Women are the sole breadwinners for an increasing number of households. They hold key positions as community organizers and are forging their roles in emerging democracies. They account for a majority of the developing world's micro-entrepreneurs and provide most of the labor in the agriculture sector, which remains the backbone of virtually all developing economies. The contributions women make to economic productivity, food security, environmental conservation, and family health and nutrition are indispensable to meeting development objectives. Although many international agreements recognize women's human rights, pervasive gender bias means women are much more likely than men to be malnourished, poor and illiterate and to have less access than men to medical care, property ownership, employment and political power.
Gender bias exacts an enormous toll on women's lives, health and potential.
It also prevents achievement of sustainable development and population stabilization. Yet experience shows that recognizing and acting upon women's central roles in the development process is a decisive element in achieving improvements in the economic and social well-being of developing countries. Millions of poor women across the developing world are benefiting from microenterprise. Women tend to contribute a larger share of their income to family welfare than do men. One study in Mexico found that women contributed 100 percent of their earnings to the family budget, while men contributed at 75 percent, and often less.