Resource information
The 2012 World Development Report recognized that
expanding women's agency - their ability to make
decisions and take advantage of opportunities is key to
improving their lives as well as the world. This report
represents a major advance in global knowledge on this
critical front. The vast data and thousands of surveys
distilled in this report cast important light on the nature
of constraints women and girls continue to face globally.
This report identifies promising opportunities and entry
points for lasting transformation, such as interventions
that reach across sectors and include life-skills training,
sexual and reproductive health education, conditional cash
transfers, and mentoring. It finds that addressing what the
World Health Organization has identified as an epidemic of
violence against women means sharply scaling up engagement
with men and boys. The report also underlines the vital role
information and communication technologies can play in
amplifying women's voices, expanding their economic and
learning opportunities, and broadening their views and
aspirations. The World Bank Group's twin goals of
ending extreme poverty and boosting shared prosperity demand
no less than the full and equal participation of women and
men, girls and boys, around the world.
