Enhancing Gender Equality In Infrastructure Development

Underlining why gender equality is a core component of sustainable infrastructure design, this report considers four key ADB investment sectors in Asia and the Pacific and sets out ways to evaluate gender-enhanced project outcomes. The report outlines theories of change and indicators designed to enable gender-inclusive infrastructure investment in urban development, transport, energy, and water, sanitation, and hygiene. Designed to serve as a point of reference, it shows how better including the needs of women, increasing their role in decision-making, and raising stakeholder understanding can help deliver projects that work for everyone.

Infrastructure projects may reinforce gender inequality if women's needs are not recognized in project design. The Asian Development Bank actively promotes gender mainstreaming in its infrastructure projects in Central and West Asia. In the publication, project results illustrate how gender inclusion contributes to meeting the needs of all beneficiaries and creating opportunities for regional economic growth.

Two projects in Sri Lanka employed participatory approaches, bringing key stakeholders together and facilitating women's involvement---the North East Coastal Community Development Project which was aimed to improve sustainable livelihood and natural resource management in poor coastal communities, and Component B of the Tsunami-Affected Areas Rebuilding Project, which was designed to provide an emergency response to urgent post-tsunami reconstruction challenges. This case study looks at the gender dimensions of two projects that focus on the community development component that advocated community participation, social inclusion, and gender equality in community infrastructure development and livelihood restoration processes in targeted communities.

Annotation Makes recommendations for removing the barriers women face in contributing to and benefiting from sustainable economic development. International experience has proved that support for a stronger role for women in society contributes to economic growth through improved child survival rates, better family health, and reduced fertility rates. Nevertheless, women still face many barriers in contributing to and benefiting from development. These include low investment in female education and health and restricted access to services and assets. This study highlights five areas that could help change this inequitable situation: education, health, wage labor, agriculture and natural resource management, and financial services. A gender and development strategy is suggested that would take into account the relative roles and responsibilities of women and men, implying that the actions and attitudes of men must change. The ideas presented in this paper are an example of the World Bank's commitment to mainstreaming gender concerns into its operations. Although significant steps have already been taken in this direction, there remains a long road ahead. Also available: French (ISBN 0-8213-3023-3) Stock No. 13023; Spanish (ISBN 0-8213-3024-1) Stock No. 13024.

This tool kit assists staff and consultants of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and partner governments in conceptualizing and designing gender-responsive programs and projects in transport sector operations. It aims to help users identify gender equality issues and to develop practical design elements into transport operations. It guides users on key questions to be asked and data to be collected during project preparation, and provides a menu of entry points for designing gender-inclusive transport projects. The tool kit presents the rationale for why gender equality issues are important in transport sector operations and provides guidance and suggestions for integrating gender in key transport subsectors. Case studies from ADB projects have been included to illustrate good practices in mainstreaming gender concerns in transport sector operations.

Trade can dramatically improve women’s lives, creating new jobs, enhancing consumer choices, and increasing women’s bargaining power in society. It can also lead to job losses and a concentration of work in low-skilled employment. Given the complexity and specificity of the relationship between trade and gender, it is essential to assess the potential impact of trade policy on both women and men and to develop appropriate, evidence-based policies to ensure that trade helps to enhance opportunities for all. Research on gender equality and trade has been constrained by limited data and a lack of understanding of the connections among the economic roles that women play as workers, consumers, and decision makers. Building on new analyses and new sex-disaggregated data, Women and Trade: The Role of Trade in Promoting Gender Equality aims to advance the understanding of the relationship between trade and gender equality and to identify a series of opportunities through which trade can improve the lives of women.

The Kerala Sustainable Urban Development Project sought to improve the urban environment, economy, and living conditions of the residents of Kochi, Kollam, Kozhikode, Thiruvananthapuram, and Thrissur. Improvements in access to safe water and sanitation facilities have reduced the workloads of women and girls. Women's and girls' mobility is also now safer, and family hygiene practices are healthier. The project also offered vocational training in a number of areas supporting women's business initiatives. The project contributed to several important advances that had strong gender equality dimensions, including an improved quality of life, increased opportunities for employment and income generation for men and women, and enhanced participation, leadership, and decision making by women---in the community and within households.

This case study examines the gender aspects of the Infrastructure Development Investment Program for Tourism in Himachal Pradesh and Punjab. The program has contributed to economic growth, and provides evidence of the capacity of gender-responsive tourism development to promote community participation in tourism and enhance the status of women. This report looks at results in three areas: human capital and economic empowerment, the creation of spaces for women's voices to be heard, and the promotion of equal rights. The case study affirms that a gender-inclusive design, coupled with effective implementation, gives women and men equal access to project benefits.