Gender Equality as Smart Economics: A World Bank Group Gender Action Plan

In September 2006, the World Bank released its Gender Action Plan (GAP) entitled Gender Equality as Smart Economics, which covers the 2007-2010 time frame.

The Action Plan seeks to advance women’s economic empowerment in order to promote shared growth, gender equality and women’s empowerment. The World Bank claims this will not only benefit women, but society as a whole. According to the GAP report, “the business case for expanding women’s economic opportunities is becoming increasingly evident; this is nothing more than smart economics.”

The Action Plan proposes important and much needed reforms that seek to increase women’s access to financial services and to secure women’s right to inherit and own land. Introducing legislation to promote women’s employment, “socializing” the cost of maternity leave, and providing quality day care services and reducing childcare costs are also measures proposed by the Plan.

While the World Bank believes that GAP is a good first step to achieving women’s equality, others doubt that the plan will create any meaningful change. Nowhere in the Action Plan do they speak of women’s rights as human rights. The lack of a human rights approach, which many see as essential for a development institution with a mission to reduce poverty, is one key area of criticism. And while making markets work is a legitimate goal, GAP entirely ignores the most important argument for empowering women - the achievement of women’s human rights. In addition, the GAP report does not focus on women’s educational and health developments because they do not yield results in a “reasonable time frame.”

To read the full report click here:
GAP

We welcome comments, and are interested in your reflections on the World Bank’s Gender Action Plan.