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It is a contentious issue whether large scale mining creates local employment, and the sector has been accused of hurting women’s labor supply and economic opportunities. This paper uses the rapid expansion of mining in Sub-Saharan Africa to analyze local structural shifts. It matches 109 openings and 84 closings of industrial mines to survey data for 800,000 individuals and exploits the spatial-temporal variation. With mine opening, women living within 20 km of a mine switch from self-employment in agriculture to working in services or they leave the work force. Men switch from agriculture to skilled manual labor. Effects are stronger in years of high world prices. Mining creates local boom-bust economies in Africa, with permanent effects on women’s labor market participation.

The portability of social benefits is gaining importance given the increasing share of individuals working at least a part of their life outside their home country. Bilateral social security agreements (BSSAs) are considered a crucial approach to establishing portability, but the functionality and effectiveness of these agreements have not yet been investigated; thus important guidance for policymakers in migrant-sending and migrant-receiving countries is missing. To shed light on how BSSAs work in practice, this document is part of a series providing information and lessons from studies of portability in four diverse but comparable migration corridors: Austria-Turkey, Germany-Turkey, Belgium-Morocco, and France-Morocco. A summary policy paper draws broader conclusions and offers overarching policy recommendations. This report looks specifically into the working of the Austria-Turkey corridor. Findings suggest that the BSSA between Austria and Turkey is broadly working well, with no main substantive issues in the area of pension portability and few minor substantive issues concerning health care portability and financing. Process issues around information and automation of information exchange are recognized and are beginning to be addressed.

The reform of China's collectively owned forest land, began in 2008, is arguably the largest land-reform undertaking in modern times in terms of area and people affected. Under the reform, forest lands have been contracted to rural households, allowing them more independence in exercising their rights and interests in the forest lands, giving them more opportunities to improve family incomes, and creating incentives for them to cultivate, conserve, and manage forests. These lands are home to some 610 million people, many of them poor. With urbanization, vast numbers of Chinese men have migrated to cities to work, leaving women as the predominant labor force in rural areas. Indeed, some 70 percent of China’s agriculture labor force is now female. The immense scope of this change calls for a systematic examination of how China's rural women gain access to and exploit forest land and associated resources and services. The reform was designed to unfold in two broad stages. In the first, collectively owned forest lands suitable for contracting were allocated on equal terms to each household in affected villages. The ongoing second stage represents a deepening of the reform. It deals with subsidies and ecological compensation, financial services (including use of forest tenure as collateral and transfers of forest land), forest insurance, technical services and training, farmers’ associations and cooperatives, and market services. However, the monitoring had not covered the gender dimension of the reform, meaning that the gender data required to accurately reflect the full effects of the reform have been lacking. Building on the annual monitoring conducted by the FEDRC, the study reported here added gender-related investigation and analysis to obtain gender data about the current reform situation, its problems, and their causes. It also included structured interviews with rural women and group meetings with local government agencies, women’s federations, and village committees.The ultimate objective of the study is to achieve better gender-responsiveness in China’s collective forest tenure reform. Specifically, this includes: (i) equality in access to and control of forest lands, as well as access to associated resources and services; (ii) women’s participation and equality in decision-making concerning the conservation and utilization of forest resources; and (iii) impacts of the first two aspects on the status and well-being of women. The World Bank has had over 30 years of successful cooperation with China in the forestry sector. Women’s access to the services and resources that are the focus of the second stage of the reform will be a critical element of the World Bank’s continuing reform dialogue with its Chinese partners.

What is the impact of male migration on the labor market behavior of women in Nepal? The instrumental variable full information maximum likelihood method is applied to data from the 2004 Nepal Household Survey to account for unobserved factors that could simultaneously affect men's decision to migrate and women's decision to participate in the labor market. The results indicate that male migration has a negative impact on the level of the labor market participation by women in the migrant-sending household. There is evidence of substantial heterogeneity (based on both observable and unobservable characteristics) in the impact of male migration. The findings highlight the important gender dimension of the impact of predominantly male migration on the well-being of sending households. Strategies for economic development in Nepal should take into account such gender aspects of the migration dynamics. Copyright The Author 2009. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development / the world bank . All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org, Oxford University Press.

New qualitative fieldwork in eight countries of Europe and Central Asia (ECA) indicates that the dramatic declines in poverty in much of the region over the last decade do not appear to be registering very favorably with men and women on the ground. This paper provides a gender analysis of findings from equal numbers of sex-specific focus groups with employed and jobless individuals. The methodology featured a standardized package of semi-structured data collection tools, which enabled systematic comparative analysis of the datasets from 37 urban and rural communities across eight countries in the region. While lack of jobs and the rising cost of living are central concerns for both women and men across the sample, the qualitative data highlights important gender differences in how men and women are responding to these challenges that quantitative survey approaches appear to miss. Throughout the sample, women are widely reported to be doing everything they can to pull their households out of poverty or to maintain their families in the middle class, while men voice deep frustration with their weak economic opportunities and the need for additional household members to contribute economically. Women’s increased economic participation in the face of men’s hardships with breadwinning - and the stress on gender roles and relations that this entails - are crucial for making sense of frustrations on the ground despite the region’s significant social and economic development.

Policymakers in many countries, including the Russian Federation, are attempting to encourage fertility as part of their response to the challenge of population aging. Whether pro-natalist policies will be effective depends crucially on how well they address the underlying causes of low fertility and barriers to larger family size. While in some countries in Western Europe postponing childbearing and increased childlessness seem to be driving the fertility decline, these factors do not appear to be as influential in Russia. Instead, the problem seems to be the relatively low frequency of second and higher-order births, which persists despite major changes to pro-natalist policies introduced in 2007 and the prevalence of the two-child ideal of family size. This study analyzes current and prospective fertility trends in contemporary Russia, with special attention to second-child birth dynamics and its determinants. Stable employment and accessibility of formal childcare options are found to be factors that are correlated with mothers preferences for additional children and the probability that they will have a second child. In light of this observation and international experience, a menu of policies to improve work-family balance is suggested.

The recent decline in India’s rural female labor force participation is generally attributed to higher rural incomes in a patriarchal society. Together with the growing share of the urban population, where female participation rates are lower, this alleged income effect does not bode well for the empowerment of women as India develops. This paper argues that a traditional supply-side interpretation is insufficient to account for the decline in female participation rates, and the transformation of the demand for labor at local levels needs to be taken into account as well. A salient trait of this period is the collapse in the number of farming jobs without a parallel emergence of other employment opportunities considered suitable for women. The paper develops a novel approach to capture the structure of employment at the village or town level, and allow for differences along six ranks in the rural-urban gradation. It also considers the possible misclassification of urban areas as rural, as a result of household surveys lagging behind India’s rapid urbanization process. The results show that the place of residence along the rural-urban gradation loses relevance as an explanation of female labor force participation once local job opportunities are taken into account. Robustness checks confirm that the main findings hold even when taking into account the possibility of spurious correlation and endogeneity. They also hold under alternative definitions of labor force participation and when sub-samples of women are considered. Simulations suggest that for India to reverse the decline in female labor force participation rates it needs to boost job creation.

Traditional benchmarks to assess performance rely on unconditional rankings or regional averages. This paper uses a recently developed methodology based on quantile regressions and initial conditions to propose alternative benchmarks for social sectors in Kyrgyz Republic. Covering a wide set of indicators, the analysis reveals mixed results for Kyrgyz Republic. The country has made important strides in many social areas, with outstanding results in reducing child mortality and undernourishment. However, other areas are still key challenges and demand further attention and resources, as evidenced by the underachievement in maternal mortality, educational performance, and increasing informality in labor markets.

Using manufacturing plant-level census data, this paper demonstrates that minimum wage increases in Indonesia reduced gender wage gaps among production workers, with heterogeneous impacts by level of education and position of the firm in the wage distribution. Paradoxically, educated women appear to have benefitted the most, particularly in the lower half of the firm average earnings distribution. By contrast, women who did not complete primary education did not benefit on average, and even lost ground in the upper end of the earnings distribution. Minimum wage increases were thus associated with exacerbated gender pay gaps among the least educated, and reduced gender gaps among the best educated production workers. Unconditional quantile regression analysis attests to wage compression and lighthouse effects. Changes in relative employment prospects were limited.

Several studies explore the differences in men’s and women’s labor market participation rates and wages. Some of these differences have been linked to gender disparities in education attainment and access. The present paper contributes to this literature by analyzing the relationship between the proclivity of a firm to have a female top manager and access to education among women relative to men in the country. The paper combines the literature on women’s careers in management, which has mostly focused on developed countries, with the development literature that has emphasized the importance of access to education. Using firm-level data for 73 developing countries, the analysis finds strong evidence that countries with a higher proportion of female top managers also have higher enrollment rates for women relative to men in primary, secondary, and tertiary education.

The objective of this study was to go beyond a standard gender review of project design to increase knowledge of how and to what extent World Bank agriculture projects address gender issues during implementation. The study introduces a tool to track gender mainstreaming in the implementation phase of a project. The tool is then used to review the portfolio of current agriculture projects, establish a baseline, and suggest targets for gender mainstreaming for the future portfolio. There is a need to move beyond quality at entry to have a more realistic picture of gender mainstreaming in projects. The Agriculture Action Plan (2013-15) explicitly emphasizes the importance of reducing gender inequality in access to assets, services, collective action, and opportunities. The plan specifies key actions to increase the share of agriculture and rural development projects by 2015. That will (1) include gender analysis in its design, with a target of 100 percent, and (2) include gender mainstreaming in all three dimensions of design (analysis, actions, and ME), with a target of 75 percent. The reason for the 75 percent target is that gender analysis conducted at entry, for a relatively small set of projects, can reveal that gender specific actions and related ME are not needed. The focus on all three elements of design raises the bar for an agriculture project beyond the World Bank standard of satisfactorily addressing at least one of these elements. In addition, from FY15, all agriculture projects will be reviewed by the Gender team in the Agriculture Global Practice (GFADR) in terms of gender mainstreaming at concept note, preparation, and appraisal stages. This review indicates that a rating of gender Informed at entry is no guarantee that a project will successfully mainstream gender during implementation, although it is a good basis for success. In addition, this review shows that it is critical to track gender mainstreaming throughout the project cycle to identify gaps and opportunities in real time. Finally, the review shows that if a project neglects gender during the design phase, it can still catch up during implementation.

The Country Opinion Survey in Guinea-Bissau assists the World Bank Group (WBG) in gaining a better understanding of how stakeholders in Guinea-Bissau perceive the WBG. It provides the WBG with systematic feedback from national and local governments, multilateral/bilateral agencies, media, academia, the private sector, and civil society in Guinea-Bissau on 1) their views regarding the general environment in Guinea-Bissau; 2) their overall attitudes toward the WBG in Guinea-Bissau; 3) overall impressions of the WBG’s effectiveness and results, knowledge work and activities, and communication and information sharing in Guinea-Bissau; and 4) their perceptions of the WBG’s future role in Guinea-Bissau.

The Country Opinion Survey in Madagascar assists the World Bank Group (WBG) in gaining a better understanding of how stakeholders in Madagascar perceive the WBG. It provides the WBG with systematic feedback from national and local governments, multilateral and bilateral agencies, media, academia, the private sector, and civil society in Madagascar on: 1) their views regarding the general environment in Madagascar; 2) their overall attitudes toward the WBG in Madagascar; 3) overall impressions of the WBGs effectiveness and results, knowledge work and activities, and communication and information sharing in Madagascar; and 4) their perceptions of the WBGs future role in Madagascar.

Infrastructure projects, and more specifically, roads construction, and maintenance are one of the core operations of the World Bank. However, despite the increase of gender mainstreaming efforts in transport projects little is known about the effects of these interventions on women’s agency defined as the ability to make effective choices and transform these choices into desired outcomes’. This study aims to bridge this knowledge gap. The study looks at the effects of women’s participation in roads construction and maintenance and rural economy promotion activities on women’s agency, which has recently become a focus of study at the World Bank. Through individual interviews and focus groups the study assesses the effects of women-targeted interventions in three rural transport projects in Argentina, Nicaragua, and Peru. By focusing on agency, the study sheds light on effects of gender mainstreaming interventions that have more lasting effects on gender equality given the catalytic value of agency on other gender outcomes such as economic opportunities and endowments. The report is structured as follows: section one gives introduction. Second section describes the gender dimensions and agency-enhancing approaches in transport projects and the gender approaches in project implementation in the selected case studies. The third section provides a summary of the methodology of the study. The fourth section describes the key findings of the qualitative research. The fifth section presents the lessons learned to inform future rural transport interventions. The sixth section provides concluding remarks.

The Country Opinion Survey in Bosnia and Herzegovina assists the World Bank Group (WBG) in gaining a better understanding of how stakeholders in Bosnia and Herzegovina perceive the WBG. It provides the WBG with systematic feedback from national and local governments, multilateral/bilateral agencies, media, academia, the private sector, and civil society in Bosnia and Herzegovina on 1) their views regarding the general environment in Bosnia and Herzegovina; 2) their overall attitudes toward the WBG in Bosnia and Herzegovina; 3) overall impressions of the WBG’s effectiveness and results, knowledge work and activities, and communication and information sharing in Bosnia and Herzegovina; and 4) their perceptions of the WBG’s future role in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

This module provides guidance and a comprehensive menu of practical tools for integrating gender in the planning, design, implementation, and evaluation of projects and investments in climate-smart agriculture (CSA). The module emphasizes the importance and ultimate goal of integrating gender in CSA practices, which is to reduce gender inequalities and ensure that men and women can equally benefit from any intervention in the agricultural sector to reduce risks linked to climate change. Climate change has an impact on food and nutrition security and agriculture, and the agriculture sector is one of the largest emitters of greenhouse gases. It is crucial to recognize that climate change affects men and women differently. The content is drawn from tested good practice and innovative approaches, with an emphasis on lessons learned, benefits and impacts, implementation issues, and replicability. These insights and lessons related to gender in CSA will assist practitioners to improve project planning, design, monitoring, and evaluation; to effectively scale up and enhance the sustainability of efforts that are already underway; or to pursue entirely different solutions. This module contains five thematic notes (TNs) that provide a concise and technically sound guide to gender integration in the selected themes. These notes summarize what has been done and highlight the success and lessons learned from projects and programs.

The development community is increasingly accepting the importance of evidence, feedback, and learning. Some of which is generated through research, monitoring, and self-evaluation during policy-making, program design, and implementation. Others come from feedback from people directly affected by interventions who have gained a greater voice, be it through third-party feedback mechanisms, social media, beneficiary surveys, or otherwise. And, there is independent evaluation. At the World Bank Group, the independent evaluation group (IEG) has over the past years deepened the evidence that can help development finance succeed in translating the sustainable development goals (SDGs) into actions and results. This paper brings together insights from a cross-section of relevant evaluations that cover various aspects of the large, multifaceted agenda of the SDGs and their financing needs.

The Country Opinion Survey in Zimbabwe assists the World Bank Group (WBG) in gaining a better understanding of how stakeholders in Zimbabwe perceive the WBG. It provides the WBG with systematic feedback from national and local governments, multilateral/bilateral agencies, media, academia, the private sector, and civil society in Zimbabwe on 1) their views regarding the general environment in Zimbabwe; 2) their overall attitudes toward the WBG in Zimbabwe; 3) overall impressions of the WBG’s effectiveness and results, knowledge work and activities, and communication and information sharing in Zimbabwe; and 4) their perceptions of the WBG’s future role in Zimbabwe.

The Country Opinion Survey in Mozambique assists the World Bank Group (WBG) in gaining a better understanding of how stakeholders in Mozambique perceive the WBG. It provides the WBG with systematic feedback from national and local governments, multilateral/bilateral agencies, media, academia, the private sector, and civil society in Mozambique on 1) their views regarding the general environment in Mozambique; 2) their overall attitudes toward the WBG in Mozambique; 3) overall impressions of the WBG’s effectiveness and results, knowledge work and activities, and communication and information sharing in Mozambique; and 4) their perceptions of the WBG’s future role in Mozambique.

The Country Opinion Survey in Liberia assists the World Bank Group (WBG) in gaining a better understanding of how stakeholders in Liberia perceive the WBG. It provides the WBG with systematic feedback from national and local governments, multilateral and bilateral agencies, media, academia, the private sector, and civil society in Liberia on: 1) their views regarding the general environment in Liberia; 2) their overall attitudes toward the WBG in Liberia; 3) overall impressions of the WBGs effectiveness and results, knowledge work and activities, and communication and information sharing in Liberia; and 4) their perceptions of the WBGs future role in Liberia.

This article uses survey data from Ecuador to examine the effects of women's employment on the allocation of paid and unpaid labor within the household. The reader compares a region with high demand for female labor with a similar region in which demand for female labor is low. The comparison suggests that market labor opportunities for women have no effect on women's total time in labor but increase men's time in unpaid labor. The increase in men's time in unpaid work reflects women's increased bargaining power in the home.

The Country Opinion Survey in Uruguay assists the World Bank Group (WBG) in gaining a better understanding of how stakeholders in Uruguay perceive the WBG. It provides the WBG with systematic feedback from national and local governments, multilateral/bilateral agencies, media, academia, the private sector, and civil society in Uruguay on 1) their views regarding the general environment in Uruguay; 2) their overall attitudes toward the WBG in Uruguay; 3) overall impressions of the WBG’s effectiveness and results, knowledge work and activities, and communication and information sharing in Uruguay; and 4) their perceptions of the WBG’s future role in Uruguay.

The Country Opinion Survey in Russia assists the World Bank Group (WBG) in gaining a better understanding of how stakeholders in Russia perceive the WBG. It provides the WBG with systematic feedback from national and local governments, multilateral/bilateral agencies, media, academia, the private sector, and civil society in Russia on: 1) their views regarding the general environment in Russia; 2) their overall attitudes toward the WBG in Russia; 3) overall impressions of the WBG’s effectiveness and results, knowledge work and activities, and communication and information sharing in Russia; and 4) their perceptions of the WBG’s future role in Russia.

The Country Opinion Survey in Timor-Leste assists the World Bank Group (WBG) in gaining a better understanding of how stakeholders in Timor-Leste perceive the WBG. It provides the WBG with systematic feedback from national and local governments, multilateral/bilateral agencies, media, academia, the private sector, and civil society in Timor-Leste on 1) their views regarding the general environment in Timor-Leste; 2) their overall attitudes toward the WBG in Timor-Leste; 3) overall impressions of the WBG’s effectiveness and results, knowledge work and activities, and communication and information sharing in Timor-Leste; and 4) their perceptions of the WBG’s future role in Timor-Leste.

The Country Opinion Survey in Albania assists the World Bank Group (WBG) in gaining a better understanding of how stakeholders in Albania perceive the WBG. It provides the WBG with systematic feedback from national and local governments, multilateral/bilateral agencies, media, academia, the private sector, and civil society in Albania on 1) their views regarding the general environment in Albania; 2) their overall attitudes toward the WBG in Albania; 3) overall impressions of the WBGs effectiveness and results, knowledge work and activities, and communication and information sharing in Albania; and 4) their perceptions of the WBGs future role in Albania.

The Country Opinion Survey in Swaziland assists the World Bank Group (WBG) in gaining a better understanding of how stakeholders in Swaziland perceive the WBG. It provides the WBG with systematic feedback from national and local governments, multilateral/bilateral agencies, media, academia, the private sector, and civil society in Swaziland on 1) their views regarding the general environment in Swaziland; 2) their overall attitudes toward the WBG in Swaziland; 3) overall impressions of the WBG’s effectiveness and results, knowledge work and activities, and communication and information sharing in Swaziland; and 4) their perceptions of the WBG’s future role in Swaziland.

The Country Opinion Survey in Haiti assists the World Bank Group (WBG) in gaining a better understanding of how stakeholders in Haiti perceive the WBG. It provides the WBG with systematic feedback from national and local governments, multilateral/bilateral agencies, media, academia, the private sector, and civil society in Haiti on 1) their views regarding the general environment in Haiti; 2) their overall attitudes toward the WBG in Haiti; 3) overall impressions of the WBG’s effectiveness and results, knowledge work and activities, and communication and information sharing in Haiti; and 4) their perceptions of the WBG’s future role in Haiti.

The Country Opinion Survey in Tanzania assists the World Bank Group (WBG) in gaining a better understanding of how stakeholders in Tanzania perceive the WBG. It provides the WBG with systematic feedback from national and local governments, multilateral/bilateral agencies, media, academia, the private sector, and civil society in Tanzania on 1) their views regarding the general environment in Tanzania; 2) their overall attitudes toward the WBG in Tanzania; 3) overall impressions of the WBG’s effectiveness and results, knowledge work and activities, and communication and information sharing in Tanzania; and 4) their perceptions of the WBG’s future role in Tanzania.

The Country Opinion Survey in Costa Rica assists the World Bank Group (WBG) in gaining a better understanding of how stakeholders in Costa Rica perceive the WBG. It provides the WBG with systematic feedback from national and local governments, multilateral/bilateral agencies, media, academia, the private sector, and civil society in Costa Rica on 1) their views regarding the general environment in Costa Rica; 2) their overall attitudes toward the WBG in Costa Rica; 3) overall impressions of the WBG’s effectiveness and results, knowledge work and activities, and communication and information sharing in Costa Rica; and 4) their perceptions of the WBG’s future role in Costa Rica.

The Country Opinion Survey in El Salvador assists the World Bank Group (WBG) in gaining a better understanding of how stakeholders in El Salvador perceive the WBG. It provides the WBG with systematic feedback from national and local governments, multilateral/bilateral agencies, media, academia, the private sector, and civil society in El Salvador on 1) their views regarding the general environment in El Salvador; 2) their overall attitudes toward the WBG in El Salvador; 3) overall impressions of the WBG’s effectiveness and results, knowledge work and activities, and communication and information sharing in El Salvador; and 4) their perceptions of the WBG’s future role in El Salvador.

The Country Opinion Survey in Papua New Guinea assists the World Bank Group (WBG) in gaining a better understanding of how stakeholders in Papua New Guinea perceive the WBG. It provides the WBG with systematic feedback from national and local governments, multilateral/bilateral agencies, media, academia, the private sector, and civil society in Papua New Guinea on 1) their views regarding the general environment in Papua New Guinea; 2) their overall attitudes toward the WBG in Papua New Guinea; 3) overall impressions of the WBG’s effectiveness and results, knowledge work and activities, and communication and information sharing in Papua New Guinea; and 4) their perceptions of the WBG’s future role in Papua New Guinea.

The Country Opinion Survey in Yemen assists the World Bank Group (WBG) in gaining a better understanding of how stakeholders in Yemen perceive the WBG. It provides the WBG with systematic feedback from national and local governments, multilateral/bilateral agencies, media, academia, the private sector, and civil society in Yemen on 1) their views regarding the general environment in Yemen; 2) their overall attitudes toward the WBG in Yemen; 3) overall impressions of the WBG’s effectiveness and results, knowledge work and activities, and communication and information sharing in Yemen; and 4) their perceptions of the WBG’s future role in Yemen.

The Country Opinion Survey in Kazakhstan assists the World Bank Group (WBG) in gaining a better understanding of how stakeholders in Kazakhstan perceive the WBG. It provides the WBG with systematic feedback from national and local governments, multilateral/bilateral agencies, media, academia, the private sector, and civil society in Kazakhstan on 1) their views regarding the general environment in Kazakhstan; 2) their overall attitudes toward the WBG in Kazakhstan; 3) overall impressions of the WBG’s effectiveness and results, knowledge work and activities, and communication and information sharing in Kazakhstan; and 4) their perceptions of the WBG’s future role in Kazakhstan.

The Country Opinion Survey in Peru assists the World Bank Group (WBG) in gaining a better understanding of how stakeholders in Peru perceive the WBG. It provides the WBG with systematic feedback from national and local governments, multilateral/bilateral agencies, media, academia, the private sector, and civil society in Peru on 1) their views regarding the general environment in Peru; 2) their overall attitudes toward the WBG in Peru; 3) overall impressions of the WBG’s effectiveness and results, knowledge work and activities, and communication and information sharing in Peru; and 4) their perceptions of the WBG’s future role in Peru.

The Country Opinion Survey in Côte d’Ivoire assists the World Bank Group (WBG) in gaining a better understanding of how stakeholders in Côte d’Ivoire perceive the WBG. It provides the WBG with systematic feedback from national and local governments, multilateral/bilateral agencies, media, academia, the private sector, and civil society in Côte d’Ivoire on 1) their views regarding the general environment in Côte d’Ivoire; 2) their overall attitudes toward the WBG in Côte d’Ivoire; 3) overall impressions of the WBG’s effectiveness and results, knowledge work and activities, and communication and information sharing in Côte d’Ivoire; and 4) their perceptions of the WBG’s future role in Côte d’Ivoire.

The Country Opinion Survey in Gabon assists the World Bank Group (WBG) in gaining a better understanding of how stakeholders in Gabon perceive the WBG. It provides the WBG with systematic feedback from national and local governments, multilateral/bilateral agencies, media, academia, the private sector, and civil society in Gabon on 1) their views regarding the general environment in Gabon; 2) their overall attitudes toward the WBG in Gabon; 3) overall impressions of the WBG’s effectiveness and results, knowledge work and activities, and communication and information sharing in Gabon; and 4) their perceptions of the WBG’s future role in Gabon.

The Program Nasional Pemberdayaan Masyarakat (PNPM) or National Community Empowerment Program is the world’s largest program of its kind with long term goals to reduce poverty by making development planning more inclusive, accountable, and reflective of local needs. PNPM currently covers about 70,000 rural and urban communities across Indonesia. PNPM works by giving communities block grants to spend on projects developed through a participatory, bottom-up planning process, facilitated by social and technical specialists who provide advice to communities without controlling funds. PNPM is supported by a multi-donor trust fund called the PNPM Support Facility (PSF). Part of PSF’s role is to provide more effective strategic support to the government’s objectives, especially by improving the effectiveness of PNPM’s gender action plan. Increasing women’s voice in community planning and decision-making has been an explicit goal of PNPM since its founding, and since 2007 PNPM Rural has had an overarching gender action plan to guide actions to involve women in all procedures. A maximum of 25 per cent of all PNPM funds are reserved to support proposals from village women’s groups for RLF groups referred to in this report as SPP. Women play increasingly central roles in PNPM’s kecamatan and village administration. The PSF engaged a gender specialist with expertise in working in challenging rural contexts to review the system and provide a short critical report and practical recommendation on gender sensitive approaches in the overall implementation of PNPM Rural. A PSF operational analyst with in depth knowledge of PNPM accompanied the specialist to the field. Objectives and outputs are laid out in full in described in Appendix 6. The report below lays out the findings and recommendations of the mission.

The Country Opinion Survey in OECS assists the World Bank Group (WBG) in gaining a better understanding of how stakeholders in OECS perceive the WBG. It provides the WBG with systematic feedback from national and local governments, multilateral/bilateral agencies, media, academia, the private sector, and civil society in OECS on 1) their views regarding the general environment in OECS; 2) their overall attitudes toward the WBG in OECS; 3) overall impressions of the WBG’s effectiveness and results, knowledge work and activities, and communication and information sharing in OECS; and 4) their perceptions of the WBG’s future role in OECS.

Female labor force participation rates in urban India between 1987 and 2011 are surprisingly low and have stagnated since the late 1980s. Despite rising growth, fertility decline, and rising wages and education levels, married women's labor force participation hovered around 18 percent. Analysis of five large cross-sectional micro surveys shows that a combination of supply and demand effects have contributed to this stagnation. The main supply side factors are rising household incomes and husband's education as well as the falling selectivity of highly educated women. On the demand side, the sectors that draw in female workers have expanded least, so that changes in the sectoral structure of employment alone would have actually led to declining participation rates.

The Thai economy in 2012 rebounded from the severe floods but continues to be affected by the slowdown in the global economy. Real GDP in 2012 is projected to grow by 4.7 percent supported by the rebound in household consumption and greater investments by both the private and public sectors as part of flood rehabilitation and the government s consumption-stimulating measures. The economy is projected to grow by 5 percent in 2013 as manufacturing production fully recovers and the global economy sees a modest recovery. Exports in 2013 are therefore expected to grow by 5.5 percent compared to only 3.6 percent in 2012. Budget deficit will be 2.5 percent of GDP for FY2013 plus additional off-budget spending for water resource management projects in FY2013. Public debt is estimated to be close to 50 percent of GDP in 2013. The paddy pledging scheme is estimated to cost around 3.5 percent of GDP each year, while the actual losses will be realized once the rice stocks are sold. The minimum wages have been raised by 40 percent nation-wide in 2012 and will be raised to a uniform rate of THB300 per day. Developing higher skills is imperative for higher incomes, living standards, and for Thailand to grow sustainably and inclusively. Thailand can do better in enabling the poor and vulnerable groups to participate in productive economic activities by pursuing a coordinated approach between universal and targeted social policy.

This study on Bangladesh was undertaken to analyze the gender dimensions of climate change and the role of institutions in reducing gender gaps. The study was carried out in 20 sites covering 600 households, from March 2010 to May 2011, using both qualitative and quantitative instruments. This note is organized into five sections. The next section gives an overview of climate change and the gender and institutional context in Bangladesh. The third section presents the key study findings and is divided into three subsections: site- and household-specific vulnerabilities; analysis of gender dimensions of climate change using the household data and four propositions; and description of institutional challenges and gaps in supporting the resilience of women and men. Section four provides examples of adaptation programs in Bangladesh, and section five provides recommendations for enhancing gender-responsive adaptive capacity in Bangladesh.

Jordan faces extremely high levels of youth unemployment: 19 percent of male and 48 percent of female youth between the ages of 19 to 24 years old want to work but can't find jobs. For men, the transition from school to work is slow (on average 15 months), but for women the school to work transition often never takes place. In this context of high female unemployment and low female labor force participation, the Jordanian government, requested the World Bank's support to develop an employment pilot targeting female community college graduates in 2009. This pilot is part of a broader technical assistance program supporting the reform of the public community college system in Jordan. The objective of the Jordan New work Opportunities for Women (NOW) pilot was to increase female labor force participation and help women gain real world job experience. In particular, the hope was to improve information between firms and potential workers, create an opportunity to change negative stereotypes from firms and young women about women's role in the labor market, and improve soft skills and communication. Overall, the objectives of the Jordan NOW pilot were to increase labor force participation and to give young female graduates a chance to accrue some work experience.

The Philippines has made significant progress in empowering women and in advancing gender equality. The government's policy on gender equality and women's empowerment has prioritized women's economic empowerment, advancing human rights and enhancing gender-responsive local governance. All these priority concerns are integral components of poverty reduction programs in the Philippines. The Philippines has made significant progress in empowering women and in advancing gender equality. Since the government introduced a constitution in 1987 affirming the equality of women, it has pursued a number of initiatives to mainstream gender concerns in national policies and programs. A development plan for women was launched in 1987, followed by a plan for gender-responsive development, 1995-2025, coordinated by the National Commission on the Role of Filipino women. In 2004, the commission drafted a framework plan for women that identify three priority concerns to meet the objectives of gender equality and women's empowerment: economic empowerment of women, protection and fulfillment of women's human rights, and gender-responsive governance. Projects that support these priorities will facilitate more equitable development across the Philippines, including supporting the full participation of women in political processes and governance in the international and national local level, strengthening gender-sensitive and inclusive programs and mechanisms with civil society, and increasing women's access to economic resources such as capital, technology, information, markets, and training.

Community-driven development (CDD) projects seek to empower communities, reduce poverty, and improve economic and social conditions of the poor, typically in rural and remote areas. No less important, CDD also typically addresses two persistent gender gaps: (1) women's lack of voice in public decision making, and (2) their poor access to services and markets. Much of the development community finds CDD to be appealing, and its use is widespread and growing. Nonetheless, the evidence to support the assumption that CDD effectively promotes development and enhances women's opportunities can be strengthened. Although most development projects have monitoring systems, these systems often focus more on outputs and less on outcomes and impacts. Such systems do not provide policymakers, managers, and stakeholders with an understanding of the success or failure of their projects or whether the well-being of the intended beneficiaries has improved.

Nonfarm sector development in rural Ethiopia is central to generating employment and income and thereby reducing poverty. The improved investment climate could facilitate investments in farm and nonfarm sectors by contributing directly and indirectly to the generation of additional employment for women and men. Ethiopia Industrial Development Strategy 2003 involved efforts to create an enabling environment for the private sector to be a driving force for economic development. The sectoral focus of the strategy is on the development of agro-based industries and on strengthening nonfarm sector. The sustainable support system for rural women entrepreneurs is based on five main components: (i) women's economic empowerment, (ii) market development, (iii) access to markets, (iv) business management support services, and (v) access to credit. Necessary conditions to support nonfarm economic activities, such as physical market development, feeder roads, and transport, will also benefit agriculture and create a virtuous circle of increasing farm and nonfarm income. Women are more likely to be involved in and benefit from nonfarm enterprise activities. Although the system proposed could be targeted at men and women, women could be the main beneficiaries of the support system. This sustainable system is new and innovative in directly supporting the rural poor and women by building the capacity of entrepreneurs and supporting institutions linked to the existing projects. This system may derive maximum synergy effects by integrating with the Agricultural Growth Project (AGP) and the Household Assets Building Program (HABP) of the Productive Safety Nets Project (PSNP) in a complementary relationship.

This global report examines the opportunity for special economic zones to promote women's economic empowerment and boost zone and enterprise competitiveness in developing countries. The research covers Bangladesh, China, Costa Rica, Egypt, El Salvador, Jordan, Kenya, and the Philippines. The study focuses on women's economic empowerment in the context of zones at three levels: (i) fair employment and working conditions for female employees; (ii) equal access to opportunities for professional advancement; and (iii) investment opportunities for female entrepreneurs. The study also examines gender-friendly policies and practices that support these three main goals, which include a wide range of options around laws, regulations, labor policies, gender-sensitive professional development programs, family support mechanisms, women's health programs, and supplier diversity and capacity-building initiatives. This study establishes the business case for investments in women's economic empowerment in SEZs, and identifies good-practice examples of recommended enablers to address this investment opportunity. Enablers are defined as efforts to counteract the negative impact of the obstacles women face in economic participation, and can include policies and programs at the government, zone, and enterprise level. The study provides background, evidence of challenges and success stories, comprehensive recommendations, and a suite of tools and tips to implement the recommendations successfully.

Women, business and the law focuses on this critical piece of the puzzle, objectively highlighting differentiations on the basis of gender in 141 economies around the world, covering six areas: accessing institutions, using property, getting a job, providing incentives to work, building credit and going to court. Women, business and the law describes regional trends and shows how economies are changing across these six areas, tracking governments' actions to expand economic opportunities for women. For men and women throughout the developing world, the chance to start and run a business or get a good job is the surest hope for a way out of poverty. It also requires good business regulation, suited to the purpose, streamlined and accessible, so that the opportunity to build a business or have a good job is dependent not on connections, wealth or power, but on an individual's initiative and ability. The doing business report has led the way in providing data to countries about creating a sounder and more streamlined business environment. Women, Business, and the Law 2012 are the second in this series of reports. This edition retains the same basic structure of the 2010 pilot edition, while significantly expanding the depth of data covered. While the number of topics covered is the same, there has been a significant expansion of the data collected within these topics, thus addressing some of the initial shortcomings of the pilot edition. The number of economies covered has also been expanded from 128 to 141.