are being strengthened to counter the ob-stacles, especially for women, posed byremoteness and the difficulty of mobility. Unan-ticipated results of some microfinance proj-ects (see box 6.5) do, however, suggest that theBank needs to carefully examine expected re-sults, taking into account, in a sensitive man-ner, the range of possible social and culturalresponses triggered by giving women greater ac-cess to microfinance.

Projects that provide loans to SMEs do notfully consider gender. Although the formerOD on Financial Sector Operations (OD 8.30)permitted targeted credit for women as anexception, the projects did not diagnose oraddress gender issues for SMEs except in TheGambia and the Philippines.

Greater Access to Training or UpgradingSkills Sixty-two percent of the projects, mainly in theeducation, health, water supply, and agriculturesectors, included components to upgrade skillsor train. Only one-third of these projects inte-grated any concerns for women. ICRs did notgenerally provide any gender-disaggregated dataon the numbers of trainees or discuss the im-pact of such training. The evaluation finds thatunless the project design considers gender,women are unlikely to benefit fromplanned activities. In Vietnam,field assessments show that duringimplementation, the ProvincialAgriculture and Extension Centermade it a priority to select femalecandidates, increasing the oppor-tunities for women to be trained,which was otherwise unlikely inthis sector. Great numbers of women weretrained in the health sector in Vietnam, but theproject director indicated, “We do not select bygender, we select by posts, and there are morewomen in these posts.” This was true in Poland,also. In Sri Lanka, the Philippines, and Zambia,field assessments indicate that the process of se-lecting trainees was gender-blind, although nodesign features ensured an outcome of genderequity, and is likely to result in a majority of menbeing trained.


5 1

A Bangladesh poverty-alleviation project that includes microfi-nance is helping significantly reduce poverty, according to theindependent impact evaluation conducted by the Asian Devel-opment Bank in consultation with OED. A large percentage of themicrofinance went to women, but only 20 percent of those inter-viewed had access to the money they earned or had a voice inspending it. Female beneficiaries did, however, confirm that theyfelt a greater sense of empowerment, enjoyed participating ingroup meetings, and perceived some improvement in the socialstatus in their households. However, the evaluation also found that

families with increased income could stop having the womenwork, mainly in the informal sectors, and pay better dowries—both symbols of prestige for the household and for women. Fieldassessments in Vietnam indicate that, while rural credit to womenimproves their lives, there is no clear evidence that it changesexisting gender orders or the familial division of labor. In the Philip-pines, a few female beneficiaries responded that their ability togenerate additional income led to their husbands taking on re-sponsibility for more household chores, although most felt thatit had not significantly altered gender relations.

M i c r o f i n a n c e P r o j e c t s a n d G e n d e r R e l a t i o n s

B o x 6 . 5

Source: OED Beneficiary Assessment in Ecuador (September 2000).

Unless the projectdesign considersgender, womenare unlikely tobenefit fromplanned activities.

In many of these countries, illiteracy signif-icantly constrains economic participation buthas seldom been addressed in a meaningfulway. Only two projects had literacycomponents, but the small size of thecomponents and failure to follow up onsustainability issues resulted in women beingunable to maintain the momentum that hadbeen achieved in either project.

Is Successful Economic ParticipationSustainable?In countries where gender disparity is greater,the results for women are unlikely to be sustain-able. For example, in the Zambia CoffeeProject, men were employed formally on thecoffee farms and received social security andother attendant benefits, whereas women hadincreased opportunities to work, but only inunregulated informal sectors where risks aresignificantly higher and protection significantlylower. Additionally, in these countries, legaland institutional constraints further inhibitwomen’s equitable ownership or control ofeconomic resources. For example, in somecountries, a wife has few legal rights to assetsderived from project assistance or from amicrocredit facility registered in her husband’sname. Such constraints are beyond the scope ofa single intervention and lessen the sustainabil-ity of positive results at the microlevel. On theother hand, in countries with stronger institu-tional and legal frameworks for gender, such asin Vietnam, where land allotted through Bankassistance was registered in the name of bothspouses and all applications for microcreditrequired the names of both spouses, the resultsare more likely to be sustainable.

The Bank, however, has done very little tostrengthen institutional and legal frameworks

to support greater economicparticipation of women, except inThe Gambia, where the nationalinstitutions that provided socialand economic services to womenwere strengthened. Subsequentaudits indicate that they have beensustainable. In Bangladesh andVietnam, where Bank assistance

supported microfinance for women, theproject merely bolstered already successfulmechanisms for providing loans on affordableterms to women. In addition, ad hoc activities,such as increasing the number of femaleextension workers in the agricultural andfisheries ministries in Bangladesh and in theRepublic of Yemen, or improving partnershipsbetween government agencies and NGOs inBangladesh and the Philippines, haveoccurred. The lack of strategic support formaintaining gender equality at an institutionallevel has decreased the likelihood of sustain-ability in some countries.

Overall, the Bank approaches gender withan apparent lack of strategy, producingmarginal and irregular results. The Bank doesnot effectively address issues related to theeconomic participation of women. The effortsare unfocused, causing varied and unsustain-able results.

Institutional StrengtheningThe institutional context in a country is crucialfor Bank gender interventions. Gender inequal-ities, other disparities, and commitment toreform varies. Therefore, it is critical to solidifythe structure and capacity of institutionalarrangements within a country that is planningto integrate gender as a cross-sectoral issue.Moreover, the Bank plays a key role in nurtur-ing the demand for gender work, so dialoguewith client countries on gender considerationsis key to development effectiveness. The 1994policy appropriately requires the Bank to assistcountries in strengthening their institutions sothat women can participate more in develop-ment—this is an important factor if human,social, and economic capital is to be strength-ened and sustained. The evaluation assessed theeffect of institutional development impactaccording to whether it (i) strengtheneddevelopment institutions to deliver gender-aware programs (did the Bank strengtheninstitutions or “machineries” set up to coordi-nate women’s or gender issues in the country?);(ii) strengthened NGOs or community groupsto participate in gender-aware developmentinterventions; and (iii) increased the availability

5 2


In countries wheregender disparity isgreater, the results

for women areunlikely to be

sustainable.

of gender-disaggregated data. Overall, theresults are mixed (see table 6.4).

Social, legal, and economic institutionsshape access to resources, opportunities, andthe relative power of women and men. Promot-ing gender equality, therefore, requires that alevel institutional playing field be created forwomen and men (World Bank 2001a). All 12countries that were evaluated have “machiner-ies,” some of which have existed since the early1980s, to coordinate or address women’s andgender issues. The Bank focused on strength-ening these institutions only in The Gambia,Côte d’Ivoire, Ecuador, and Vietnam. With theexception of Côte d’Ivoire, these activities havebeen successful and worthy of replication.

In The Gambia, Bank assistance strength-ened the women’s “machinery” to assist inincreasing the gender awareness of otherimportant ministries, thereby widening anddeepening the scope of gender mainstreaming.In 1999, the Bank embarked on an ambitiousinstitution-strengthening project of govern-

ment agencies in Ecuador tomainstream gender into thecomplete portfolio of Bankprojects. A Population andHuman Resource Develop-ment (PHRD) grant providedassistance. The projectinvolved highly participatorymechanisms in whichimplementation staff led theprocess of mainstreaminggender in projects. Thisincreased the capacity ofinternal agencies to deliver better gender-aware programs. In Vietnam, the Bank hasinitiated collaboration with agencies responsi-ble for coordinating matters related to genderequality and is working to support theimplementation of Vietnam’s National ActionPlan (NAP); there is evidence of positivesynergies that have influenced Bankassistance. However, in most other countries,the Bank has preferred to deal only with


5 3

Aspects of institutional Bangla- Côte The Philip- Sridevelopment desh d’Ivoire Ecuador Gambia Haiti Kyrgyz pines Poland Lanka Vietnam Yemen Zambia

Results in N N M H N N N N N SU M N

strengthened

institutionsa

Results in better M N N M N N N N SU M M M

partnerships with

NGOs and

communitiesa

Results in M H SU M N H N H N SU N H

generation and use

of gender-

disaggregated dataa

Overall rating for M M M SU N M N M M SU M M

resultsa

Sustainabilityb L U L HL U L L L U L U U

Overall rating for M N M SU N M N M N SU N N

efficacya

a. H/high; SU/substantial; M/modest; N/negligible.

b. HL/highly likely; L/likely; U/unlikely; HU/highly unlikely.

H o w D i d t h e B a n k I n f l u e n c e I n s t i t u t i o n a lD e v e l o p m e n t f o r G e n d e r ?

T a b l e 6 . 4

It is critical tosolidify the structureand capacity ofinstitutionalarrangements withina country that isplanning tointegrate gender as across-sectoral issue.

sectoral ministries, thereby contributing to themarginalization of many of these “machiner-ies.” This lack of support raises some concern,given that many of these organizations werecreated by U.N. agencies, including the Bank.

Greater Involvement of NGOs andCommunity Groups in DevelopmentIn 1991, an OD recommended that the Bankinvolve NGOs in its operations in order toreach the poor more effectively. About one-third of the 180 projects reviewed, particu-larly in the social and health sectors(Bangladesh, Ecuador, The Gambia, Haiti, thePhilippines, Poland, Sri Lanka, and Vietnam)involved NGOs. However, it is not clear

whether or not the Bank focusedon building the capacity of theNGOs to bring in the voices ofpoor women. Some training hasoccurred in Sri Lanka and TheGambia, but it often seems to besupply-driven, which raisesissues of sustainability.

Bank assistance has focusedon gender issues at thecommunity level. However, theimpact is marginal in somecountries because no overallinstitutional framework for

equitable participation has been established.Although 36 percent of the projects involvedsome form of community participation duringimplementation, fewer than 40 percent ofthese paid attention to women’s participation.The Bank has required that women participatein community-level institutions in someprojects. Field assessments indicate mixedresults. At one level, this participationincreased the burden of women, who wereoften responsible for the free labor while paidlabor was allocated mostly to men. Someprojects required that women be members ofcommittees that managed small developmentactivities, but they became responsible forcleaning or collecting money, rather than formaking decisions. Recently in Zambia, oneproject required that women be involved inthe decisionmaking team and not participate

simply as members at large. Mandatoryprovisions such as these have had somepositive effect. Field assessments in the Philip-pines, Zambia, and Ecuador, however,indicate that even when women do haveopportunities to lead, most have preferred toremain in the background. Relegating Bankassistance to the microlevel has yielded fewresults, and has had no impact at the nationallevel.

Greater Availability of Gender-Disaggregated DataThe 1984 OMS and the 1994 OP specificallyrequire the Bank to monitor the gender impactof its assistance and to provide help tocountries in collecting, analyzing, and usinggender-disaggregated data. The Bank’s effortshave been marginal in the first case and havehad only negligible impact as a result. Theseprojects have not focused sufficiently onclosely monitoring results that are disaggre-gated for gender. Seventy-four percent of theprojects in the social and agricultural sectorsincluded monitoring systems, and only about10 percent of these included disaggregateddata (see box 6.6).

The Bank has supported several govern-ments in collecting gender-disaggregated data.In the Kyrgyz Republic, Zambia, Vietnam,and Ecuador, the Bank financed LivingStandards Measurement Surveys (LSMS). Inthe Africa Region, surveys were conductedunder the program for Social Dimensions ofAdjustment in seven countries, including Côted’Ivoire and The Gambia. A systematic genderanalysis of the available survey data wasprepared and widely disseminated by the Bankunder the aegis of the Africa Region GenderProgram (GAPS). In Poland, the EmploymentPromotion and Services Project introduced anew, sophisticated, gender-aware labor-monitoring system into the Central StatisticalAgency in Warsaw. The surveys considerablyincreased the Bank’s knowledge andunderstanding of relevant issues that wererelated to gender, and may have also promotedthe development of more gender-sensitivenational policies (although there is little

5 4


The Bank hasrequired that

women participatein community-

level institutionsin some projects.

Field assessmentsindicate mixed

results.

explicit evidence regarding this). NGOs andresearchers also use such information.However, LSMSs are expensive and requiresignificant technical assistance. In addition,unless they are accompanied by qualitativeassessments, gender-disaggregated data do notclarify intrahousehold gender relations. Inmost cases, despite the expense, sample sizesare small and generate national-level statisticsthat cannot give any insight into the differ-ences at subnational levels.

To conclude, there has been no Bankstrategy for institutional development forgender in any country except in Ecuador, TheGambia, Côte d’Ivoire, and Vietnam, andpositive results were only found in The

Gambia and Vietnam. Elsewhere, the effortshave been sporadic and the results have beenlimited to the microlevel with local impact.


5 5

In one country’s ministry, project managers maintained gender-differ-entiated data for ADB-financed interventions but not for similar WorldBank–financed interventions. When queried, they responded that ADBstaff insisted on having differentiated data but that the Bank had neverraised the issue.

G e n d e r -D i s a g g r e g a t e dD a t a

B o x 6 . 6

Source: OED Gender Mission.

5 7

Conclusions

Given the number of countries considered for this evaluation, its find-ings and lessons can only be indicative. The findings, however, areconsistent with other independent evaluations.

Bank assistance has addressed women’s andgender issues in the human developmentsectors, particularly in countries whereeducation enrollments revealed gender dispar-ities. Here, results were generally satisfactory.But Bank assistance did not focus similarly onincreasing the economic participation ofwomen or in strengthening the institutionalframework for gender, thereby reducing itsefficacy. The evaluation concludes that thesuccess of Bank assistance has been substan-tial only in Bangladesh, The Gambia, Poland,and Vietnam; modest in Ecuador, the KyrgyzRepublic, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, andZambia; and negligible in the Côte d’Ivoire,Haiti, and the Republic of Yemen. InBangladesh and The Gambia, the Bank was animportant player in delivering positive results.In Vietnam’s success, the Bank can take somecredit; in Poland, it can take only minimalcredit (see table 7.1).

This evaluation suggests clearly that theBank’s conceptual and analytical frameworksfor addressing gender considerations urgentlyneed clarification. The Bank seems to havefocused on addressing gender issues in

countries where there is noticeable genderdisparity in education enrollments or wherewomen’s health status is poor.1 While these areappropriate entry points in Africa, South Asia,and in some countries in other Regions, theyare not appropriate entry points for address-ing gender issues in countries with no evidentdisparity in the social sectors, but with otherimportant gender gaps in economic activities.The Bank needs to clarify how its genderpolicy is linked with its poverty reductionmandate, and explain the operational implica-tions for Bank processes and practices. Thisbasic conceptual framework must be clarifiedif country strategies and instruments andappropriate tools are to bedeveloped to meet desired policyobjectives. Based on a compre-hensive diagnosis, the CASshould explain how Bankassistance will take into accountthe connections between povertyand gender. This assistance andits underlying strategy shouldexplicitly relate to the borrower’spolicy framework for gender.

77

The Bank’sconceptual andanalyticalframeworks foraddressing genderconsiderationsurgently needclarification.

Improving Country-Level AssistanceAlthough causality is difficult to claim, theevaluation finds that the following commonfactors in Bank assistance to Bangladesh andThe Gambia were successful. First, countryownership and government commitment areevident and reflected in active policies andaction plans for women, and also by strongand accountable counterparts. Second, theBank provided assistance consistent with thecountry’s own action plan, thereby increasingthe likelihood of development effectivenessand sustainability. Third, convincing analyti-cal work laid a strong technical foundation forBank operations in both countries; much ofthis analysis and diagnosis was done within agender-analytical framework. Fourth, in these

countries, the Bank adopteda holistic approach togender issues, focusing onintegrating women’s andgender considerations in theeducation and health sectorsbut including interventionsthat would increase theparticipation of women inthe economic sectors. Fifth,Bank assistance addressedkey institutional aspects

through its assistance, such as building institu-tional capacity of development agencies todeliver gender-aware programs, and by raisingthe interventions to a higher level rather thanmerely tinkering at the margins to help a fewwomen. Sixth, in both countries, incentivesexisted for strengthening gender awareness atthe community levels. Seventh, NGOs wereinvolved in implementing Bank assistance.Eighth, in both countries, the Bank is only oneactor among others, and partnerships havebeen key in providing development assistance.In none of the other countries is Bankassistance characterized by all of these factors.

The evaluation finds that gender-awareBank assistance responsive to or framedwithin a country’s agenda for women andgender issues proves very important forsuccessful results. A country’s ownership ofthe project is critical. In The Gambia, manysectoral ministries embraced the program,which is all the more noteworthy whencompared with a similar project in Côted’Ivoire that was not framed within theexisting WID institutional arrangementswithin the country (see box 7.1).

Similarly, Bangladesh and The Gambia hadstrong policies to increase girls’ enrollment andimprove the status of women’s health; when

5 8


Aspects of institutional Bangla- Côte The Philip- Sridevelopment desh d’Ivoire Ecuador Gambia Haiti Kyrgyz pines Poland Lanka Vietnam Yemen Zambia

Efficacy of Bank

assistance

Relevance of Bank H M M H N N N SU M SU M SU

assistancea

Results of Bank SU N M SU N M M M M SU M M

assistanceb

International M N M SU N M N M N SU N N

development

impacta

Overall efficacya SU N M SU N M M SU M SU N Ma. H/high; SU/substantial; M/modest; N/negligible.

b. HS/highly satisfactory; S/satisfactory; MS/moderately satisfactory; MU/moderately unsatisfactory; U/unsatisfactory; HU/ highly unsatisfactory.

H o w D i d B a n k A s s i s t a n c e I m p a c t C o u n t r y -L e v e l D e v e l o p m e n t E f f e c t i v e n e s s ?

T a b l e 7 . 1

Gender-aware Bankassistance responsiveto or framed within acountry’s agenda forwomen and genderissues proved veryimportant forsuccessful results.

Bank assistance responded to these policies in agender-aware manner, the project results werepositive and likely to be sustainable. This lendsstrength to the argument that the Bank cannotachieve good results for women merely by inte-grating gender considerations into its own as-sistance, but rather that the Bank needs a positive,supportive environment within the country thatstrengthens institutions at sub-national levels.Strong, visible, active gender or women’s policieswould characterize this environment. In Viet-nam and Poland, strong gender-aware imple-menting agencies yielded satisfactory results forwomen (see box 7.2). Vietnam and the Philippinesprovide interesting comparisons indicating thatownership and commitment are necessary at dif-ferent levels. In the Philippines, where there wasgreater awareness of gender at national levels, theresults of gender-blind projects were much poorerat the local level than in Vietnam, where local in-stitutions and community organizations seemedmuch more gender-aware.

Bank assistance must be holistic—focusingon human capital, economic empowerment,and institutional development within a coun-try-led agenda, and it must include linksamong its relevant projects. This happened

only in The Gambia and Bangladesh, and theprojects generated better results. Several expla-nations clarify why projects fail to addressissues related to women holistically—in partic-ular, issues related to economic participation.For one, the Bank neglects to provide adequatetraining and resources, and also, the Bank hasnot shifted to a framework that analyzes gen-der. Integrating provisions based on a thoroughgender analysis, rather than provision of spe-cial components or subsidies for women,would have allowed both men and women tobenefit equitably from Bank assistance. Staffare not always sufficiently attentive to whethergrowth is sustainable and equitable. By failingto address economic policy and institutionalsupport holistically and effectively, the Bank’scontributions to the investment in women’shuman capital has been less effective than itmight have been.2

This evaluation also suggests that the Bankcan obtain the biggest returns for its effortswhen it can assist in creating or transformingdevelopment institutions in the borrowingcountry. This assistance can, in turn, play apivotal role in delivering gender-awareprograms and projects. In countries such as

C O N C L U S I O N S

5 9

Country Ownership: Good results for women in Bangladesh,The Gambia, Poland, and Vietnam ensued where there was (i)greater acceptance of gender equality or a very visible, ac-tively implemented country gender policy or strategy; and (ii)strong commitment, as reflected by more gender-aware localinstitutions.

Project Design and Implementation Mechanisms: The Gam-bia and Côte d’Ivoire WID projects had relevant objectives andwere designed within a framework for analyzing gender-basedWID assessments. The Gambia WID project generated suc-cessful results for women; the Côte d’Ivoire project did not. De-sign features and implementation arrangements made thedifference.

Effective Partnerships: The Bangladesh Education and HealthProjects had better results, and both involved significant part-nerships, especially with NGOs, which increased competitionin delivering services in these sectors. The successful Sri LankaWater Supply Project also resulted from similar partnerships withNGOs, community groups, and the UNDP Water and SanitationProgram.

Systematically Monitoring Results: Successful projects forwomen (Bangladesh Education, Bangladesh Population andHealth, The Gambia Education Project, and Sri Lanka WaterSupply) had better-than-average project status reports that in-volved closer monitoring of gender and women’s issues.

G o o d P r a c t i c e s i n G e n d e rB o x 7 . 1

Source: OED evaluations, 2000 and 2001.

Poland and Vietnam wherethere are strong genderpolicies and local gender-aware institutions, gender-blind projects havegenerated positive resultsfor women when they wereimplemented. Given thatthe Bank is moving towardprogrammatic lending, itneeds to focus proactivelyon strengthening in-countryinstitutions if its assistance

is to be sustainable. Before and since Beijing,most borrowers have, at the behest of U.N.agencies, formulated national policies andaction plans for gender equality and theadvancement of women, consistent with theprinciples of the Beijing Platform for Women.The Bank should strengthen country institu-tions to support the implementation of thesepolicies and action plans. In countries wheresuch policies and plans are weak, support forstrengthening them (through country dialogueand nonlending services) should be a Bankpriority.

Improving Project-Level ResultsAt the project level, the evaluation finds atendency for results to be superior whengender considerations are integrated into thedesign and implementation of assistance,

especially when such projects are based onsound gender analysis.3 Evidence is clear thatwhen gender issues are meaningfullyintegrated into the design of a project—partic-ularly by involving key country stakeholders,both male and female, in its design andimplementation—the adverse effects are morelikely to be mitigated and the results likely tobe better. The Gambia WID project provides astrong case in point on how this can beachieved, and the Côte d’Ivoire WID projectprovides the counterfactual (see Annex E). Incountries like Zambia, when women partici-pated in designing and implementing thesubproject under the social fund, they hadgreater access to benefits.

It is particularly important to integrate gen-der into Bank-supported projects in countrieswhere gender disparities are greater. In countrieswith greater participation of girls in education,gender-blindness did not restrict access of girlsor women to the social sectors. Even in thesecases, however, failure to address gender and eco-nomic issues resulted in women not benefitingequally or equitably. This confirms the need tointegrate gender into project design. In Polandand Vietnam, which were exceptions, better re-sults for women resulted from enhanced genderequality and the fact that gender-aware localagencies intervened in many cases to enhance theimpact of the intervention. In Vietnam, goodpoverty targeting also made a difference.

6 0


Actions taken by implementing agencies in Poland helped to re-duce the potentially adverse impact on women. Traditionalwomen’s jobs were eliminated under a Bank-financed gender-blind project. Telecommunications POLSKA retrained all femaleemployees for other positions in the company. In 1992, womenheld 49 percent of positions, whereas in 1999 they held 45 per-cent of the jobs. Some preferred retrenchment packages. Re-structuring in the mining sector eliminated many underground(all men) and surface workers’ jobs (mostly women). Compen-sation packages were higher for underground workers, although

the surface workers’ package was the same for both men andwomen, who were also offered training programs. In helpinghouseholds select the appropriate compensation package, min-ers’ wives received information on the options and were en-couraged to participate in making decisions. They were alsoprovided with information on other support for women under gov-ernment packages. A study indicates that although the maleminers received the compensation, they used 80 percent of it forproductive purposes. Less than 10 percent was spent on con-sumer items.

I m p l e m e n t i n g A g e n c i e s C a n S a v e t h e S i t u a t i o n

B o x 7 . 2

This evaluation alsosuggests that the Bankcan obtain the biggest

returns for its effortswhen it can assist in

creating or transformingdevelopment institutions

in the borrowingcountry.

Systematic monitoring of the results ofBank-supported projects is critical to increaseefficacy as well as to facilitate organizationallearning and effective policy implementation.This weakness exists both at the country andproject levels and must be addressed.

There is some evidence to support thehypothesis that projects with partnershipshave generated better results (see box 7.1).The evaluation independently selected goodpractice projects that had generated substan-tial positive results for women; that is, theBangladesh Health and Education Projects, SriLanka Community Water Supply Project, andThe Gambia Women in Development Project.All four projects had significant partnerships.The sample is small, but the Good Practiceswere identified from a total of 180 projects.

Operationalizing the Gender PolicyProgress notwithstanding, the Bank can main-stream gender more effectively by paying at-tention to gender issues in a more systematic andinclusive way. This can be accomplished withinthe context of the Bank’s poverty-reductionmandate, by making interventions more re-sponsive and more strategic to country genderconditions and commitments, and by betteraligning policies, processes, and resources withthem. This evaluation found that staff are largelyunaware of the Bank’s gender policy, that thereis no consensus on its scope or other elements,and that the Bank has not made adequate im-plementation arrangements or established ac-countabilities for policy implementation. Theevaluation also found that there are no effec-tive systems with which to monitor and evalu-ate progress achieved in policy implementationand effectiveness.

The Bank should clarify the rationale, in-tent, and scope of its gender policy. The GADBoard should monitor the conversion of OMS2.20 and ensure that provisions for screeningprojects for their impact on women are revisedand included in the new operational policy onsocial assessments. Management should requirestaff to integrate gender considerations into theimplementation of existing social and environ-mental safeguard policies. Consensus building

and client consultation shouldbecome an integral part of policyformulation. The Gender SectorBoard (GSB) should be providedthe authority required to ensurethat all networks and familiestake steps to mainstream genderas appropriate. Each Regionshould establish gender actionplans for the next 36 months,and propose time-bound resultsindicators.

OED conducted a survey to understand theperceptions of Bank staff on the integration ofgender considerations into Bank assistance (seeAnnex D). About 30 percent (399) of thosewho received the survey responded. Although72 percent of respondents surveyed had heardof OP 4.20 and 53 percent of OMS 2.20, only42 percent and 24 percent, respectively, hadread them. Ten percent were not aware of thepolicy. Three percent felt it was a feministcause. Fifty-two percent felt they integrategender into their work regularly, while 20percent said that gender is not relevant for theirwork. Importantly, 52 percent of respondentssaid they needed additional resources, while 32percent said they also needed training andbetter guidelines to integrate gender considera-tions into their work. The survey indicated theneed for a more visible gender policy within theBank, for greater staff support to implementthe gender policy more effectively (see AnnexD), and for demonstrable commitment togender in the form of resources and training ofstaff and managers.

The decentralization of responsibility forgender integration must come only after therequisite capacity building has occurred. Thereis, for example, some indication that gender in-tegration dropped in South Asia and Africa Re-gions when institutional responsibilities forgender integration were decentralized fromself-standing units to operational task teams;lack of requisite capacity at the operationallevel meant a loss of momentum.

Additionally, it would be helpful for theBank to ensure that all its interventions take ap-propriate account of gender considerations.

C O N C L U S I O N S

6 1

It is particularlyimportant tointegrate genderinto Bank-supportedprojects in countrieswhere genderdisparities aregreater.

Gender assessments at the country level shouldbe required as a basis for integrating gender intocountry programming and should become thenorm rather than the exception. Individualcountry programs should make selective use oflending and nonlending instruments reflectingthe intensity of borrower ownership and anexplicit division of labor with other partners.

It would be useful if all PCD/PADs included asection that (i) explains whether gender issueswere considered and addressed, and if not, whynot; (ii) identifies the indicators that will beused to monitor the gender-disaggregated im-pact of the operation; and (iii) establishes asystem through which these indicators will bemonitored.

6 2


M e s s a g e s f r o m R e g i o n a l G e n d e r W o r k s h o p s B o x 7 . 3

On Approaches: • “Do not see us as powerless and vulnerable victims. Em-

power us (women) with resources, human capital, and assets.We will change our gender relationships.” (Africa Work-shop, May 2000)

• “Why are individuals the unit of analysis? The family shouldbe the unit for analysis, and the policy should aim to ensureequitable resource allocations within a strong family unit….”(Former Prime Minister, The Honorable Hanna Suchocka ofPoland, Keynote Address, ECA Workshop in Warsaw, Jan-uary 2001)

On Bank Performance: • “For more than 25 years, the Bank has been discussing gen-

der, poverty, and agriculture issues. When will it stop talk-ing and address issues of inequitable access to assets,

resources, and services in agriculture?” (Africa Workshop Par-ticipants, May 2000)

• “The Bank has ignored gender issues in East Asian countriesbecause there is no typical gender disparity in education en-rollments. If this is the Bank’s entry point for addressing gen-der issues, it is irrelevant for East Asia and needs to be changed.”(East Asian Gender Workshop Participants, December 1999)

• “The multilateral agencies, and particularly the World Bank,came late into the area of gender. The bilateral and UNagencies were here before.” (Latin America and CaribbeanGender Workshop Participants, October 2000)

• “When will the Bank recognize the adverse impact of transi-tion on women?” (ECA Workshop Participants, January 2001)

• “We are grateful that the Bank has finally contacted us—theagency for dealing with gender issues since 1985 in thiscountry.” (ECA/LAC/Afr/EA Workshops)

6 3

ANNEX A: OPERATIONAL POLICY 4.20: GENDER ANDDEVELOPMENT

Note: OP/BP 4.20 (2003) draws on Integrating Gender into the World Bank’s Work: AStrategy for Action, January 2002. It replaces the section of OMS 2.20, Project Appraisal,relating to gender as part of the sociological aspects of appraisal (especially paragraph 62),dated January 1988; OP 4.20, The Gender Dimension of Development, dated October 1999;and the Operational Memorandum Clarification of Current Bank Policy on Gender andDevelopment, December 11, 2001. Questions may be addressed to the Director, Genderand Development (PRMGE).

1. The objective of the Bank’s1 gender and de-velopment policy is to assist member countriesto reduce poverty and enhance economicgrowth, human well-being, and developmenteffectiveness by addressing the gender dis-parities and inequalities that are barriers to de-velopment, and by assisting member countriesin formulating and implementing their genderand development goals.

2. To this end, the Bank periodically assessesthe gender dimensions of development withinand across sectors in the countries in whichit has an active assistance program. This gen-der assessment2 informs the Bank’s policy di-alogue with the member country.

3. The Bank’s Country Assistance Strategy (CAS)3

draws on and discusses the findings of the gen-der assessment.

4. In sectors and thematic areas where the CAShas identified the need for gender-responsiveinterventions, the Bank’s assistance to thecountry incorporates measures designed toaddress this need. Projects in these sectorsand thematic areas are designed to adequatelytake into account the gender implications ofthe project.

5. The Bank regularly monitors the implemen-tation of this policy.

6 5

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6 6


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7011

8.97

121.

6712

0.30

114.

3011

5.17

112.

1210

2.70

103.

6099

.90

–11

1.40

Scho

ol e

nrol

lmen

t, pr

imar

y, m

ale

(% g

ross

) M

119.

9612

0.60

122.

1712

8.80

117.

2011

2.70

110.

7210

5.50

108.

4510

5.90

–11

5.50

Prim

ary

scho

ol e

nrol

lmen

t rat

io, f

emal

e to

mal

eG

0.98

0.99

1.00

0.93

0.98

1.02

1.01

0.97

0.96

0.94

–0.

96Sc

hool

enr

ollm

ent,

seco

ndar

y, fe

mal

e (%

gro

ss)

F56

.22

59.1

051

.47

–10

8.20

103.

6396

.16

83.0

039

.70

39.4

033

.44

46.0

0Sc

hool

enr

ollm

ent,

seco

ndar

y, m

ale

(% g

ross

) M

55.2

456

.80

50.8

0–

111.

7010

6.57

92.5

274

.60

44.3

042

.54

35.0

048

.00

Seco

ndar

y sc

hool

enr

ollm

ent r

atio

, fem

ale

to m

ale

G1.

021.

041.

01–

0.97

0.97

1.04

1.11

0.90

0.93

0.96

0.96

Prim

ary

educ

atio

n, te

ache

rs (%

fem

ale)

F

64.9

865

.30

66.6

467

.65

88.1

881

.09

81.3

783

.26

68.1

570

.33

–77

.41

Seco

ndar

y ed

ucat

ion,

teac

hers

(% fe

mal

e)

F38

.87

41.0

4–

––

––

––

––

–H

ealth

Ferti

lity

rate

, tot

al (b

irths

per

wom

an)

F4.

845.

193.

622.

984.

074.

023.

482.

974.

773.

883.

432.

47Bi

rths

atte

nded

by

heal

th s

taff

(% o

f tot

al)

F51

.50

49.2

564

.00

64.0

0–

––

98.0

090

.00

90.0

087

.00

79.0

0Un

der 5

mor

talit

y ra

tio (p

er 1

,000

live

birt

hs)

N10

1.00

70.0

051

.00

38.0

0–

46.9

041

.66

40.1

810

5.00

–52

.00

43.5

0Li

fe e

xpec

tanc

y at

birt

h, fe

mal

e (y

ears

) F

65.9

254

.41

71.0

272

.93

70.1

070

.31

71.9

871

.00

65.5

667

.94

69.1

070

.72

Life

exp

ecta

ncy

at b

irth,

mal

e (y

ears

) M

61.9

452

.38

66.0

667

.81

61.1

062

.45

63.5

062

.35

61.7

863

.76

64.6

965

.94

Life

exp

ecta

ncy

at b

irth

ratio

, fem

ale

to m

ale

G1.

061.

041.

081.

081.

151.

131.

131.

141.

061.

071.

071.

07Ec

onom

icAr

able

land

(hec

tare

s pe

r per

son)

N

0.19

0.17

0.15

0.13

––

0.29

0.29

0.11

0.09

0.08

0.08

Fore

st a

rea

as p

erce

nt o

f tot

al la

nd a

rea

N–

–44

.00

40.0

0–

–4.

004.

00–

–30

.00

28.0

0Em

ploy

ees,

agr

icul

ture

, fem

ale

(% e

cono

mic

ally

act

ive

popu

latio

n) F

21.9

0–

1.68

1.93

32.9

0–

–48

.50

75.3

0–

73.1

071

.10

Empl

oyee

s, a

gric

ultu

re, m

ale

(% e

cono

mic

ally

act

ive

popu

latio

n) M

44.3

0–

10.2

89.

3734

.50

––

47.6

071

.20

–69

.50

70.2

0Ra

tio o

f fem

ale

to m

ale

empl

oyee

s, a

gric

ultu

reG

0.49

–0.

160.

210.

95–

–1.

021.

06–

1.05

1.01

(% e

cono

mic

ally

act

ive

popu

latio

n)

Empl

oyee

s, in

dust

ry, f

emal

e (%

eco

nom

ical

ly a

ctiv

e po

pula

tion)

F

15.4

0–

17.9

814

.73

23.4

0–

–7.

2010

.00

–10

.80

8.60

Empl

oyee

s, in

dust

ry, m

ale

(%ec

onom

ical

ly a

ctiv

e po

pula

tion)

M

21.4

0–

28.9

026

.40

33.7

0–

–12

.30

16.2

0–

17.1

012

.30

Ratio

of f

emal

e to

mal

e em

ploy

ees,

indu

stry

(% e

cono

mic

ally

act

ive

popu

latio

n)

G0.

72–

0.62

0.56

0.69

––

0.59

0.62

–0.

630.

70Em

ploy

ees,

ser

vice

s, fe

mal

e (%

eco

nom

ical

ly a

ctiv

e po

pula

tion)

F

62.7

0–

80.3

483

.33

43.8

0–

–38

.10

14.7

0–

16.0

020

.20

Empl

oyee

s, s

ervi

ces,

mal

e (%

eco

nom

ical

ly a

ctiv

e po

pula

tion)

M

34.2

0–

60.7

864

.20

31.8

0–

–31

.40

12.6

0–

13.4

017

.50

Ratio

of f

emal

e to

mal

e em

ploy

ees,

ser

vice

sG

1.83

–1.

321.

301.

38–

–1.

211.

17–

1.19

1.15

(% e

cono

mic

ally

act

ive

popu

latio

n)

Safe

wat

er (%

of p

opul

atio

n w

ith a

cces

s)

N–

58.0

070

.00

––

–80

.50

––

–36

.00

–Sa

fe w

ater

, rur

al (%

of r

ural

pop

ulat

ion

with

acc

ess)

N

–35

.00

55.0

0–

––

42.4

0–

––

32.0

0–

Safe

wat

er, u

rban

(% o

f urb

an p

opul

atio

n w

ith a

cces

s)

N–

79.0

082

.00

––

–93

.40

––

–53

.00

–Sa

nita

tion

(% o

f pop

ulat

ion

with

acc

ess)

N

–57

.00

64.0

0–

––

––

–21

.00

––

Illite

racy

rate

, adu

lt fe

mal

e (%

of f

emal

es 1

5+)

F20

.38

16.9

214

.12

11.9

3–

––

–17

.76

14.6

212

.12

10.0

5Ill

itera

cy ra

te, a

dult

mal

e (%

of m

ales

15+

) M

13.7

211

.34

9.40

7.95

––

––

6.44

5.82

5.30

4.85

Illite

racy

rate

, rat

io fe

mal

e to

mal

e (a

ge 1

5+)

G1.

491.

491.

501.

50–

––

–2.

762.

512.

292.

07Ru

ral r

oads

per

cap

ita (k

m)

N–

––

––

––

––

––

–In

stitu

tiona

lSi

gned

CED

AW (N

, Y, Y

w/r

es)

Yes

Yes

Yes

Nat

iona

l mac

hine

ry to

impl

emen

t pol

icy

Yes

Yes

Yes

A N N E X B

6 7

Côte

d'Iv

oire

The

Gam

bia

Hai

tiB

asel

ine

Indi

cato

rs fo

r Sam

ple

Coun

trie

s (S

ourc

e:W

DI)

1980

–84

1985

–89

1990

–94

1995

–98

1980

–84

1985

–89

1990

–94

1995

–98

1980

–84

1985

–89

1990

–94

1995

–98

G

ener

al(S

ourc

e:HD

R 19

95 &

1999

)HD

R 19

95HD

R 19

99HD

R 19

95HD

R 19

99HD

R 19

95HD

R 19

99Ge

nder

Dev

elop

men

t Ind

ex (G

DI)

G–

–0.

340.

40–

–0.

280.

38–

–0.

350.

43Ge

nder

Em

pow

erm

ent M

easu

re (G

EM)

G–

–0.

16–

––

0.32

0.24

––

0.35

–Sh

are

of s

eats

in n

atio

nal l

egis

latu

re (%

wom

en)

F–

–4.

608.

00–

–7.

802.

00–

–3.

00–

GDP

per c

apita

(PPP

$)

N1,

213.

041,

356.

511,

414.

661,

551.

771,

003.

931,

258.

311,

425.

701,

460.

521,

325.

101,

534.

141,

520.

771,

403.

82Ed

ucat

ion

Scho

ol e

nrol

lmen

t, pr

imar

y, fe

mal

e (%

gro

ss)

F61

.18

58.3

055

.70

59.4

545

.70

50.8

455

.96

67.2

077

.55

61.3

246

.40

–Sc

hool

enr

ollm

ent,

prim

ary,

mal

e (%

gro

ss)

M88

.82

82.4

877

.48

80.7

579

.70

78.5

879

.36

87.1

088

.75

66.4

049

.20

–Pr

imar

y sc

hool

enr

ollm

ent r

atio

, fem

ale

to m

ale

G0.

690.

710.

720.

740.

570.

650.

710.

770.

870.

920.

94–

Scho

ol e

nrol

lmen

t, se

cond

ary,

fem

ale

(% g

ross

) F

11.3

012

.40

15.1

015

.73

8.80

9.44

14.8

618

.80

16.2

519

.22

20.4

0–

Scho

ol e

nrol

lmen

t, se

cond

ary,

mal

e (%

gro

ss)

M26

.65

27.5

030

.34

32.4

020

.55

22.0

228

.30

30.4

017

.53

20.7

321

.40

–Se

cond

ary

scho

ol e

nrol

lmen

t rat

io, f

emal

e to

mal

eG

0.42

0.45

0.50

0.49

0.43

0.43

0.53

0.62

0.93

0.93

0.95

–Pr

imar

y ed

ucat

ion,

teac

hers

(% fe

mal

e)

F17

.66

18.6

219

.11

20.5

031

.88

32.7

730

.92

28.9

951

.08

46.4

944

.57

–Se

cond

ary

educ

atio

n, te

ache

rs (%

fem

ale)

F

––

––

25.0

523

.25

17.0

016

.74

––

––

Hea

lthFe

rtilit

y ra

te, t

otal

(birt

hs p

er w

oman

) F

7.41

6.90

5.94

5.04

6.50

6.20

5.95

5.64

5.80

5.60

4.94

4.32

Birth

s at

tend

ed b

y he

alth

sta

ff (%

of t

otal

) F

13.0

040

.00

45.0

045

.00

41.0

054

.00

–44

.00

27.0

033

.33

–20

.50

Unde

r 5 m

orta

lity

ratio

(per

1,0

00 li

ve b

irths

)N

––

150.

0016

2.00

––

127.

00–

––

131.

0012

0.50

Life

exp

ecta

ncy

at b

irth,

fem

ale

(yea

rs)

F52

.00

52.5

050

.66

47.0

042

.60

49.0

052

.20

55.0

052

.80

54.2

055

.24

56.1

0Li

fe e

xpec

tanc

y at

birt

h, m

ale

(yea

rs)

M48

.40

49.5

048

.22

45.8

539

.40

45.1

047

.98

51.4

449

.90

51.0

051

.40

51.3

3Li

fe e

xpec

tanc

y at

birt

h ra

tio, f

emal

e to

mal

eG

1.07

1.06

1.05

1.03

1.08

1.09

1.09

1.07

1.06

1.06

1.07

1.09

Econ

omic

Arab

le la

nd (h

ecta

res

per p

erso

n)

N0.

230.

230.

210.

210.

260.

220.

170.

160.

100.

090.

080.

08Fo

rest

are

a as

per

cent

of t

otal

land

are

aN

––

18.0

017

.00

––

10.0

09.

00–

–1.

000.

00Em

ploy

ees,

agric

ultu

re, f

emal

e (%

eco

nom

ically

act

ive p

opul

atio

n) F

––

72.0

0–

––

91.8

0–

53.1

049

.60

––

Empl

oyee

s, a

gric

ultu

re, m

ale

(% e

cono

mic

ally

act

ive

popu

latio

n) M

––

54.2

0–

––

74.0

0–

81.3

076

.10

––

Ratio

of f

emal

e to

mal

e em

ploy

ees,

agr

icul

ture

G–

–1.

33–

––

1.24

–0.

650.

65–

–(%

eco

nom

ical

ly a

ctiv

e po

pula

tion)

Em

ploy

ees,

indu

stry

, fem

ale

(% e

cono

mic

ally

act

ive

popu

latio

n)

F–

–5.

60–

––

2.40

–7.

909.

30–

–Em

ploy

ees,

indu

stry

, mal

e (%

eco

nom

ical

ly a

ctiv

e po

pula

tion)

M

––

11.5

0–

––

11.6

0–

8.20

8.60

––

Ratio

of f

emal

e to

mal

e em

ploy

ees,

indu

stry

G–

–0.

49–

––

0.21

–0.

961.

08–

–(%

eco

nom

ical

ly a

ctiv

e po

pula

tion)

Em

ploy

ees,

ser

vice

s, fe

mal

e (%

eco

nom

ical

ly a

ctiv

e po

pula

tion)

F

––

22.4

0–

––

5.80

–39

.00

37.8

0–

–Em

ploy

ees,

ser

vice

s, m

ale

(% e

cono

mic

ally

act

ive

popu

latio

n)

M–

–34

.40

––

–14

.30

–10

.50

12.9

0–

–Ra

tio o

f fem

ale

to m

ale

empl

oyee

s, s

ervi

ces

G–

–0.

65–

––

0.41

–3.

712.

93–

–(%

eco

nom

ical

ly a

ctiv

e po

pula

tion)

Sa

fe w

ater

(% o

f pop

ulat

ion

with

acc

ess)

N

20.0

0–

72.0

0–

41.6

045

.00

70.0

0–

––

28.0

0–

Safe

wat

er, r

ural

(% o

f rur

al p

opul

atio

n w

ith a

cces

s)

N10

.00

–81

.00

–27

.00

33.0

056

.00

––

–23

.00

–Sa

fe w

ater

, urb

an (%

of u

rban

pop

ulat

ion

with

acc

ess)

N

30.0

0–

59.0

0–

100.

0010

0.00

92.0

0–

––

37.0

0–

Sani

tatio

n (%

of p

opul

atio

n w

ith a

cces

s)

N17

.10

50.0

054

.00

––

–37

.00

––

20.5

024

.00

–Ill

itera

cy ra

te, a

dult

fem

ale

(% o

f fem

ales

15+

) F

84.7

380

.20

73.3

466

.65

87.1

783

.36

78.3

274

.07

70.2

865

.96

60.8

656

.00

Illite

racy

rate

, adu

lt m

ale

(% o

f mal

es 1

5+)

M63

.93

59.7

253

.92

48.8

276

.58

71.7

065

.54

59.9

763

.65

59.9

055

.48

51.3

3Ill

itera

cy ra

te, r

atio

fem

ale

to m

ale

(age

15+

)G

1.33

1.34

1.36

1.37

1.14

1.16

1.19

1.24

1.10

1.10

1.10

1.09

Rura

l roa

ds p

er c

apita

(km

)N

Inst

itutio

nal

Sign

ed C

EDAW

(N, Y

, Y w

/res

) Ye

sYe

sYe

sN

atio

nal m

achi

nery

to im

plem

ent p

olic

yYe

sYe

sN

/ACo

ntin

ued

on fo

llow

ing

page

6 8


Phili

ppin

esPo

land

Sri L

anka

Bas

elin

e In

dica

tors

for S

ampl

e Co

untr

ies

(Sou

rce:

WD

I)19

80–8

419

85–8

919

90–9

419

95–9

819

80–8

4 19

85–8

9 19

90–9

4 19

95–9

819

80–8

4 19

85–8

9 19

90–9

4 19

95–9

8 G

ener

al(S

ourc

e: H

DR 1

995

&19

99)

HDR

1995

HDR

1999

HDR

1995

HDR

1999

HDR

1995

HDR

1999

Gend

er D

evel

opm

ent I

ndex

(GDI

)G

––

0.63

0.74

––

0.84

0.80

––

0.66

0.71

Gend

er E

mpo

wer

men

t Mea

sure

(GEM

)G

––

0.44

0.48

––

0.43

0.50

––

0.29

0.32

Shar

e of

sea

ts in

nat

iona

l leg

isla

ture

(% w

omen

)F

––

11.2

012

.90

––

13.0

012

.90

––

4.90

5.30

GDP

per c

apita

(PPP

$)

N2,

413.

832,

650.

713,

176.

283,

613.

82–

––

7,16

5.04

1,18

8.08

1,68

7.34

2,25

8.14

2,87

3.97

Educ

atio

nSc

hool

enr

ollm

ent,

prim

ary,

fem

ale

(% g

ross

) F

108.

1010

8.72

109.

5011

3.10

100.

0399

.66

97.6

495

.50

102.

2310

3.34

106.

6611

0.25

Scho

ol e

nrol

lmen

t, pr

imar

y, m

ale

(% g

ross

) M

110.

2511

0.92

110.

8511

5.10

101.

3310

0.76

99.2

697

.30

105.

7010

5.72

108.

9011

2.50

Prim

ary

scho

ol e

nrol

lmen

t rat

io, f

emal

e to

mal

eG

0.98

0.98

0.99

0.98

––

––

0.97

0.98

0.98

0.98

Scho

ol e

nrol

lmen

t, se

cond

ary,

fem

ale

(% g

ross

) F

67.6

568

.16

75.8

677

.85

79.4

082

.36

90.9

297

.40

61.6

371

.90

77.7

478

.30

Scho

ol e

nrol

lmen

t, se

cond

ary,

mal

e (%

gro

ss)

M64

.10

69.2

276

.12

77.0

073

.75

77.8

688

.24

97.8

055

.05

65.4

470

.80

71.5

0Se

cond

ary

scho

ol e

nrol

lmen

t rat

io, f

emal

e to

mal

eG

1.06

0.98

1.00

1.01

1.08

1.06

1.03

1.00

1.12

1.10

1.10

1.10

Prim

ary

educ

atio

n, te

ache

rs (%

fem

ale)

F

88.4

1–

––

––

––

––

80.9

889

.50

Seco

ndar

y ed

ucat

ion,

teac

hers

(% fe

mal

e)

F95

.07

––

––

––

––

–61

.95

62.0

1H

ealth

Ferti

lity

rate

, tot

al (b

irths

per

wom

an)

F4.

744.

304.

063.

652.

342.

181.

931.

523.

252.

602.

502.

15Bi

rths

atte

nded

by

heal

th s

taff

(% o

f tot

al)

F57

.00

81.6

776

.10

53.0

0–

98.8

5–

98.0

087

.00

90.4

594

.00

–Un

der 5

mor

talit

y ra

tio (p

er 1

,000

live

birt

hs)

N–

72.0

062

.00

44.3

3–

21.8

019

.48

13.1

8–

–23

.00

18.5

0Li

fe e

xpec

tanc

y at

birt

h, fe

mal

e (y

ears

) F

63.7

065

.90

67.7

470

.35

75.1

575

.25

75.7

276

.83

71.5

073

.00

73.9

675

.48

Life

exp

ecta

ncy

at b

irth,

mal

e (y

ears

) M

60.2

062

.20

64.0

466

.64

67.0

266

.82

66.8

468

.27

67.0

068

.50

69.4

671

.01

Life

exp

ecta

ncy

at b

irth

ratio

, fem

ale

to m

ale

G1.

061.

061.

061.

061.

121.

131.

131.

131.

071.

071.

061.

06Ec

onom

icAr

able

land

(hec

tare

s pe

r per

son)

N

0.09

0.08

0.07

0.07

0.40

0.38

0.37

0.37

0.05

0.05

0.05

0.05

Fore

st a

rea

as p

erce

nt o

f tot

al la

nd a

rea

N–

–27

.00

23.0

0–

–28

.00

29.0

0–

–29

.00

28.0

0Em

ploy

ees,

agr

icul

ture

, fem

ale

(% e

cono

mic

ally

act

ive

popu

latio

n) F

––

31.2

629

.93

––

24.9

021

.60

51.0

0–

44.5

540

.85

Empl

oyee

s, a

gric

ultu

re, m

ale

(% e

cono

mic

ally

act

ive

popu

latio

n) M

––

53.3

249

.23

––

24.6

521

.87

44.2

0–

38.8

534

.15

Ratio

of f

emal

e to

mal

e em

ploy

ees,

agr

icul

ture

G–

––

––

–1.

010.

991.

15–

1.15

1.20

(% e

cono

mic

ally

act

ive

popu

latio

n)

Empl

oyee

s, in

dust

ry, f

emal

e (%

eco

nom

ical

ly a

ctiv

e po

pula

tion)

F

––

13.4

212

.80

––

20.9

520

.67

17.5

0–

24.0

026

.45

Empl

oyee

s, in

dust

ry, m

ale

(% e

cono

mic

ally

activ

e po

pula

tion)

M

––

16.9

618

.40

––

40.9

041

.03

18.9

0–

17.9

021

.25

Ratio

of f

emal

e to

mal

e em

ploy

ees,

indu

stry

G–

––

––

–0.

510.

500.

93–

1.34

1.24

(% e

cono

mic

ally

act

ive

popu

latio

n)

Empl

oyee

s, s

ervi

ces,

fem

ale

(% e

cono

mic

ally

act

ive

popu

latio

n)

F–

–55

.28

57.2

3–

–54

.20

57.7

027

.60

–29

.25

30.8

0Em

ploy

ees,

ser

vice

s, m

ale

(% e

cono

mic

ally

act

ive

popu

latio

n)

M–

–29

.62

32.3

3–

–34

.80

37.0

729

.90

–38

.45

38.6

5Ra

tio o

f fem

ale

to m

ale

empl

oyee

s, s

ervi

ces

G–

–1.

871.

77–

–1.

561.

560.

92–

0.76

0.80

(% e

cono

mic

ally

act

ive

popu

latio

n)

Safe

wat

er (%

of p

opul

atio

n w

ith a

cces

s)

N–

68.7

081

.35

83.0

0–

81.8

0–

––

37.0

046

.00

–Sa

fe w

ater

, rur

al (%

of r

ural

pop

ulat

ion

with

acc

ess)

N

–67

.70

77.0

081

.00

–73

.00

––

–76

.00

43.0

0–

Sani

tatio

n (%

of p

opul

atio

n w

ith a

cces

s)

N–

63.3

577

.00

77.0

0–

–10

0.00

––

–52

.00

–Ill

itera

cy ra

te, a

dult

fem

ale

(% o

f fem

ales

15+

) F

10.8

39.

107.

325.

830.

950.

640.

420.

3319

.05

16.7

214

.38

12.3

8Ill

itera

cy ra

te, a

dult

mal

e (%

of m

ales

15+

) M

9.10

7.78

6.44

5.27

0.55

0.42

0.32

0.30

8.50

7.66

6.82

6.10

Illite

racy

rate

, rat

io fe

mal

e to

mal

e (a

ge 1

5+)

G1.

191.

171.

141.

101.

731.

521.

311.

082.

242.

182.

112.

03Ru

ral r

oads

per

cap

ita (k

m)

N–

––

––

––

––

––

–In

stitu

tiona

lSi

gned

CED

AW (N

, Y, Y

w/r

es)

Yes

Yes

Yes

Nat

iona

l mac

hine

ry to

impl

emen

t pol

icy

Yes

Yes

Yes

Note

:F =

fem

ale;

M =

mal

e; G

= g

ende

r; N

= n

eutra

l; PP

P =

purc

hasi

ng p

ower

par

ity. A

ll da

ta in

eac

h pe

riod

is a

n av

erag

e of

the

data

ava

ilabl

e fo

r tho

se y

ears

.

6 9

ANNEX C: PROJECTS REVIEWED FOR PHASE II EVALUATION

Lending OED’sinstrument WID rating

Country Sector Project description type rating1 of SARBangladesh Agriculture BWDB Systems Rehabilitation Investment 2 1Bangladesh Agriculture Tubewell and Low-Lift Pump Investment 2 1Bangladesh Agriculture Fourth Flood Control and Investment N/R 0

DrainageBangladesh Agriculture Second Small Scale Flood Investment 0 0

ControlBangladesh Agriculture Agricultural Support Services Investment 2 2Bangladesh Agriculture Third Fisheries Investment 2 2Bangladesh Agriculture National Minor Irrigation Investment 2 1

DevelopmentBangladesh Economic Policy Sixth Technical Assistance Investment 0 0Bangladesh Education General Education Investment 2 3Bangladesh Electric Power and Other Energy Industrial Energy Efficiency Investment 0 0

ProjectBangladesh Electric Power and Other Energy Power Distribution (16 Towns) Investment 0 1Bangladesh Electric Power and Other Energy Third Rural Electrification Investment 1 1Bangladesh Finance Private Sector Industrial Credit Investment 0 0Bangladesh Oil and Gas Liquefied Petroleum Gas Investment 2 2

TransportBangladesh Population, Health and Nutrition Fourth Population and Health Investment 2 3Bangladesh Transportation Jamuna Bridge Investment 0 0Bangladesh Transportation Road Rehabilitation and Investment N/R 0

MaintenanceBangladesh Transportation Rural Roads and Markets Investment 1 1

ImprovementBangladesh Transportation Third Flood Rehabilitation Investment 0 0

(Emergency)Bangladesh Urban Development Urban Development Investment 0 0Bangladesh Industry Jute Sector Adjustment Adjustment 0 0Bangladesh Multisector Public Resource Management Adjustment 2 1Bangladesh Multisector Second Industrial Sector Credit Adjustment 0 0Côte d’Ivoire Agriculture Forestry Sector Investment 0 0Côte d’Ivoire Agriculture Women In Development Investment 2 3Côte d’Ivoire Agriculture National Agricultural Services Investment 2 2Côte d’Ivoire Education Human Resources Investment 2 1

ManagementCôte d’Ivoire Environment Abidjan Environment Investment 0 0

ProtectionCôte d’Ivoire Private Sector Development Privatization Support Investment 0 0Côte d’Ivoire Urban Development Municipal Development Investment 2 1Côte d’Ivoire Education Human Resources Adjustment 2 0

Development


Country Sector Project description type rating1 of SARCôte d’Ivoire Multisector Competitiveness and Adjustment 0 0

Regulatory ReformCôte d’Ivoire Public Sector Management Private Sector Development Adjustment 0 0Côte d’Ivoire Agriculture Agricultural Sector Adjustment 0 0

AdjustmentCôte d’Ivoire Multisector Economic Recovery Adjustment N/R 0The Gambia Agriculture Agricultural Services Investment 2 2The Gambia Education Second Education Sector Investment 2 3The Gambia Industry Enterprise Development Investment 2 2The Gambia Population, Health and Nutrition National Health Development Investment N/R 2The Gambia Social Sector Public Works and Capacity Investment 2 1

BuildingThe Gambia Social Sector Women in Development Investment 2 3The Gambia Water Supply and Sanitation Water and Electricity Investment N/R 0Haiti Agriculture Forestry and Environmental Investment 2 0

ProtectionHaiti Education Fifth Education Investment 1 1Haiti Electric Power and Other Energy Fifth Power Project Investment 0 0Haiti Multisector Emergency Economic Recovery Investment 0 0Haiti Private Sector Development Industrial Restructuring and Investment 0 0

DevelopmentHaiti Social Sector Economic and Social Fund Investment 2 2Haiti Social Sector Employment Generation Investment 2 1Haiti Transportation Seventh Transport Investment N/R 0Haiti Water Supply and Sanitation Port-Au-Prince Water Supply Investment 0 0Kyrgyz Rep. Agriculture Rural Finance Investment 0 0Kyrgyz Rep. Agriculture Sheep and Wool Improvement Investment 0 0Kyrgyz Rep. Electric Power and Other Energy Power and Distribution Heat Investment 0 0Kyrgyz Rep. Health Health Investment 1 2Kyrgyz Rep. Social Sector Social Safety Net Investment 1 1Kyrgyz Rep. Telecommunications Telecommunications Investment 0 0Kyrgyz Rep. Agriculture Agricultural Private and Adjustment 0 0

Enterprise Adjustment CreditKyrgyz Rep. Finance Financial Sector Adjustment Adjustment 0 0

CreditKyrgyz Rep. Multisector Rehabilitation Adjustment 0 0Kyrgyz Rep. Public Sector Management Privatization and Enterprise Adjustment 0 0Kyrgyz Rep. Public Sector Management Public Sector Resource Adjustment 0 0

Management AdjustmentKyrgyz Rep. Social Sector Social Sector Adjustment Adjustment 1 1Philippines Agriculture Rural Finance Investment 0 0Philippines Agriculture Small Coconut Farms Investment 0 0

DevelopmentPhilippines Agriculture Second Rural Finance Investment 2 1Philippines Agriculture Second Communal Irrigation Investment 1 1

Development

7 0



Country Sector Project description type rating1 of SARPhilippines Education Second Vocational Training Investment 2 2Philippines Education Second Elementary Education Investment 1 1Philippines Education Engineering and Science Investment 0 1

EducationPhilippines Electric Power and Other Energy Energy Sector Investment 0 0Philippines Electric Power and Other Energy Bacon-Manito Geothermal Investment 0 0

PowerPhilippines Electric Power and Other Energy Manila Power Distribution Investment 0 0Philippines Electric Power and Other Energy Leyte-Cebu Geothermal Investment 0 0Philippines Electric Power and Other Energy Rural Electrification Investment 0 0Philippines Electric Power and Other Energy Power Transmission and Investment 0 0

RehabilitationPhilippines Finance Industrial Investment Credit Investment 0 0

ProjectPhilippines Finance Cottage Enterprise Finance Investment 2 2Philippines Industry Fourth Small and Medium

Industrial Development Investment 0 0Philippines Industry Industrial Restructuring Investment 0 0Philippines Multisector Earthquake Reconstruction Investment 0 0Philippines Population, Health and Nutrition Health Development Investment 2 2Philippines Public Sector Management Tax Computerization Investment 0 0Philippines Telecommunications Telephone System Expansion Investment 0 0Philippines Transportation Second Rural Roads Investment N/R 0

ImprovementPhilippines Transportation Subic Bay Freeport Investment 0 0Philippines Urban Development Second Municipal Investment 0 0

DevelopmentPhilippines Water Supply and Sanitation Water Supply, Sewerage and Investment 2 1

SanitationPhilippines Water Supply and Sanitation Angat Water Supply Investment 0 0

OptimizationPhilippines Agriculture Environment and Natural

Resources Management Adjustment 1 1Philippines Multisector Economic Integration Adjustment 1 1Poland Agriculture Agricultural Development Investment 0 0Poland Agriculture Agroindustries Export Investment 0 0

DevelopmentPoland Agriculture Forest Development Support Investment 0 0Poland Electric Power and Other Energy Heat Supply Restructuring Investment 0 0Poland Environment Environment Management Investment 0 0Poland Finance Industrial Export Development Investment 0 0Poland Oil and Gas Energy Resource Development Investment 0 0Poland Public Sector Management Private Enterprise Investment 0 0

DevelopmentPoland Social Sector Employment Promotion Investment 2 1Poland Telecommunications Telecommunications Investment 0 0

A N N E X C

7 1


Country Sector Project description type rating1 of SARPoland Transportation First Transport Investment 0 0Poland Agriculture Agricultural Sector Adjustment 0 0

AdjustmentPoland Finance Financial Institution Adjustment 0 0

DevelopmentPoland Multisector EFSAL Adjustment 0 0Poland Multisector Debt and Debt Service Adjustment 0 0

ReductionSri Lanka Agriculture Agricultural Research Investment N/R 0Sri Lanka Agriculture Second Smallholder Rubber Investment 1 1

RehabilitationSri Lanka Agriculture Forest Sector Development Investment 0 0Sri Lanka Agriculture National Irrigation Rehab Investment 0 1Sri Lanka Agriculture Agricultural Extension 2 Investment 2 1Sri Lanka Education Vocational Training 2 Investment N/R 0Sri Lanka Education General Education Investment 1 1Sri Lanka Electric Power and Other Energy Distribution and Transmission Investment 0 0Sri Lanka Electric Power and Other Energy Power Distribution and Investment 1 0

Transmission 2Sri Lanka Finance Industrial Development 3 Investment 0 0Sri Lanka Finance Private Financial Development Investment 0 0Sri Lanka Population, Health and Nutrition Health and Family Planning Investment 2 2Sri Lanka Public Sector Management Small and Medium Investment 1 1

Industries 4Sri Lanka Social Sector Poverty Alleviation Investment 2 3Sri Lanka Telecommunications Telecommunications 2 Investment 0 0Sri Lanka Transportation Roads 3 Investment 0 0Sri Lanka Transportation Colombo Urban Transport Investment 0 0Sri Lanka Urban Development Municipal Management Investment N/R 0Sri Lanka Water Supply and Sanitation Water Supply and Sanitation Investment N/R 0

RehabilitationSri Lanka Water Supply and Sanitation Community Water Supply and Investment 2 3

SanitationSri Lanka Multisector Economic Restructuring Adjustment 2 1Sri Lanka Public Sector Management Public Manufacturing Adjustment 1 0

Enterprise AdjustmentVietnam Agriculture Agricultural Rehabilitation Investment 0 0Vietnam Agriculture Rural Finance (ended Investment 0 2

Sept 2001)Vietnam Electric Power and Other Energy Power Development Investment 1 0Vietnam Education Primary Education Investment 0 2

(ended June 2002)Vietnam Energy Power Sector Rehabilitation Investment 0 0

and ExpansionVietnam Finance Banking System Modernization Investment 0 0

7 2



Country Sector Project description type rating1 of SARVietnam Health National Health Support Investment 2 3

(ended September 2003)Vietnam Health Population and Family Health Investment 2 3

(ended June 2003)Vietnam Multisector Structural Adjustment Adjustment 0 0Vietnam Finance Debt and Debt Service Adjustment 0 0

ReductionYemen, Rep Agriculture South Regional Agricultural Investment N/R 3

DevelopmentYemen, Rep Agriculture Northern Regional Agricultural Investment 2 2

DevelopmentYemen, Rep Agriculture Tihama Regional Agricultural Investment N/R 2

Development 5Yemen, Rep Agriculture Eastern Region Agricultural Investment 2 1

DevelopmentYemen, Rep Agriculture Wadi Hadramawt Agricultural Investment 0 1

Development 3Yemen, Rep Agriculture Fisheries Development 4 Investment 2 3Yemen, Rep Infrastructure and Urban Emergency Flood Investment 0 0

Development ReconstructionYemen, Rep Education Teacher Training Investment N/R 3Yemen, Rep Electric Power and Other Energy Power 3 Investment 0 0Yemen, Rep Population, Health and Nutrition Health Sector Development Investment 2 2Yemen, Rep Social Protection Emergency Recovery Investment 2 1Yemen, Rep Population, Health and Nutrition Health Development 2 Investment 2 2Yemen, Rep Urban Development Taiz Flood Disaster Prevention Investment 0 0Yemen, Rep Water Supply and Sanitation Greater Aden Water Supply 2 Investment N/R 0Yemen, Rep Water Supply and Sanitation Tarim Water Supply Investment 0 0Yemen, Rep Water Supply and Sanitation Al Mukalla Water Supply Investment 0 1Yemen, Rep Multisector Economic Recovery Adjustment 0 0Zambia Agriculture Agricultural Research and Investment N/R 1

ExtensionZambia Agriculture Coffee 2 Investment N/R 1Zambia Agriculture Agricultural Marketing and Investment 2 2

ProcessingZambia Education Education Rehabilitation Investment 2 3Zambia Mining Mining Technical Assistance Investment 0 0Zambia Public Sector Management Technical Assistance 2 Investment N/R 0Zambia Public Sector Management Privatization and Industrial Investment 0 0

Reform TA (PIRC)Zambia Social Sector Social Recovery Investment 2 2Zambia Transportation Transport Engineering and Investment 0 0

Technical Assistance (TETAP)Zambia Finance Privatization and Industrial Adjustment 0 0

Reform 2

A N N E X C

7 3


Country Sector Project description type rating1 of SARZambia Industry Privatization and Industrial Adjustment 2 1

ReformZambia Multisector Economic and Social Adjustment 2 1

AdjustmentZambia Multisector Economic and Social Adjustment 0 0

Adjustment 2Zambia Public Sector Management Economic Recovery and Adjustment 0 0

Investment

180 projects totalNote: Starting in 1988, a systematic Women in Development (WID) rating system was instituted for all World Bank projects. The rating system is based onappraisal documents, and the rating process is carried out and maintained by the Poverty Reduction and Economic Management (PREM) network. Three pos-sible ratings exist under this system:

0 = projects with no attention to WID/gender1 = projects with some discussion of WID/gender issues but with no specific action to address them2 = projects with concrete, specific activities addressing WID/gender-related issuesN/R = not rated.

OED’s evaluation of project appraisal documents used a rating system that ranges from 0 to 3. The rating is the average of the ratings of three questions: (a)Does the appraisal document display an understanding of gender issues/disparities? (b) Does the appraisal document include specific interventions or compo-nents to assist women? (c) Does the appraisal document display an understanding of how the project will impact women? Answers to these questions were putinto the following ratings:

0 = no reference

1 = poor

2 = satisfactory

3 = highly satisfactory.

7 4


7 5

ANNEX D: RESULTS OF STAFF SURVEY

The Operations Evaluation Department(OED) administered, via e-mail, a survey tonon-administrative Bank staff, including fieldpersonnel, in December 2000.1 OED received391 completed surveys. Of the respondents,40 percent were women. This response rate isslightly higher than the overall percentage offemale high-level staff members in the Bank.According to World Bank December figures,women occupy 33 percent of positions with agrade of F or higher. A summary of theresponses follows:

“Are you aware that the Bank has a gender policy?”Ninety-two percent of respondents wereaware that the Bank has a policy on gender.There were no statistically significant differ-ences between men and women regardingtheir awareness of a gender policy. Years inthe Bank is positively related to awareness,meaning that the longer a staff member hasworked in the Bank, the more likely he or sheis to be aware that the Bank has a policy ongender. Task team leaders, as well asmanagers, are also more likely than other staffmembers to be aware of a Bank policy ongender.

“Have you heard of OP 4.20?”Seventy-two percent responded yes. Here,again, there were no statistically significantdifferences between men and women.Although task team leaders are more likelythan other staff members to have heard of OP4.20, managers are not.

“Have you read OP 4.20?”Forty-two percent answered yes. Again, therewere no differences based on gender. Interest-ingly, years in the Bank is also not a predictor

of whether staff members have read OP 4.20.Although managers were more likely thanother staff members to have read the policy,task team leaders are not.

“Do you address gender/WID issues in youroperational work?”Fifty-two percent answered yes, while aboutone third (31 percent) answered sometimes.One can deduce from this that some staffmembers who address gender/WID issues intheir operational work do so having neverread either OP 4.20 or OM S2.12, but havingonly heard about them. Gender of the respon-dents, as in all of the previous questions, wasnot related to the answers. Years in Bank, taskteam leaders, and managers were all positivelyrelated to addressing gender/WID issues inwork.

“If you do not integrate gender considerations in yourwork, please explain why not.”“Lack of resources” and “lack of tools” madeup 56 percent of responses. Nineteen percentanswered, “gender considerations are notrelevant because a well-designed project willtake care of these issues.” Thirteen percentanswered, “lack of time.” Ten percent werenot aware of the policy. And only three people(2 percent) answered, “this is a feminist causenot related to development effectiveness.”

“What additional assistance would you require fromthe Bank to improve your work in addressing genderissues?”Fifty-two percent answered, “additionalresources/time.” “Clearer guidelines” and“training” both received 9 percent ofresponses, while 30 percent answered “all ofthe above.”

Finally we asked respondents to choosefrom among the following objectives, indicat-ing up to three which they believe to berelevant for poverty reduction. The results are:

The survey also allowed for writtencomments from respondents. Many peopletook the time to do so. The box belowsummarizes the main points of these comments.

7 6


Objectives Frequency Percent

• Improving education for girls 366 94

• Women’s reproductive health 198 51

• Ensuring that poor women have

access to financial services 193 49

• Addressing relationship between 77 20

gender and economic infrastructure

• Violence against women 74 19

• Gender and land ownership 72 18

• Ensuring that poor women farmers have adequate

information and access to agricultural inputs 65 17

• Eliminating gender stereotyping in science

and technology 34 9

• Identifying and addressing gender issues in

private sector 28 7

W h i c h o f t h e f o l l o w i n g o b j e c t i v e s a r e r e l e v a n tf o r e f f e c t i v e p o v e r t y r e d u c t i o n ?

S u m m a r y o f S t a f f S u r v e y C o m m e n t s

• To hold senior management accountable forprogress on gender with monitoring indicators.Many managers are not convinced this is an im-portant issue. Those that do a good job on gendershould be rewarded.

• To not force the gender issue in every sector area,which would lead to a fragmentation of the Bank’swork and loss of focus. Forcing the gender issue maybuy votes in some political circles but will not im-prove the effectiveness of the Bank’s projects.

• To recognize that gender is not relevant in some sec-tors, as in the case of energy.

• To provide staff with resources to implementgender-sensitive project designs with gendermonitoring.

• To provide gender training for Bank staff and clients.

Staff need a model, a production function, thatshows the inputs needed to reduce gender-basedpoverty and what is the relative contribution ofeach input to the desired outcome.

• To stress the message that the issue of gender issimple (in an operational sense), and dealing withit is the right thing to do.

• To promote gender in local languages.• To not make gender mandatory, as with environment:

it creates resentment by staff. It leads to sterile fill-ing-in of boxes in standard documents and has verylittle impact.

• To include men gender and development (that is, ed-ucational achievement of boys; violence by menagainst men; poor men and access to financialsservices; male alcoholism, etc.).

7 7

ANNEX E: NATIONAL WID POLICIES AND ACTION PLANS IN 12 COUNTRIES

This annex summarizes the WID/genderpolicies and action plans of the 12 countries inthe evaluation. Each country, to differingdegrees, provides an entry point for address-ing gender/WID issues.

BangladeshBangladesh has had a policy for the advance-

ment of women since 1976. The Ministry ofWomen and Children Affairs serves as the focalpoint in the national machinery for theadvancement of women’s issues. Its role is tofacilitate government-wide mainstreaming of agender equality perspective in all policy areas.It advocates, coordinates, communicates, andmonitors implementation of the NationalAction Plan (NAP). The principal goals of theNAP are: to remove legal, economic, politicalor cultural barriers; to raise public awarenessabout women’s differential needs; to improvewomen’s development; and to provide fullequality of opportunity.

Côte d’IvoireIn Côte d’Ivoire, the Ministry for the

Advancement of Women was mandated withthe responsibility to provide outreach servicesto women in rural areas. Côte d’Ivoire hasseen tumultuous events of late, including acoup and cancelled elections in December2000. Côte D’Ivoire has no national popula-tion plan, and no information is available ofany government National Policy for women.However, it appears that the Ministry for theAdvancement of Women has been changed tothe Ministry of Family, Women and Children,now headed by Henriette Lagou.

EcuadorDuring the last decade, Ecuador has

witnessed a major advance in institutional andlegal reforms related to gender. The firstNational Office for Women was established in1970 but it was only during the 1980s that thisoffice evolved into an independent body. InOctober 1997, the government created theNational Council for Women (CONAMU) andplaced it directly under the responsibility of thepresidency. The objective of CONAMU hasbeen to institutionalize public sector policiesfor women’s development and gender equityand to promote women’s participation in thedevelopment process. CONAMU has a strongrelationship with Ecuadoran civil society.Under its current structure, CONAMU enjoysa certain level of budgetary and administrativeautonomy. One of CONAMU’s main achieve-ments is SIMUJER, a gender-disaggregateddatabase, which compiles statistics fromnumerous sources in the areas of demograph-ics, health, education, violence, politicalrepresentation, and others. This database is thefirst of its kind in the region.1

The GambiaIn 1980, The Gambia government

established the National Women’s Council andthe Women’s Bureau. The goals of these institu-tions were to address women’s issues. Theirefforts led to the adoption in 1987 of a two-pronged WID strategy (1) to improve women’seconomic status, and (2) to increase women’saccess to basic social services.

HaitiIn 1994, the Haitian government

established a Ministry of Women’s Affairs topromote the full participation of women in thedevelopment process and to ensure theintegration of gender issues into all govern-ment plans and policies. The priority areas forenlisting a more active participation of womenhave been identified in a five-year plan called“Offensive 2001.” These include (i) revisionof gender-related discriminatory laws and theenactment of legal provisions to protectwomen against all forms of violence andabuse; (ii) promotion of a more gender-balanced partnership at all levels of decision-making; (iii) eradication of the burden ofpoverty on women by providing them accessto productive activities and resources; and (iv)promotion of public campaigns to raiseawareness on the condition of women.

Kyrgyz RepublicThe president of Kyrgyz Republic declared

1996 to be “the Year of the Woman” andinitiated a national program, AYALZAT, toaddress the negative aspects of the economictransition for women. AYALZAT’s objectivesare to (i) promote equal rights between menand women; (ii) address the high social costsof transition on women; (iii) provide womenwith equal access to development opportuni-ties within the emerging market economy; and(iv) provide women’s full and active participa-tion in political and social life. The presidentappointed a special State Committee onFamily and Women under his office to cooper-ate with the Deputy Prime Minister, who isresponsible for social policy. The AYALZATcommittee helps to coordinate line ministries,local governments, the nongovernmentalsector, and donors to oversee the integrationof women’s concerns throughout theirprograms and projects and to developimplementation plans.2

PhilippinesThe Philippines has a clear gender equality

policy, an established machinery for supportingits implementation, and a government regula-

tion that requires government agencies toallocate at least 5 percent of their budget forgender-mainstreaming activities. The NationalCommission on the Role of Filipino Women isthe agency in charge of monitoring theimplementation of gender policy by govern-ment agencies. It ensures the gender responsive-ness of national development plans;coordinates the preparation, assessment, andupdating of the National Plan for Women;ensures the implementation of the Plan at alllevels; undertakes advocacy to promoteeconomic, social, and political empowermentof women; and provides technical assistance inthe setting-up and strengthening of mechanismson gender mainstreaming. Furthermore, it canissue orders, circulars, and guidelines. It is alsoin charge of coordinating the various organiza-tions involved in women’s affairs.

PolandPoland has no official WID or gender

policy. However it had, until 1997, a nationalinstitution in charge of advancing women’sissues. The Government Plenipotentiary forWomen and Family was in charge of analyzingwomen’s social situation; supporting women’sorganizations; cooperating with internationalorganizations; and securing the execution ofinternational obligations as written in ratifiedconventions and documents. In 1997, theinstitution was renamed the Plenipotentiaryfor Family Affairs. Its mandate does notinclude working for the advancement ofwomen, and instead it advises governmentmainly on matters relating to families andchildren. The only group working on behalf ofwomen’s equality in the Sejm (House ofRepresentatives) is the Parliamentary Groupof Women, a voluntary caucus of Parliamen-tary members.

Sri LankaIn Sri Lanka, a state ministry for women’s

affairs was established in 1983. Provincialministries were consequently set up. In theearly 1990s, a Women’s Charter ensured statecommitment to “the full development andadvancement of women . . . on a basis of

7 8


equality with men.” A National Committeeon Women was set up to monitor progresswith regard to implementation of the Women’sCharter, to receive complaints of genderdiscrimination and other issues and problemsof women, and to help formulate strategies tosolve them. More recently the Ministryreleased a National Action Plan for Womenthat focuses on problems and issues of criticaland specific concern to women in the countryand sets out strategies and activities for resolv-ing them.

VietnamIn Vietnam, the National Committee for the

Advancement of Women (NCAW) wasestablished in 1993. The NCAW is responsiblefor recommending to the government waysand means of implementing policies related towomen, interagency coordination, andcooperation with the UN and other interna-tional organizations. Vietnam’s National Planof Action for the Advancement of Women has11 specific objectives, including: increasingwomen’s income and improving women’shealth services, education, and training.

Republic of YemenAlthough the Republic of Yemen’s constitu-

tion declares equal rights and obligations formen and women, and makes discriminationon the basis of sex illegal, the government’s

capacity to enforce such laws is weak, mostlydue to inadequacy of the administrativeapparatus. New laws introduced since Yemeniunification provide women more securityrights; yet, without effective enforcement,these are virtually ineffectual. In 1997, thegovernment adopted the Yemeni Women’sNational Strategy. Among the institutionsestablished to work on women’s issues is theWomen National Committee. Its dutiesinclude: cooperating with local, regional, andinternational organizations involved inwomen’s projects; conducting studies relatedto women; contributing to women’s legalawareness; and holding workshops andconferences. Its effectiveness is hampered,however, by lack of adequate funding; absenceof coordination at a national level; unavail-ability of data disaggregated by gender; andambiguity of its goals.

ZambiaIn Zambia, the responsibility to coordinate

and monitor WID/gender policy implementa-tion is left to the Gender and DevelopmentDepartment within the President’s Cabinet.With support from NORAD and otherdonors, the government adopted a GenderPolicy in 1999, which is unique for its concep-tual clarity, and goes beyond the BeijingPlatform for Action in focusing on the welfareof both men and women.

A N N E X E

7 9

8 1

ANNEX F: GENDER AND ADJUSTMENT IN 10 COUNTRIES

Summary of EvaluationAdjustment programs may affect poor womenand men differently. In countries with highlevels of gender disparity, women are not ableto access the benefits and opportunities ofeconomic adjustment and sometimes bear adisproportionate share of the cost. There is noconsensus among development practitionerson whether it is possible to forecast the gender-disaggregated impact of individual adjustmentprograms, given that the impact is dependenton a number of other extraneous variables inthe country. Furthermore, neither OP 4.20 northe Operational Memorandum on AdjustmentPrograms requires that individual programstake gender considerations into account.

OED, therefore, mainly asked the follow-ing questions:

• Based on a desk review, to what extenthave the results of adjustment programsbeen adverse for women?

• Did the Bank make reasonable attempts tomonitor and respond to the gender-differ-entiated results of its adjustment assistanceduring transition in a timely manner?

• Did the Bank integrate gender considera-tions into a social safety net or in other proj-ects that accompanied adjustment programsto cushion their initial costs?

This evaluation reviewed 51 adjustmentoperations that were approved during or afterfiscal 1988, as well as parallel support tosocial protection programs from 10 of theevaluation countries were reviewed.1 Theanalysis reviewed project documents, analyti-

cal work, and country assistance strategies.The evaluation concludes that the Bank didnot support effective monitoring systems thatwould have facilitated the identification ofany adverse impact on women/gender, andpermitted appropriate responses in real time.Bank assistance was also not effective in fullytaking into account gender considerationswhile preparing safety nets or other socialprotection measures.

Results of Overall Adjustment ProgramsFifty-one adjustment operations that wereapproved in or after fiscal 1988 were reviewedin this study. Most adjustment operations in thesample are themselves gender-blind. Only 10mention gender or women’s issues. Out of thefive adjustment programs in the sample thataffected social sectors directly, only two refer towomen.2 One of five agricultural adjustmentoperations states specifically that women willbenefit.3 There are similar specific references towomen’s issues in appraisal documents ofadjustment operations in Industry, PublicSector Management, Water Supply and Sanita-tion, and Multisectoral Projects, but these donot go beyond an identification of genderdisparities in selected indicators or assertionsthat women would be beneficiaries from theoperation. None of the 51 projects included ameaningful analysis of gender issues.

Existing evidence reflects that some adjust-ment programs supported by Bank loans hadadverse outcomes for the poor in general.4 Forexample, in the Kyrgyz Republic, Zambia, Côted’Ivoire, Ecuador, and the Republic of Yemen,growth rates declined/stagnated and/or poverty

increased in the 1990s.5 On the other hand, inPoland and Vietnam, the adjustment measuresachieved relative success in terms of growth.However, it is difficult to assess the gender-differentiated results of these programs. Theevaluation draws on a body of evidence bothinternal and external to the Bank to makelimited judgments based on outcomes andtrends in key indicators of well-being. Whilethese trends are not meant to indicate causality,they describe how gender disparities shiftedduring the adjustment period.

In Poland and Vietnam, given the generalsuccess of the transition measures and the lowdegree of existing gender disparities, it is likelythat men and women benefited to a similarextent from the adjustment programs. InVietnam, women, especially young, singlewomen, had new opportunities to earn wageincomes during the Doi Moi reforms as exportgrowth sectors—particularly textiles andshoes—attracted large numbers of women fromrural areas. However, even in these countries,certain outcomes, such as higher childcare costsin Poland and rising costs of services andreduced provision of state-run creche facilitiesthat accompanied the transition in Vietnam,placed more demands on women’s time forchildcare and care of the elderly. In theRepublic of Yemen, Bangladesh, the Philip-pines, and Sri Lanka, adverse effects on womenare not clearly discernible. In the KyrgyzRepublic, Zambia, Côte d’Ivoire, and Ecuador,the results of the adjustment regime for womenis likely to have been negative in several sectors.

In Zambia, for example, in-country consul-tations suggest that rising costs of educationand commercialization of agriculture wereparticularly detrimental for females. Thoughboth men and women were affected during thetransition in the Kyrgyz Republic, the deterio-rating education and health-care sectors havereduced employment possibilities for womenin sectors where they once dominated.Reduced social assistance for children and theelderly has intensified domestic work burdens.In Côte d’Ivoire, microeconomic evidencesuggests that public sector downsizing mayhave affected women disproportionately, as

there was less wage discrimination in thissector. In Ecuador, medical care was oftendeferred during developments of the 1990s,and the percentage of births attended bymedical personnel declined to 64 percent in1998, from 84 percent in 1987.

Monitoring of Gender-DisaggregatedImpactGiven the difficulty in anticipating all possiblegender-differentiated outcomes of wide-ranging macroeconomic policies, the evalua-tion also assessed whether the Bank hadinstituted effective monitoring systems thatwould have permitted the Bank to track andunderstand any adverse impact on women,and respond in real time with appropriatemeasures.

Only one of the 51 adjustment operationsmonitors gender issues within its structure,and none provide gender-disaggregatedmonitoring indicators.6 Most of the social-protection measures were not monitored foroutcomes on men and women separatelyeither, and are broadly poverty-focused. Bankstudies for the Kyrgyz Republic, Zambia, andPoland show some evidence of monitoringoutcomes for men and women at a macroeco-nomic level. The Bank’s 1994 Poverty Assess-ment for Poland has a whole chapter devotedto women’s welfare during the transition.There is evidence of a slight upturn inmaternal mortality rates during the transitionin the Kyrgyz Republic, which is recognizedby the World Bank—but there are no otherinstances of monitoring. Overall, the monitor-ing of gender disparities during transition isunsatisfactory (see table F.1).

Integration of Gender Issues into Accompanying OperationsTable F.1 indicates that there were accompa-nying safety net or relevant operations in allcountries, but in general, these did not attemptto mitigate adverse impact on women specifi-cally. Some examples are provided below.

In Zambia and Côte d’Ivoire, given unfavor-able poverty outcomes in the 1990s, severegender disparities, and the importance of the

8 2


adjustment program, greater attention togender in the context of adjustment might havebeen warranted. In Zambia, the World Bankconducted two Social Recovery Projects (fiscal1991 and fiscal 1995). While there is someanalysis of gender disparities, the initial designof the operations did not include any specificmeasures to ensure that men and womenwould benefit equitably.7 For example, theprojects included provision of temporaryemployment from community subprojects,from which mainly men benefited. On theother hand, communities needed to contributefree labor to the subprojects, which wasprovided mostly by women. In Côte d’Ivoire,specific social protection measures includedthe Labor Training Support Project (FY94)that was part of a Vocational DevelopmentTraining Fund program. The Labor TrainingSupport Project included training and appren-ticeship measures for informal sector workers.This project envisaged women as a primarygroup of beneficiaries, as they were concen-trated in the informal sector, which is the targetfor the project, but there was no clear action toensure that this happened.

Evidence suggests that men and womenbenefited similarly from adjustment programs inVietnam and Poland. Both countries are charac-terized by the absence of significant genderdisparities, and had large-scale adjustmentprograms in the 1990s, which saw impressivegrowth and declining poverty. In Vietnam, oneof the key elements of its country-assistancestrategy was to protect the poor from theadverse impact of the adjustment. While therewere a number of investment projects in thisregard, none of them took into account genderconsiderations in design, even though LSMSSurveys, which were conducted with Bankassistance, provided the information base. InPoland, much of the social protection wasgender-blind as well. Only the EmploymentPromotion and Services Project (FY91) thatsought to provide support to mass layoffs associ-ated with adjustment was based on someanalysis of gender issues on the labor marketand recognized women as a vulnerable group. Inneither of these countries do we see an adequategender-sensitive strategy of social protection.However, given country conditions, this was nota major drawback of the Bank’s program.

A N N E X F

8 3

Integration of gender into social Monitoring of gender issuesCountry Severity of gender disparities1 protection measures2 in adjustment measures 3

Kyrgyz M N N

Ecuador M M N

Zambia H M M

Bangladesh H M N

Vietnam M M N

Yemen H M N

Philippines M N N

Poland N M M

Sri Lanka M M N

Côte d’Ivoire H M N

Average SU M NNote: All ratings are on a four-point scale, where N = negligible, M = modest, SU = substantial, and H = high.

1. This is based on a relative ranking of countries according to the U.N. Gender-Related Development Index.

2. This rating is provided by the evaluation based on an integration of gender issues into the design of social protection measures that are financed by the Bank. These measures are not

only the ones classified by the Bank as ‘social protection,’ but also include social protection components in other Bank-supported projects of the 1990s.

3. This rating is provided by the evaluation based on monitoring of gender-disaggregated results in adjustment measures, supported by the Bank in the 1990s.

I n t e g r a t i o n a n d M o n i t o r i n g o f G e n d e r I s s u e s d u r i n g A d j u s t m e n t

T a b l e F. 1

8 5

ANNEX G: ANALYTICAL WORK 1990–2000

Country Fiscal year Title Sector

Bangladesh 90 Manufacturing public enterprise reform Public Sector Management(Vol.1 and Vol.2)

90 Strategies for enhancing the role of women in Economic Policyeconomic development (Vol.1)

90 An agenda for tax reform (Vol.1, Vol.2, and Vol.3) Public Sector Management

90 Poverty and public expenditures: an evaluation of Social Protectionthe impact of selected government programs (Vol.1)

90 Managing the adjustment process: an appraisal Economic Policy(Vol.1)

91 Selected issues in foodgrain development (Vol.1) Agriculture

91 Fisheries sector review (Vol.1) Agriculture

91 Transport sector review (Vol.1) Transportation

91 Managing public resources for higher growth Public Sector Management(Vol.1)

92 Restructuring options for the jute manufacturing Industryindustry (Vol.1)

92 Environment strategy review (Vol.1) Environment

92 Food policy review: adjusting to the green revolution (Vol.1 and Vol.2) Agriculture

92 Selected issues in external competitiveness and Private Sector Developmenteconomic efficiency (Vol. 1)

93 The determinants of reproductive change: Health, Nutrition and Populationpopulation and health sector study (Vol.1)

93 Implementing structural reform (Vol.1) Economic Policy

94 Privatization and adjustment (Vol.1) Private Sector Development

94 From stabilization to growth (Vol.1) Multisector

95 Recent economic developments and priority reform Multisectoragenda for rapid growth (Vol.1)

96 Labor market policies for higher employment (Vol.1) Social Protection

96 Rural finance (Vol.1) Finance

97 Public expenditure review (Vol.1) Public Sector Management

97 The non-farm sector in a diversifying rural Agricultureeconomy (Vol.1)

98 From counting the poor to making the poor Social Protectioncount (Vol.1)

2000 Trade liberalization: its pace and impacts (Vol.1) Multisector

Côte d'Ivoire 95 Private sector assessment (Vol.1) Private Sector Development

97 Poverty in Côte d’Ivoire: a framework for action Social Protection(Vol.1)

Ecuador 91 Development of manufacturing: policies, Industryperformance and outlook (Vol.1)

91 A social sector strategy for the nineties (Vol.1) Social Protection

Country Fiscal year Title Sector91 Public sector finances: reforms for growth in the Public Sector Management

era of declining oil output (Vol.1)

94 Public expenditure review: changing the role of the Public Sector Managementstate (Vol.1)

95 Judicial sector assessment (Vol.1) Public Sector Management

96 Poverty report (Vol.1 and Vol.2) Social Protection

2000 Crisis, poverty and social services (Vol.1 and Vol.2) Social Protection

2000 Ecuador Gender Review Issues and Social ProtectionRecommendations (draft)

The Gambia 93 An assessment of poverty (Vol.1) Social Protection

95 Rural women in the Sahel and their access to Agricultureagricultural extension—sector study: overview of five country studies (Vol.1)

96 Why Gambian households underinvest in Educationeducating girls (Vol.1)

Haiti 90 Updating economic note (Vol.1) Economic Policy

91 Agricultural sector review (Vol.1) Agriculture

91 Restoration of growth and development (Vol.1) Multisector

91 Household energy strategy Energy

98 Challenges of poverty reduction Social Protection

98 Wider Caribbean financial sector review— Financeincreasing competitiveness and financial resource management for economic growth (Vol.1)

Kyrgyz 93 Social protection in a reforming economy (Vol.1) Social Protection

94 External trade policy (Vol.1) Multisector

94 Mining sector review (Vol.1) Mining

94 Economic report (Vol.1) Multisector

95 Agricultural sector review (Vol.1 and Vol.2) Agriculture

95 National environmental action plan (Vol.1) Environment

95 Energy sector review (Vol.1) Electric Power and Energy

95 Poverty assessment and strategy (Vol.1) Social Protection

98 Agricultural policy review: strategy for rural Agriculturegrowth and poverty alleviation (Vol.1)

98 Urban transport sector review (Vol.1) Transportation

98 Creditworthiness for IBRD lending (Vol.1) Finance

99 Private sector review in the transitional era (Vol.1) Private Sector Development

99 Water supply and wastewater sector note (Vol.1) Water Supply and Sanitation

99 Update on poverty in the Kyrgyz Republic (Vol.1) Social Protection

2000 Fiscal sustainability study (Vol.1) Public Sector Management

Philippines 90 Rural electrification sector study: an integrated Electric Power and Energyprogram to revitalize the sector (Vol.1)

93 Income support and the social safety net: policies Social Protectionfor the transition (Vol.1)

95 Poverty in Poland (Vol.1 and Vol. 2) Social Protection

95 Growth with equity policies for the 1990s (Vol.1) Multisector

96 Urban transport review (Vol.1) Transportation

8 6


Country Fiscal year Title Sector98 Country economic memorandum: reform and Multisector

growth on the road to the EU (Vol.1)

99 Poland: strategic priorities for the transport sector Transportation(Vol.1)

Sri Lanka 90 Nutrition review (Vol.1) Health, Nutrition and Population

90 Recent macro-economic developments and Economic Policyadjustment policies (Vol.1)

91 Transport sector memorandum (Vol.1) Transportation

91 Sustaining the adjustment process (Vol.1) Economic Policy

92 Strengthened adjustment for growth and poverty Social Protectionreduction (Vol.1)

93 Country economic update FY93: public sector Private Sector Developmentrationalization for private sector development and poverty alleviation (Vol.1)

95 Tree crops strategy (Vol.1) Agriculture

95 Private sector assessment (Vol.1) Private Sector Development

95 Poverty assessment (Vol.1) Social Protection

96 Nonplantation crop sector policy alternatives Agriculture(Vol.1)

96 In the year 2000: an agenda for action (Vol.1) Multisector

97 Transport sector strategy study (Vol.1 and Vol.2) Transportation

98 Sri Lanka—a review of recent trends and issues Multisector(Vol.1)

98 Recent economic developments and prospects Economic Policy(Vol.1)

99 Financial sector reforms (Vol.1) Finance

2000 A fresh look at unemployment (Vol.1) Multisector

2000 Review of superannuation benefit programs Public Sector Management(Vol.1)

2000 Recapturing missed opportunities (Vol.1) Multisector

Vietnam 90 Stabilization and structural reforms: an economic Economic Policyreport (Vol.1)

91 Transforming a state owned financial system: a Public Sector Managementfinancial sector study of Vietnam (Vol.1)

92 Restructuring public finance and public enterprises: Public Sector Managementan economic report (Vol.1)

93 Population, health and nutrition sector review Health, Nutrition and Population(Vol.1)

93 Energy sector investment and policy review Electric Power and Energy(Vol.1 and Vol.2)

94 Transition to the market: an economic report (Vol.1) Multisector

95 Transport sector: serving an economy in transition Transportation(Vol.1)

95 Financial sector review: an agenda for financial Financesector development (Vol.1)

95 Environmental program and policy priorities for a Environmentsocialist economy in transition (Vol.1 and Vol.2)

A N N E X G

8 7

Country Fiscal year Title Sector95 Public sector management and private sector Private Sector Development

incentives (Vol.1)

95 Poverty assessment and strategy (Vol.1) Social Protection

96 Water resources sector review (Vol.1) Water Supply and Sanitation

96 Economic report on industrialization and industrial Industrypolicy (Vol.1)

97 Vietnam—Education financing sector study (Vol.1) Education

97 Fiscal decentralization and the delivery of rural Public Sector Managementservices: an economic report (Vol.1)

98 Vietnam—Deepening reform for growth (Vol.1) Multisector

99 Vietnam—Moving forward: achievements and Transportationchallenges in the transport sector (Vol.1)

99 Vietnam—Fueling Vietnam's development: new challenges for the energy sector (Vol.1 and Vol.2) Electric Power and Energy

99 Power trade strategy for the Greater Mekong Electric Power and EnergySub-region (Vol.1)

99 Vietnam—Rising to the challenge (Vol.1) Multisector

2000 Vietnam—Development report 2000: attacking Social Protectionpoverty—country economic memorandum (Vol.1)

Yemen, Rep. 90 Yemen Arab Republic—Energy strategy review Electric Power and Energy(Vol.1)

90 Yemen Arab Republic—Country economic Multisectormemorandum: agenda for sustainable growth during the oil era (Vol.1 and Vol.2)

92 Republic of Yemen—Institutional and policy Industryenvironment for industrial development (Vol.1)

92 Republic of Yemen—Human development: societal Multisectorneeds and human capital response (Vol.1)

92 Republic of Yemen—A medium-term economic Economic Policyframework (Vol.1)

94 Republic of Yemen—Agriculture sector study: Agriculturestrategy for sustainable agricultural production (Vol.1 and Vol.2)

94 Republic of Yemen—Health sector review (Vol.1) Health, Nutrition and Population

95 Republic of Yemen—Dimensions of economic Economic Policyadjustment and structural reform (Vol.1)

96 Republic of Yemen—Poverty assessment (Vol.1) Social Protection

97 Republic of Yemen—Public expenditure review Public Sector Management(Vol.1)

98 Yemen—Towards a water strategy: an agenda for Water Supply and Sanitationaction (Vol.1)

98 Republic of Yemen—Enhancing policy options: Health, Nutrition and Populationa population sector study (Vol.1 and Vol.2)

98 Children and women in Yemen: Social ProtectionA situation analysis

99 Republic of Yemen—Agricultural strategy note Agriculture(Vol.1)

8 8


Country Fiscal year Title Sector

Zambia 92 Agricultural sector strategy: issues and options Agriculture(Vol.1)

93 Financial performance of the government-owned Financetransport sector (Vol.1)

93 Public expenditure review (Vol.1 and Vol.2) Public Sector Management

94 Prospects for sustainable and equitable growth Multisector(Vol.1)

95 Poverty assessment (Vol.1, Vol.2, Vol.3, Vol.4, Social Protectionand Vol.5)

97 Prospects for sustainable growth: Multisector1995–2005 (Vol.1)

A N N E X G

8 9

9 1

ANNEX H: ADJUSTMENT LOANS REVIEWED

Loan Fiscal year Sector OED rating

Bangladesh

Energy Sector 1989 Electric Power and Energy 0

Financial Sector Credit 1990 Finance 0

Public Resource Management 1992 Multisector 1

Industrial Sector Adjustment II 1993 Multisector 0

Jute Sector Adjustment Credit 1994 Industry 0

Côte d’Ivoire

Agriculture Sector Adjustment 1990 Agriculture 0

Energy Sector Loan 1990 Electric Power and Energy 0

Water Supply Sewerage Sector Adjustment 1990 Water Supply and Sanitation 1

Financial Sector Adjustment 1992 Finance 0

Regulatory Reform 1992 Multisector 0

Human Resources Adjustment 1992 Education 1

Economic Recovery Credit 1995 Multisector 0

Agriculture Sectoral Adjustment 1996 Agriculture 0

Private Sector Development 1996 Public Sector Management 0

Debt and Debt Service Reduction 1998 Multisector 0

Transport Sector Adjustment 1998 Transportation 0

Ecuador



Structural Adjustment Loan 1995 Multisector 0

Kyrgyz Republic

Rehabilitation 1993 Multisector 0

Private and Enterprise Sector Adjustment 1994 Public Sector Management 0

Agricultural Privatization and Enterprise Adjustment 1995 Agriculture 0


Public Sector Resource Management 1997 Public Sector Management 0

Social Sector Adjustment 1999 Social Protection, etc. 0

Philippines

Reform Program for Government Corporations 1988 Public Sector Management 0

Financial Sector Loan 1989 Finance 0

Debt Management Loan 1990 Multisector 0

Environment and Natural Resource Management 1991 Agriculture 1

Economic Integration 1993 Multisector 1

Banking System 1999 Finance 0

Poland

Financial Institutions Development 1991 Finance 0

Structural Adjustment I 1991 Multisector 0

Agriculture Sector Adjustment 1993 Agriculture 0

Enterprise and Financial Sector Adjustment 1993 Multisector 0

Loan Fiscal year Sector OED rating


Hard Coal Sector 1999 Mining 0

Sri Lanka

Economic Restructuring Credit 1990 Multisector 1

Public Manufacturing Enterprise Adjustment 1991 Public Sector Management 1

Vietnam

Structural Adjustment I 1995 Multisector 0

Debt Reduction 1998 Finance 0

Yemen

Economic Recovery Credit 1996 Multisector 0


Public Sector Management Adjustment 1999 Public Sector Management 0

Zambia

Recovery Credit 1991 Multisector 1

Privatization/Industrial Reform 1992 Industry 1

Privatization/Industrial Reform II 1993 Finance 0

Economic and Social Adjustment 1994 Multisector 1

Economic Recovery and Investment 1996 Public Sector Management 0

Second Economic and Social Adjustment 1997 Multisector 0

Third Economic and Social Adjustment 1999 Multisector 0

9 2


9 3

ENDNOTES

Chapter 21. The reports of both phases (Phase I: Report

no. 23035, and Phase II, Report no. 23119) areavailable at www.worldbank.org/oed.

2. For information on OECD quintiles, see:http://www.oecd.org/dac/Indicators/htm/slides.htm#groupings.

3. Focus sectors were selected based on the1994 Bank’s gender strategy that was approvedby the Board: education; health, nutrition andpopulation; rural water supply and sanitation;and agriculture. To these, the evaluation addedone hard sector, transport.

4. Forty-eight percent of the projects reviewedhad a WID rating system of 1 or 2. In 44 per-cent of these projects, the ICRs considered thatgender was “not (an) applicable” objective. Only20 percent of the ICRs indicated a satisfactoryor highly satisfactory analysis of the results forwomen.

Chapter 31. World Bank lending data, FY80–99.2. SAPs support a variety of programs,

including those to stabilize inflation andinternational reserves, to liberalize markets, toprivatize public enterprises, and to promoteforeign direct investment (FDI).

3. All World Bank member economies withpopulations of more than 30,000. Economiesare divided in income groups according to1997 GNP per capita calculated using theWorld Bank Atlas method. Low incomecountries: US$785 or less; lower-middle-income countries: US$786–2,125; upper-middle-income: US$3,126–9,635; and highincome: US$9,656 or more.

Chapter 41. The ADB requires each country to prepare

and update such gender assessments.2. The overall integration of gender issues

was reviewed, but only the CASs in countrieswhere gender disparity is severe or moderate,as defined by a GDI index below 0.62, wereexpected to present an overall gender strategy.In the countries with less gender disparity, theintegration of gender into sectoral and thematicdiscussions was considered adequate. WhereCASs explicitly stated that gender was not anissue, the adequacy of the underlying analysiswas reviewed.

3. One experienced staff member suggestedto OED that when the 1994 policy wasintroduced, many staff members assumed thatthe OMS 2.20, which required project-levelattention, had been retired.

4. The six sectors were: population, healthand nutrition, education, agriculture, labor,and microfinance.

Chapter 51. The GAD Board also identified lack of

institutional accountability as a key constraintto mainstreaming gender, and most Bank staffwho participated in the evaluation workshopsconcurred.

2. Ten environmental, social, and legalpolicies safeguard the interests of third partieswho may be affected by Bank operations. Theserequire approval at various stages before acredit becomes effective. Gender is a strategicpolicy, since it ensures that women are engagedin project or program planning and implemen-tation. These safeguards do not explicitly

mention gender issues or women except in thepolicy on involuntary resettlement.

3. Although the gender discourse has filteredthrough to policy-making institutions, in theprocess actors have reinterpreted the concept ofgender to suit their institutional needs. In someinstances, ‘gender’ has been used to sidestep afocus on ‘women’ and on the radical policyimplications of overcoming their disprivilege(Jackson and Pearson 1998, p. 2).

4. In assessing the gender impact of trainingin India, the solution through a gender analysismay be to provide men and women with equalaccess to training, but if a social analysis isconducted, the poor-scheduled-caste men are ata greater disadvantage than poor-upper-castewomen, and the solutions may be different.

5. Various frameworks exist, includingHarvard: the People Oriented PlanningFramework; the Moser, Kabeer, Longwe,Gender Analysis Matrix; the Social RelationsApproach; and the Capacities and Vulnerabili-ties Analysis Framework (March, Smyth, andMukhopadhyay 1999). These frameworkshave different strengths and weaknesses. Theyare based on principles of efficiency ratherthan equity or empowerment and do notchallenge gender relations. Some (Harvard)only examine gender-differentiated roles, notrelationships. Some do not include time as avariable or approach it in a social context,rather analyzing men and women as twohomogeneous groups.

6. Other development institutions havechosen different mechanisms to pay for theadministrative costs of implementing genderpolicy (consultants, special studies, assess-ments). Australia, Germany, and the Nether-lands have set aside a special fund for women’sactivities. The Netherlands has also set up aspecial budget line to fund women’s activities athome. USAID has earmarked US$5 millionannually to help meet obligations related towomen (Ostergaard 1992, p. 183).

Chapter 61. Results were assessed in terms of gender

disparity where information was available.2. The education project in Vietnam

included measures to remove gender bias intextbooks.

3. It will be difficult to evaluate results,however, because there are no gender-disaggre-gated impact indicators, unlike in Vietnam,where nine out of the 10 project indicatorsfocused on women’s health.

4. A Zambia Social Fund Impact study (WorldBank 2000f) shows that education expendituresfor subproject beneficiaries were 9 percent lowerthan for average nonsocial fund beneficiaries.Beneficiaries in subproject areas spent 3 percentless than others in nonproject areas.

5. Agricultural Marketing and ProcessingInfrastructure Project FY1993.

6. Based on field assessments conducted withthe International Service for National Agricul-tural Research (ISNAR).

7. As recently as 1998, the Bank insisted thatthere were no gender issues. In 1997, the ADBhad published an assessment identifying genderissues.

8. For example, improved rural roads insome countries have increased the availabilityof public modes of transportation, making itmore accessible and cheaper for the poor andproviding more income opportunities for ruralhouseholds. Both direct and indirect benefitsare likely to affect women.

Chapter 71. This is consistent with International

Development Indicators, which also measuregender equality in primary and secondaryenrollments as key indicators of progresstoward gender equality.

2. Investment in human capital may have abeneficial impact on households but is insuffi-cient to empower women or change genderrelationships. In fact, increased human capitalis not found to have a positive effect on incomeunless it leads to increased economic opportu-nities for the poor, and at low levels, this effectis negligible (Thomas and others 2000, p. 41).In addition, even with relatively higher levels ofhuman capital, there would remain the need toreduce distortions that inhibit women’s accessto labor markets or to increase their opportuni-ties for self-employment.

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3. In addition, the evaluation found that 61percent of all projects with overall results rated‘S’ and ‘HS’ had integrated gender issues; allprojects rated HS had high levels of genderintegration. Only 45 percent of projects ratedunsatisfactory or highly unsatisfactorycontained integrated gender considerations.The levels of gender integration were independ-ently validated by the OED evaluation,although it relied on ICR ratings for overallresults.

Annex A1. “Bank” includes IDA; “loans” includes

IDA credits and IDA grants; “project” includesany project financed under a Bank loan, IDAcredit or IDA grant, but does not includeprograms financed under adjustment loans.Social aspects of programs supported underBank adjustment loans, including genderconsiderations, are addressed in OP/BP 8.60,Adjustment Lending (forthcoming). “Project”also includes any project supported by a Bankguarantee, but does not include loanssupported by a Bank policy-based guarantee;or any project financed under a GEF grant ofmore than US$1 million, but does not includeGEF projects executed by organizations identi-fied by the GEF Council as eligible to workwith the GEF through expanded opportunitiesfor project preparation and implementation(such organizations include, inter alia, Regionaldevelopment banks and U.N. agencies such asFAO and UNIDO).

2. Such gender assessments may be stand-alone assessments or may be carried out as partof other Bank economic and sector work, suchas poverty assessments (see OD 4.15, PovertyReduction), country economic memoranda,public expenditure reviews, development policyreviews, poverty and social impact assessments,or institutional analyses. Alternatively, theymay be assessments that have been carried outby the country or an organization other thanthe Bank, if the Bank finds the assessments tobe satisfactory.

3. See BP 2.11, Country AssistanceStrategies.

Annex C1. See end of Annex for explanation of WID

ratings.

Annex D1. In order to target nonadministrative Bank

staff members in each region, OED used the fol-lowing Lotus Notes distribution lists: Afrrlt,Afrtls, Afrttl, Lacrmg, Fullrmt, Lcrtm, Eca 18-21 Hq, Eca Ptls, Eca Sm, Ecasd, Ecacd, Eca Rlt,Mnahl, Sasrmt, Sas Region Task Leaders, SarTask Leaders, Sased Team Leaders, Sasen TeamLeaders, Saseg Team Leaders, Sasfp Team Lead-ers, Sashp Team Leaders, Sasin Team Leaders,Saspr Team Leaders, Sasrd Team Leaders, SassdTeam Leaders, Eapregionhlfield, Eaccfhl, Eapre-gionhl, Eapregionhlhq, Eacifhl, Eackfhl,Eacpfhl, Eactfhl, Eacvfhl.

Annex E1. World Bank 2000f, p. 9.2. Bauer, Green, and Kuehnast 1997 pp.

74–75.

Annex F1. The Gambia and Haiti are excluded since

they did not have a Bank adjustment operationthat closed between FY95 and FY00, which isthe criterion used in this evaluation.

2. These are the Zambia Economic andSocial Adjustment Credit (FY94) and the Côted’Ivoire Human Resources Adjustment (FY92).However, this reference is not always based onsound analysis and does not lead to specificactions. For example, the Zambia operationmerely asserts that the changes brought aboutwill benefit women relatively more because itwill reverse certain discriminatory land-tenurepractices.

3. This is the Philippines Environment andNatural Resource Management (FY91). At thedesign stage, the project was expected tobenefit women through developing ruralinfrastructure.

4. This information is obtained from selectedPoverty Assessments and background data inCountry Assistance Strategy documents. Datafrom WDI indicators were also examined toconfirm this.

E N D N OT E S

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5. This is based on evidence in Bankdocuments and data on per capita incomes.

6. This is the Zambia Economic and SocialAdjustment Credit (FY94), which rates theachievement of gender concerns as negligible inthe ICR.

7. The Second Social Recovery Project didincorporate measures to ensure women’s partic-ipation as it progressed, largely due to theinitiative of the Project Management Unit.However, the ICR rates the achievement ofgender objectives as modest.

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9 7

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ENHANCING DEVELOPMENT EFFECTIVENESS THROUGH EXCELLENCE AND INDEPENDENCE IN EVALUATION

The Operations Evaluation Department (OED) is an independent unit within the World Bank; it reports directly to theBank’s Board of Executive Directors. OED assesses what works, and what does not; how a borrower plans to run andmaintain a project; and the lasting contribution of the Bank to a country’s overall development. The goals of evaluationare to learn from experience, to provide an objective basis for assessing the results of the Bank’s work, and to provideaccountability in the achievement of its objectives. It also improves Bank work by identifying and disseminating the les-sons learned from experience and by framing recommendations drawn from evaluation findings.

OPERATIONS EVALUATION DEPARTMENTStudy Series2003 Annual Review of Development Effectiveness: The Effectiveness of Bank Support for Policy ReformAgricultural Extension: The Kenya ExperienceAssisting Russia’s Transition: An Unprecedented ChallengeBangladesh: Progress Through PartnershipBridging Troubled Waters: Assessing the World Bank Water Resources StrategyCapacity Building in Africa: An OED Evaluation of World Bank SupportThe CGIAR: An Independent Meta-Evaluation of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural ResearchDebt Relief for the Poorest: An OED Review of the HIPC InitiativeDeveloping Towns and Cities: Lessons from Brazil and the PhilippinesThe Drive to Partnership: Aid Coordination and the World BankFinancial Sector Reform: A Review of World Bank AssistanceFinancing the Global Benefits of Forests: The Bank’s GEF Portfolio and the 1991 Forest Strategy and Its ImplementationFiscal Management in Adjustment LendingIDA’s Partnership for Poverty ReductionImproving the Lives of the Poor Through Investment in CitiesIndia: The Dairy RevolutionInformation Infrastructure: The World Bank Group’s ExperienceInvesting in Health: Development Effectiveness in the Health, Nutrition, and Population SectorJordan: Supporting Stable Development in a Challenging RegionLesotho: Development in a Challenging EnvironmentMainstreaming Gender in World Bank Lending: An UpdateThe Next Ascent: An Evaluation of the Aga Khan Rural Support Program, PakistanNongovernmental Organizations in World Bank–Supported Projects: A ReviewPoland Country Assistance Review: Partnership in a Transition EconomyPoverty Reduction in the 1990s: An Evaluation of Strategy and PerformancePower for Development: A Review of the World Bank Group’s Experience with Private Participation in the Electricity SectorPromoting Environmental Sustainability in DevelopmentReforming Agriculture: The World Bank Goes to MarketSharing Knowledge: Innovations and Remaining ChallengesSocial Funds: Assessing EffectivenessUganda: Policy, Participation, PeopleThe World Bank’s Experience with Post-Conflict ReconstructionThe World Bank’s Forest Strategy: Striking the Right BalanceZambia Country Assistance Review: Turning an Economy Around

Evaluation Country Case SeriesBosnia and Herzegovina: Post-Conflict ReconstructionBrazil: Forests in the Balance: Challenges of Conservation with DevelopmentCameroon: Forest Sector Development in a Difficult Political EconomyChina: From Afforestation to Poverty Alleviation and Natural Forest ManagementCosta Rica: Forest Strategy and the Evolution of Land UseEl Salvador: Post-Conflict ReconstructionIndia: Alleviating Poverty through Forest DevelopmentIndonesia: The Challenges of World Bank Involvement in ForestsUganda: Post-Conflict Reconstruction

ProceedingsGlobal Public Policies and Programs: Implications for Financing and EvaluationLessons of Fiscal AdjustmentLesson from Urban TransportEvaluating the Gender Impact of World Bank AssistanceEvaluation and Development: The Institutional Dimension (Transaction Publishers)Evaluation and Poverty ReductionMonitoring & Evaluation Capacity Development in AfricaPublic Sector Performance—The Critical Role of Evaluation

Multilingual EditionsAllègement de la dette pour les plus pauvres : Examen OED de l’initiative PPTEAppréciation de l’efficacité du développement :L’évaluation à la Banque mondiale et à la Société financière internationaleDeterminar la eficacia de las actividades de desarrollo :La evaluación en el Banco Mundial y la Corporación Financiera InternacionalCôte d’Ivoire : Revue de l’aide de la Banque mondiale au paysFilipinas: Crisis y oportunidadesReconstruir a Economia de Moçambique


OED PUBLICATIONS

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Evaluating a D

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