Gender Issues in World Bank Lending

This report examines the evolution of Bank strategy to integrate gender issues in Bank lending across sectors since 1967, and the outcomes achieved so far. It reconstructs the evolution of Bank thought and actions in some depth through archives, published documents, and interviews. It describes the characteristics of 615 projects with some gender-related action, discusses the implementation experience through detailed file reviews for 60 of these projects, and assesses the outcomes for those projects already completed. With two-thirds of projects containing gender-related action still in progress, the assessment is, of necessity, provisional. Subsequent reports by the Operations Evaluation Department will provide detailed assessments of recent approaches as projects are completed. This desk review does not attempt to measure the impact of Bank lending on women