Development for All – A Gender Action Plan

for the East Asia and Pacific Region FY11 -13

“A society that ignores the abilities, energies, and intelligence of half its people
fails them – and itself. That is not smart economics”

President Robert B. Zoellick

MDG 3 Conference on Women’s Empowerment and Employment
Copenhagen, March 25, 2010

Indonesia, Country Gender Assessment, 2006

I. Rationale

Evidence from around the world suggests that societies that promote more equal opportunities for
men and women have higher growth, lower poverty, and better development outcomes. Yet, across
the globe, women cannot participate on par with men in manifold aspects of societal life — when they
do not have a say in the decisions that affect their lives or claim fair political representation, when they
are denied an education or face discrimination in employment, when they are denied entitlement to
land and property, or when they suffer violence within their own home.

The East Asia and Pacific Region (EAP) has seen significant progress towards reducing gender
disparities in human development outcomes. In addition, several governments in the Region have
increasingly identified gender as an important pillar in poverty alleviation strategies. In places such as
China, the Philippines and Vietnam, women are significantly integrated into the workforce (though
occupational segregation may remain). Their contributions to growth, especially in the manufacturing
sector, have been considerable. 1

The Bank has increased its traction to address gender related challenges. The Region will deepen its
emphasis on gender equality in a context of greater awareness, responsibility and more effective

1
Gender Equality in East Asia: Progress and the Challenges of Economic Growth and Political Change (2005).
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development action. The Bank-wide Gender Action Plan is entering a 3-year transition phase for
intensifying gender mainstreaming at the Bank. The World Development Report 2012 on Development
and Gender Equity will aim to bridge the gaps in knowledge both in how and why gender equity matters
for development and in the understanding of how best to take account of gender differences in policy
design. At the same time, investments in gender equality will be increased under IDA 16 with actionable
targets to be set across sectors and a monitoring system to be put in place to assess progress.
Furthermore, Mr. Zoellick reiterated the Bank’s commitment to gender equality at the March 2010
Conference on Women’s Empowerment and Employment.

II. Objective

The objective of the EAP Gender Action Plan is to help ensure that women and men benefit equitably
from development and thus contribute to enhancing development effectiveness. The Action Plan
focuses on: (i) improving the diagnosis of gender issues at regional and country levels; (ii) establishing
priorities for policy dialogue with governments, non-state actors and development partners; (iii)
strengthening mainstreaming of gender issues in Bank operations; (iv) defining clear roles and
responsibilities for the implementation of these actions; (v) establishing a set of indicators and targets to
monitor progress; and (vi) providing country teams with additional capacity building and technical
backstopping support. 2

III. Gender in the East Asia and Pacific Region 3

Gender issues in the East Asia and Pacific Region reflect the diversity of country contexts with
significant disparities between middle and low income countries. This diversity challenges the World
Bank Group to develop a highly country-specific approach to addressing disparities and catalyzing
change, with the mix of analytical work, policy dialogue, and mainstreamed and gender-focused
operations being customized to the country context and the Bank’s strategy there.

Overall good human development outcomes mask considerable variations across countries. Maternal
mortality rates, often taken as a proxy for women’s access to health, are overall low across the region. 4
These low average rates contrast with the situation in countries such as Lao PDR and Cambodia, with
persistently high maternal mortality. 5 In addition, sex ratios at birth abnormally skewed in favor of boys
are a significant concern in China, with evidence of a similar trend in Vietnam. 6 Concerning education,
the Region as a whole has seen sizeable gains and gender disparities in primary and secondary levels

2
The action plan is in line with the World Bank’s Operational Policy on Gender and Development (OP) 4.20 the
objective of which is to assist member countries to reduce poverty and enhance economic growth, human well-
being, and development effectiveness by addressing the gender disparities and inequalities that are barriers to
development, and by assisting member countries in formulating and implementing their gender and development
goals. It also builds on the 2001 Gender Mainstreaming Strategy put in place to integrate gender-responsive
actions into the World Bank’s development assistance, and the 2007 Gender Action Plan, a four-year plan to
improve women's economic opportunity.
3
Gender Equality in East Asia: Progress and the Challenges of Economic Growth and Political Change (2005).
4
Adjusted Maternal Mortality Ratio (MMR) of 220 in 1990, and 150 in 2005 for the region as a whole, against a
global average of 400 (2005). Adjusted MMRs for LAC and CEE/CIS were 130 and 46, respectively. UNICEF State of
the World’s Children (2009).
5
Adjusted Maternal Mortality Ratio (MMR) of 540 for Cambodia and 660 for Laos in 2005 (UNICEF, State of the
World’s Children (2009).
6
For the generation born in 2000-04, the sex ratio in China was 124 (i.e., 124 boys were born in those years for
every 100 girls). The ratio in Vietnam increased from 108 in 1999 to 111 in 2009.

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have increasingly narrowed. 7 However, while the greatest gap now remains at the tertiary level, barriers
to girls’ access to education including at the primary level continue to require attention in some
countries in the Pacific. In addition, access to both education and health services across the Region is
particularly challenging for women and girls from ethnic minority communities and from remote rural
areas.

We see a mixed picture regarding participation in the economy and in decision making. The vast majority
of women across the Region are employed in agriculture. While new labor force opportunities have
opened up (in the manufacturing sector, including in export oriented industries, as well as in the service
sector and in overseas employment), women still constitute the majority of informal sector workers.
Issues related to migration, workplace conditions and long-term social security remain largely to be
addressed. Labor migration is often associated with increasing vulnerabilities for women, in particular as
they enter informal services more than men. Throughout the Region, women’s voice in formal decision-
making remains weak, and the share of women with a seat in national parliaments, or participating in
lower levels of government, remains low. Recent data compiled in the 2009 Millennium Development
Goals report highlights significant variations within EAP. Women hold 20 percent of parliamentary seats
in East Asia, 17 percent in South East Asia, and 3 percent only in Oceania.

Violence against women is particularly severe and pervasive in parts of EAP – Fiji, Papua New Guinea,
Solomon Islands, Vanuatu and East Timor, as well as in Cambodia. 8 Forms of violence against women in
these countries are consistent with global trends. They include: (i) physical, psychological and economic
violence against women by intimate partners; and (ii) sexual violence perpetrated by intimate partners
or others. Women’s low socio-economic status in these countries is considered a major obstacle to
reducing violence.

The evaluation of the Bank’s support for Gender and Development, carried out in 2009 by the
Independent Evaluation Group (IEG), has important lessons for EAP.

A diagnostic of gender issues has been carried out consistently in the majority of EAP countries to inform
the development of Country Assistance Strategies (CAS). The IEG evaluation points to good practices
regarding the collaborative nature of these assessments. For the Philippines and Cambodia, Country
Gender Assessments were carried out jointly with bilateral and multilateral partners. In Lao PDR and
Vietnam, great ownership and commitment from government counterparts has been evident.
Moreover, the IEG evaluation stresses the importance of replicating best country practices, in particular:
(i) the establishment of a dedicated fund for gender mainstreaming and alignment with country gender
policy and strategy in Vietnam; (ii) good donor collaboration for the implementation of gender diagnosis
in the Philippines; and (iii) the wide client participation in updating the gender diagnosis in Lao PDR.

Improvements are still needed in the way in which gender analysis is used both at the country level and
in specific operations. Evaluation findings indicate that the majority of countries made strategic use of
Country Gender Assessments (CGAs). EAP has the highest percentage of CGAs across all Regions (75
percent). However, there was a decline observed in the integration of gender analysis in CAS over time.
At the level of operations, a high proportion of projects did address gender issues, but performance

7
The ratio of girls to boys in primary education has improved for EAP as a whole from 98.4 in 1999 to 99.8 in 2007
(Education for All Global Monitoring Report 2010). For the Philippines, Mongolia and Malaysia girls outnumber
boys in secondary education. This raises issues regarding the retention of boys in school and concerning the
conditions of the labor market that might contribute to keeping girls in school for longer.
8
Violence against Women in Melanesia and East Timor: A Review of International Lessons, AusAid 2007.

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across sectors was variable. Agriculture and rural development was considered the best performing
sector, with significant improvements noted in mining and energy. The IEG report stresses the need to
strengthen the integration of gender issues in health and education, in the transport sector and in issues
to do with the gender dimension of the implementation of the Bank’s social safeguards (on involuntary
resettlement 9 and indigenous peoples). In addition, the evaluation underlines the importance of
strengthening the accountability framework to further mainstream gender in the Region’s work by: (i)
establishing a results framework; (ii) holding Country Directors accountable for the gender agenda and
empowering Country Gender Focal Points; and (iii) providing resources to update diagnostics before a
new CAS.

IV. The Way Forward

Building on a review of the Region’s achievements to date, the gender strategies of other Regions and
several development partners, and lessons from the GAP’s implementation and IEG’s recommendations,
EAP adopts a more strategic and systematic approach to gender mainstreaming. This is achieved by
time-bound country gender action plans with specific targets and dedicated resources allocated to meet
a set of priority activities. In addition, priorities for regional activities and technical backstopping would
be defined, technical support provided and further capacity building activities carried out to meet the
needs of country teams, and a monitoring framework put in place to track progress over time.

1. Developing Country Gender Action Plans

The process of identifying gender issues, establishing priorities, and defining gender-responsive
actions needs to be country-specific and country led. This is essential to ensure that country teams
effectively respond to country demand. In order to operationalize the gender agenda, each country
team will prepare a Country Gender Action Plan (C-GAP). The C-GAP covers the same period covered by
the Country Assistance/Partnership Strategy (CAS/CPS). It feeds into the general priorities identified in
these documents and identifies concrete activities to translate these strategies into concrete action.
These C-GAPs will be updated, as needed, in advance of annual work program and budget discussions.

The format in Table 1 (below) aims to help country teams prioritize strategic actions for greater impact
at the country level and allocate necessary financial and human resources to achieve the targets set. It
is intentionally short and requires country teams to provide minimal narrative information only.
Guidance for C-GAP preparation is provided by the Regional Gender Coordinator.

Table 1 – Format for Country Gender Action Plans

Goal (overall objective that the C-GAP aims to contribute to)

Key impact indicator(s) (maximum of five)
Baseline(s) (where available) and Target(s)
Gender Assessments and Other Analytical Work
Key outcome(s):
Key outcome indicator(s):
Baseline(s) and Target(s):
Action Responsible Output Indicator Baseline Targets Budget Time-line
…
Policy Dialogue

9
Involuntary resettlement often leaves women and children in a particularly vulnerable position.

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Key outcome(s):
Action Responsible Output Indicator Baseline Targets Budget Time-line
…
Operations
Key outcome(s):
Key outcome indicator(s):
Baseline(s) and Target(s):
Action Responsible Output Indicator Baseline Targets Budget Time-line
…
Capacity Building and Training Needs
Key outcome(s):
Key outcome indicator(s):
Baseline(s) and Target(s):
Action Responsible Output Indicator Baseline Targets Budget Time-line
…

The development of the C-GAPs includes:

⇒ A country-level prioritization exercise to: (i) determine key outcomes to be achieved; (ii) select
strategic analytical work on gender; (iii) define the key issues around which the country teams
will engage in policy dialogue; (iv) set targets for gender mainstreaming in specific
sectors/operations; and (v) identify areas in which country team members (and/or government
counterparts and non-state actors) require additional training and capacity building. 10 The
prioritization exercise should be undertaken in collaboration with government counterparts,
non-state actors including women’s groups, and development partners to ensure that it
addresses country priorities and demands. The process of developing the C-GAPs constitutes an
opportunity to discuss key issues that country teams feel should be brought to the attention of
client countries.

⇒ An assignment of responsibilities for specific activities, budget allocations, time-lines and key
indicators. Country level indicators and targets take into account sector targets and standard
indicators where applicable. In particular, country teams would follow global targets for rural
development interventions 11 and core sector indicators. 12

In order to determine the necessary staff and financial resources for work to be undertaken in FY11,
Country Gender Focal Points will produce a short note by July 8, 2010 which provides an outline of the

10
Some assistance may be needed to countries to make sure gender-disaggregated data can be collected since not
all countries may have data collection exercises looking at, for instance, disaggregated data on informal labor or on
gender violence.
11
At least 75 percent of rural projects in all Regions are to include sex‐disaggregated monitoring and evaluation by
2014 (22 percent in FY05). At least 75 percent of all rural projects will have a gender-informed design by 2014.
12
For instance, SDN will monitor the following three indicators for gender integration: (i) percent increase in the
number of operations with “gender analysis and/or gender inclusive consultations” from a baseline to FY14; (ii)
percent increase in the number of operations with “gender-responsive design” from a baseline to FY14; and (iii)
percent increase in the number of operations with “gender-responsive M&E” from a baseline to FY14. These
indicators will be applied to all investment loans, development policy operations and technical assistance loans.

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country teams’ current priorities, actions and anticipated outputs/outcomes, based on the active
CAS/CPS; no new analytical work would be required. 13

Two C-GAPs will be piloted early in FY11 as a means to test the implementation format (Table 1). This
exercise would be led by the respective Country Gender Focal Point with support from the Regional
Gender Coordinator. Based on the lessons from this pilot exercise the C-GAPs for all other countries will
be prepared by October 31, 2010. 14

The C-GAPs will indicate the need to update gender diagnosis where relevant. Such analysis is
expected to play a key role in informing the development of upcoming CAS/CPS. Consequently, strategic
links between the C-GAP and the timing of analytical work in the lead-up to new strategies is critical.
With the exception of Cambodia and the Philippines, CGAs in the Region were conducted in 2005 and
2006 (see Annex A) and may require updating. Furthermore, most countries in the Pacific, where some
of the worst gender gaps in EAP are, do not have any gender diagnostics.

Diagnosis work would not, however, need to be self-standing. The analysis of gender issues can be
carried out as part of other analytical work (such as a Poverty Assessments), or be based on existing
secondary materials. Bank teams are also encouraged to cooperate with government, non-state actors
and development partners on gender diagnosis to produce joint analysis especially in countries where
partners are better positioned to address gender issues (for instance, in areas such as violence against
women). Finally, it is essential that analysis of this sort be integrated in government planning processes.
This diagnosis would eventually be summarized in short country gender briefs for dissemination
purposes. A template for country gender briefs would be prepared.

An integral part of ensuring that C-GAPs are dynamic drivers of a country-appropriate gender focus,
rather than static ‘snapshots’, is to ensure routine social reviews of operations at the PCN and PAD
stage. 15 These reviews will identify broader social risks and opportunities beyond safeguards
compliance. Among others, it will include a rapid analysis from a gender perspective to help task teams
determine the gendered impacts of the proposed project. This process will result in recommendations
made to task teams to enhance project design and increase effectiveness. A guide for social reviews is
under preparation.

Based on a review of the completed C-GAPs, priority countries with significant gender issues will be
identified. These would receive special attention and technical support from the Regional Gender
Coordinator and Practice Group for the implementation of their action plans.

2. Defining Priorities for Regional Activities and Technical Backstopping

To support the implementation of the EAP Gender Action Plan, the Regional Gender Coordinator with
the support from the Regional Gender Practice Group in EAP 16 has the following principal
responsibilities: (i) ensuring that the Region’s gender agenda is cross-sectoral and mutually supportive

13
These one page country gender notes will be discussed at a RMT meeting in mid July 2010.
14
The two C-GAP pilots are Vietnam and a country from the Pacific Islands.
15
The Region’s SDN Department agreed to phase in social reviews of projects starting in FY11, focusing during a
pilot phase on projects with a higher level of risks and opportunities.
16
The Regional Gender Practice Group includes representation from PREM, HD and SDN.

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and leverages and builds upon sector strengths; (ii) providing technical support/quality enhancement for
the gender-focused work identified at the country level; (iii) identifying entry points for strategic
regional activities with a focus on analytical work and policy dialogue; and (iv) monitoring and reporting
annually on progress made in implementing country gender action plans.

The Practice Group will help set annual priorities for analytical work and policy dialogue at the regional
level, based on the cross-regional trends emerging from country level analysis. The set of issues of
strategic importance is dynamic and changes over time. Based on the current set of CGAs, regional
analytical work on topics that either cross borders and/or are similar in different countries could include:
(i) women’s labor force participation including issues related to urbanization; (ii) violence against
women; and (iii) gender and ethnicity. The Practice Group may also advise sector teams on gender
mainstreaming as and when needed.

3. Monitoring and Evaluation17

In order to understand the impact of the Region’s efforts on gender, particular attention will be paid
to monitoring and evaluation. Drawing on the proposed C-GAP implementation (see Table 1)
achievements under the regional action plan will be measured by progress on implementing the plan’s
focus areas (see above), country-specific evaluations on development effectiveness, and long-term
aggregate gender indicators. For C-GAPs, progress will also be tracked at three levels:

(i) Impact – Country teams would select a maximum of five impact indicators that the
implementation of the C-GAP would contribute to. Baselines and targets could be set based
on available national level data. Teams would need to pay particular attention to the
alignment of their activities with national priorities regarding gender and development.
Where relevant, teams will consider indicators used in national development strategies or
national gender action plans. This level of monitoring will enable the teams to track overall
progress at the country level with a focus on those areas to which they are contributing.
Country teams will not be however, directly accountable for the achievement of these
results.

(ii) Outcomes – Country teams will select key outcome indicators to measure intermediate results
in each area of the C-GAP which are directly related to activities supported by the Bank.
Teams will need to take into account relevant sector indicators and targets. While preparing
the C-GAPs country teams will need to consider whether evaluations of specific elements of
the plan will be required to assess progress made.

(iii) Output indicators will be selected to regularly monitor progress towards the activities outlined
in the C-GAP (see above).

Specific guidance on the SDN sector indicators and targets, which are focused on individual projects, is
provided in Annex 2. 18 Additional guidance on impact, output and outcome indicators related to the
country gender action plans will be prepared by the Regional Gender Coordinator.

17
The Bank’s Gender Department (PRMGE) is establishing a results framework for gender, both as an integral
element of the “GAP Transition Plan” that will be implemented once the GAP comes to an end, and as an input into
the IDA 16 Results Framework, where gender is identified as one of three priority themes. To support this
framework, SDV and SDN gender focal points, in collaboration with SDN Sector Boards have developed a
methodology for monitoring progress in gender integration in the SDN sectors; see above.

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4. Implementation

The key roles and responsibilities for the implementation of the EAP Gender Action Plan are as
follows 19:

Function Key areas of responsibility

Country Directors (CDs)
Country Gender Focal Points
(already in place for most
countries in EAP)
Task Team Leaders
Sector Managers
Regional Gender Coordinator
• Overall development and implementation of country gender action plans.
• Allocating financial resources against the priority actions identified in the
C-GAPs.
• Overseeing the integration of gender priorities in the CAS/CPS.
• Reporting annually on C-GAP implementation in the areas of: (i) analytical
work; (ii) policy dialogue; (iii) operations; and (iv) capacity building.
• Preparing and updating C-GAPs under the overall guidance of the CD.
• Undertaking and/or supporting analytical work as identified in the C-GAP
and providing technical support to task teams for mainstreaming gender
in operational work.
• Providing and supporting capacity building of task teams and
counterparts.
• Preparing annual updates against C-GAP targets.
• Implementing concrete actions (analytical or operational work) outlined in
C-GAPs.
• Ensuring that the social review of operations, inclusive of gender
dimensions, is carried out at the PCN and PAD stages.
• Reporting to Country Directors on the implementation and completion of
tasks as per C-GAP.
• Supervising and providing guidance to task teams regarding actions
outlined in the C-GAP.
• Ensuring the inclusion of gender tasks and issues in WPA discussions.
• Identifying additional staffing and/or training needs were relevant for
implementing the gender agenda in the sector/country.
• Providing technical assistance to Country Gender Focal Points for
developing and updating the C-GAPs.
• Compiling information on the implementation of C-GAPs and on regional
capacity building and analytical activities for annual reporting to the
Regional Vice-President.
• Maintaining a region-wide database of key resources and expertise
(individual and institutional) for use by task teams.
• Developing and disseminating tools and methodologies, including
guidance on C-GAP indicators, model terms of reference and other
resources.
• Developing and implementing training interventions for country team
members and clients

18
This guidance has been proposed by the SDN Sector Boards for the three SDN indicators to be monitored but it
should apply equally for the HD and PREM sectors. For more information, see “Targets for monitoring progress in
gender integration in operations: A proposed approach for the Sustainable Development Network”, draft
discussion note, April 23, 2010.
19
The specific roles and responsibilities outlined above are consistent with the broader responsibilities set out in
the Gender Mainstreaming Strategy (2001) for the implementation of the gender agenda; see:
http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/TOPICS/EXTGENDER/0,,contentMDK:20167522~menuPK:489177~p
agePK:148956~piPK:216618~theSitePK:336868,00.html)

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Function Key areas of responsibility

• Implementing select regional analytical work.
Regional Gender Practice Group • Reviewing and vetting C-GAPs prepared by country teams.
• Supporting the Regional Gender Coordinator as required.

5. Estimated Funding Needs

A key objective of the EAP Gender Action Plan is to ensure the adequate allocation of resources to
enable staff to deliver on the commitments made in the regional and country gender action plans. It is
proposed that the Regional front office will fund regional coordination in the amount of c. $160,000
annually whilst Country Directors continue to fund the gender related work of Country Gender Focal
Points. 20 Activities in the C-GAP and regional AAA would be funded by a combination of additional,
dedicated BB as well as trust funds. Table 2 below provides an estimate of staff time and variable costs
required annually for regional coordination.

20
The number of staff working on gender varies widely by country with Lao PDR and Vietnam having several Bank
staff engaged on the gender agenda as compared to the Pacific Islands where there are virtually none. Country
offices would need to make adequate allocations to cover all staff involved in gender work.

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Table 2 – Annual Estimated Cost for Regional Coordination

Staff function Staff time Variable costs Total BB

Regional Gender Practice 2 staff weeks for each n/a $30,000
Group member ($7,500)
Regional Gender 15 staff weeks ($75,000) $22,500 (travel) $97,500
Coordinator
Other support Other staff time and n/a $35,000
consultants
Total $162,500

The Gender Action Plan (GAP) put in place by the PREM Gender Department is in its final year, and a
transition plan is currently under preparation. The GAP has been instrumental in ensuring that task
teams in the Region have access to funding for innovative analytical and operational work. Subject to
the availability of donor funding, it is expected that the GAP will continue to provide just-in-time funding
for such work in the future. GAP funding would not, however, be used for regional and country
coordination.

V. Timeline for Preparation and Reporting

Output Responsibility Timeline

Note on current priorities, actions and
outcomes for FY11 developed in
parallel with FY11 WPAs
C-GAPs piloted in two country offices
Guidance note prepared on monitoring
and evaluation for C-GAPs
C-GAPs in the remaining countries
completed
Priority countries and regional
priorities identified, based on C-GAPs
Brief country gender profiles prepared
C-GAPs updated for the following fiscal
year
C-GAPs reviewed and vetted
Annual priorities for: (i) regional
analytical work/policy dialogue defined
and (ii) capacity building agreed for the
following fiscal year
Report on the implementation of C-
GAPs and regional activities compiled
and submitted to RVP for the ongoing
fiscal year
Country Directors supported by July 8, 2010
Country Gender Focal Points
Country Director supported by August 30, 2010
Country Gender Focal Points
Regional Gender Coordinator , September 30, 2010
SDN Sector Boards, EAP Gender
Practice Group
Country Director supported by October 31, 2010
Country Gender Focal Points
Regional Gender Practice Group November 30, 2010
and Regional Management Team
Country Gender Focal Points November 30, 2010
Country Directors supported by March 31, 2011
Country Gender Focal Points
Regional Gender Practice Group April 30, 2011
Regional Gender Practice Group April 30, 2011
and Regional Management Team
Regional Gender Focal Point April 30, 2011

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Annex A - Status of Country Gender Assessments Across the Region
Country Type of Instrument
Cambodia Country Gender Assessment
by the Ministry of Women’s
Affairs with the support of
WB, ADB, UN agencies, the
Cambodia Development
Research Institute and bi-
lateral partners (DFID, GTZ)
China Research Report on Gender
Gaps and Poverty Reduction
(in partnership with ADB,
DFID)
Indonesia Country Gender Assessment
(in partnership with ADB,
CIDA, the Asia Foundation,
the National Democratic
Institute and the State
Ministry for Women’s
Empowerment)
Laos Gender Profile, currently
being updated (jointly with
ADB) to feed into the WB’s
CPS and the national 5-year
plan.
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Key issues identified and/or Date
recommendations Completed
• Greater Investment in boys’ education April 2008
(over that of girls).
• Women’s greater economic role does
not translate into greater decision-
making.
• Need to further strengthen the legal
framework for the legal protection of
women.
• Sex ratio extremely skewed in favor of October 2006
boys.
• Significant disparities in literacy rates
and educational attainment.
• Gender segregation in the labor market
with women concentrated in low-wage
occupations.
• Limited progress in increasing the
number of women in decision-making
positions.
• Women's participation in paid July 2006
employment and access to productive
resources need to be improved.
• Gender inequality in access to
education is most severe among the
poor and in rural areas. Health services
are not reaching rural women and girls.
• The institutional framework for gender
mainstreaming needs to be
strengthened. The participation of
women in decision making is essential
at all levels.
• Violence against women takes many
forms, and few services are available to
victims.
• The rights of international migrants
require protection.
• Lao women’s economic participation is November
one of the highest in the region. 2005
Women are concentrated in agriculture,
the informal sector and small-scale
enterprises. More women than men
work in the formal sector, although
women tend to be found in low-skilled
jobs, rarely in management positions.
• Migration is becoming an option for
many Lao men and women (associated
with increasing vulnerabilities
particularly for women and children)

Country Type of Instrument
Mongolia Country Gender Assessment
in partnership with the ADB
Philippines Carried out by ADB in
partnership with CIDA, EC,
UNICEF, UNIFEM, and
UNFPA. Used by WB to
inform the CAS
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Key issues identified and/or Date
recommendations Completed
• Education indicators remain among the
lowest in East Asia. While maternal
mortality rates remain among the
highest. The national averages mask
wide disparities between rural and
urban areas.
• The issue of violence against women is
also one that is increasing emerging.
• Maternal mortality and malnutrition
rates remain high, with little positive
change over the last decade
• Migration is a common response to 2005
poverty. Employment opportunities
remain limited. High proportion of
female headed households observed.
• Distortions in the labor market,
persistent wage gap across all sectors.
• Few women participate in decision-
making fora, the proportion of women
in the national parliament fell to 7
percent.
• The gender gap in education in the 2008
Philippines tends to favor girls.
• One of the most pressing concerns for
women is access to reproductive health
care services.
• Unemployment and underemployment
remain high. The female labor force
participation rate lags behind the rate
for males. Many of the newer
industries—like business process
outsourcing and other information and
communications technology based
industries—demonstrate a preference
for hiring women. Women still tend to
occupy lower-paid, lower-tier jobs.
Women workers in some of these
industries also report gender-based
discrimination in the form of sexual
harassment, difficulty in obtaining
maternity leave, and gender bias in
promotions. Low wages, excessive
salary deductions, lack of production
incentives, and absence of job security
also characterize this type of
employment.
• The Philippines is highly vulnerable to a
range of disasters, with millions of
people affected every year. Disaster risk
reduction is most effective when it
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Country Type of Instrument Key issues identified and/or Date

recommendations Completed
involves the communities—and
particularly the women in those
communities

Papua New • Outlines the key historical, economic, October 1998

Guinea demographic, political, geographic,
socio-cultural, and legal and
institutional issues relevant to
understanding the status of women in
PNG
• Examines potential areas of
intervention with the emphasis on
identifying how such intervention could
influence community and institutional
views on the role of women to promote
their fuller participation in economic
and social activities
• Gaps in information about the situation
of women in PNG, particularly in the
statistical database, are identified with
recommendations for further research.
Vietnam Country Gender Assessment • Ethnic minority women lag behind in December
(in partnership with DFID, access to health and education services 2006
CIDA, ADB) and economic opportunities.
• Gender stereotyping in text books
perpetuates gender inequalities.
• Greater support needed for women
farmers.
• Slow progress in increasing the number
of women in decision making.

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Annex B – Excerpts from: “Targets for monitoring progress in gender integration in operations: A
proposed approach for the Sustainable Development Network”, April 23, 2010

• Step 1: Gender analysis and gender inclusive consultations. The gender analysis can be done as
part of the social assessment, or as a separate gender analysis. It may be based to a substantial
degree on findings from a wider country or sector social/gender analysis that has already been
completed. Consultations will be conducted with women and men to assess gender disparities,
needs, constraints, and priorities; as well as understanding whether there is a potential for
gender based inequitable risks, benefits and opportunities. Where such consultations have
already been conducted (e.g. as part of a prior sector analysis) the results of this may be
sufficient to guide the design of the operation. The project documents (PAD or DPL) should
report on the findings of the gender analyses and consultations. Projects that complete Step 1
will be considered to have “gender analysis and/or gender inclusive consultations”.

• Step 2: Gender-responsive design: This stage involves the incorporation of gender responsive
actions into the project document. This means design that contains gender-responsive and/or
gender-targeted activities. Gender-responsive design indicates that infrastructure, services,
institutions or policies were adapted to take account of the different needs of men and women,
or boys and girls (for example, establishment of separate toilet facilities for women and men,
establishment of new institutional arrangements or partnerships to mainstream attention to
gender in the sector, attention to elements of personal safety which are particularly important
for women and girls such as street lighting or safe pedestrian walkways, or attention to
improved household fuel). Targeted actions to address gender disparities may include
employment or other economic opportunities accessible to men and women, gender-inclusive
training activities, or measures to facilitate inclusion in decision-making by women. For DPLs,
the operation will be considered “gender-responsive” if the policy matrix includes a gender
specific action; Projects that complete Step 2 will be considered to have “gender-responsive
design”.

• Step 3: Gender-responsive M&E. This will be done by incorporating at least one sex-
disaggregated indicator (e.g. number or proportion of women and men trained/ employed/ or in
management positions) and/or gender-relevant indicators (number of improved cook-stoves
being used), in the results framework in the case of investment loans; or in the Summary of Key
Monitoring Indicators, in the case of DPLs. This can also be done through sex-disaggregation of
one of the SDN Core Indicators. Projects that complete Step 3 will be considered to have
“gender-responsive M&E”. In addition, consistent with newly mandated Bank-wide
requirements as part of IDA reporting, a further element will be included in gender-responsive
M&E, namely sex-disaggregation of the beneficiaries of IDA operations, as required by OPCS
since December 2009. 21

21
All IDA projects with an appraisal date of July 1, 2009 or later are required to report on direct and indirect
project beneficiaries (number), of whom how many are female (percentage).

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