Page iii EXECUTIVE SUMMARY i. This paper highlights key findings that Bank staff (or others involved in development programs) may use to start identifying issues and developing action plans concerning women in economic and sector analysis and in project design. The paper focuses on the majority of women who are poor, not the few who are rich. It emphasizes measures to include women in development that contribute to economic performance, poverty reduction, slower population growth, and other broad development objectives. These measures generally fall into two classes. Some (such as agricultural extension or credit for assetless women) equiR women immediately to improve productivity and earning capacity. Others (such as schooling or health care) build the human capital that enables people in the longer run to break out of old molds and lead more productive and satisfying lives. ii. "Women in development" (WID) is still a new field, its analytic base narrow. The impact of economic policies or programs on women -- indeed on anyone in particular -- is not always well understood, as economic research tends to focus on aggregated indicators such as GNP growth or per capita income. This paper is only a first step in identifying ways to improve women's opportunities. As experience accumulates and understanding improves, this paper will be refined. In the meantime, we know en:sugh to outline key issues, based on the operational experience of the Bank and other agencies and on existing research. This paper aims primarily at World Bank country and sector economists, country officers, and others working at the country level. It raises key issues in several sectors and suggests promising approaches but does not provide detailed "how to" ideas. We Rlan to augment this paDer with detailed sector-by-sector "how to" guidelines and examoles of effective Rrojects. (Guidelines on forestry are available. Guidelines on agricultural extension, credit, and education will be completed in FY90.) iii. The implications of women's roles for Bank analysis and lending will be obvious in the human capital fields -- education and training; health and nutrition; and f,mily planning. (In these fields, the evidence on potential benefits and promising approaches is generally strong.) Perhaps less obvious are the important implications of women's roles in poverty alleviation and development strategies addressing employment; agriculture and forestry; and household energy. (In these fields, the base of evidence is less extensive but growing, and the evidence that exists is proWting.) Women's roles also indirectly affect infrastructure (water, roads,-anid transport). (In these fields, the evidence remains sketchy.) The implications of women's roles are more tenuous but not entirely absent in macro policy considerations -- monetary and fiscal, trade, privatization; and public sector management policies. Economic adjustment programs tend to affect the entire economy, so their impact on women can and should be considered. (In these fields the evidence remains limited as the impact on women has seldom been addressed, but several Bank surveys now under way will help.) The legal framework may be an important "enabling influence" on women, but its impact is not yet well studied. Finally, attention to women is crucial in analyzing the links between economic progress, population growth, and management of the environment. (In these fields, the evidence is al eady strong.)