Resource information
The countries of Central and Eastern
Europe and Central Asia have a long history of striving for
gender equality, especially in the public sphere. Not only
was this an important goal during the socialist era, but
governments continued to pursue gender equality even during
the difficult years of transition. The governments in the
region allocated substantial resources toward the health and
education of both women and men. They also adopted
legislation that treated women and men equally in the labor
market and they provided child care services. During much of
the last century, the region surpassed countries both
developing and developed in establishing the equal treatment
of women and men. This report reviews changes in gender
inequalities in Europe and Central Asia over the last
decade, with a particular focus on economic opportunities
both in labor markets and in entrepreneurial activity. In
addition, given the importance of health and education in
opening up opportunities for men and women in the economic
sphere, the report discusses the changes in human capital
endowments in this area as well. Unfortunately, the lack of
data prevents us from covering the role of other assets,
such as property or financial assets, in broadening
opportunities for women. The remainder of this executive
summary is structured as follows. The next section, A,
reviews the main aspects of the World Development Report on
gender and development. The following sections, B and C,
discuss the main messages of this report and policy
priorities, respectively. Section D makes some closing remarks.
