Story tools

Print this article

Email to a friend

Your feedback

Women’s health and education have improved  substantially in most countries, but progress is lagging on improving their  economic opportunities, and investments of some US$13 billion a year are  needed to achieve the overall goal of gender equality and women’s empowerment,  says a new report by the World Bank and the Organization for Economic  Cooperation and Development (OECD).

“Equality for Women: Where Do We Stand on Millennium Development Goal 3?” was  released today during a joint seminar of the International Center for Research  on Women (ICRW) and the World Bank, a day ahead of the United Nations High- level Event on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

“Gender equality is key for poverty reduction and growth,” says Danny  Leipziger, World Bank Vice President for Poverty Reduction and Economic  Management (PREM). “Progress on women’s education is essential but not enough  if we don’t improve women’s access to good jobs and credit lines, to land  ownership and to income-generating activities.”