Bridging the Gender Gap in Developing Regions

Date
Jul 2000
According to conventional wisdom, health and education are important factors for economic and social development: they improve productivity and income distribution, and the poor gain the most. Nonetheless, in many regions of the world not all members of society receive these services equally. To a large extent, women are left out of health and education systems; as a consequence, they constitute an economically and socially disadvantaged group. This article analyzes the gender gaps within health and education in six regions of the developing world: Sub-Saharan Africa; South Asia; East and Southeast Asia; The Middle East and North Africa; Latin America and the Caribbean; Eastern Europe and Central Asia. In all of these regions, there is an unfinished agenda in terms of access and equity.