South Asia gender initiative

Gender equality is necessary to promote the human development of society and not just of women. As South Asia region (SAR) countries grow, investments in infrastructure are also expanding. Gender remains critically important for infrastructure planning and provision. The incidence of gender based violence (GBV) remains high in several SAR countries. These cases are sometimes extreme in nature with acid attacks, gang rapes, and honor killings. Young adults in SA also account for half the unemployment in the region because formal job growth has not kept pace with the economic growth. Finding solutions for the complex issues of gender in SA presents both a challenge and an opportunity for action. Since June 2011, the Science in Australia Gender Equity (SAGE) partnership between Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID) and the World Bank has attempted to address some of these issues in all countries of the region. The objective of the SAGE initiative is to scale up gender approaches in the SA region of the Bank through mainstreaming gender in operations and analytical and advisory activities. It also aims to support the preparation and supervision of stand-alone gender projects, strategic analytical work that fills knowledge gaps and the monitoring and evaluation of gender based interventions. This will assist the region in meeting its millennium development goal (MDG) targets, in particular MDG 3 which is to promote gender equality and empower women.