Abstract
The World Banks focus on gender inequality and constraints faced by women in its flagship report, the World Development Report 2012, comes as a much-welcomed contribution to the scholarly and policy discourse on gender and development. Moreover, extensive efforts to disseminate the well-researched report across developing and industrialized regions is bound to give gender equality and womens welfare some much needed attention from mainstream scholars and government officials who otherwise marginalize such issues. This comprehensive volume of gender-aware research and policy discussion suggests that the goal of gender integration in development policy, pursued by scholars and practitioners since the early 1970s, is now realized at the level of a premier international financial institution. The reports concern with gender inequality stems from the World Banks recognition that gender equality can promote economic growth and is a worthy goal to pursue for both intrinsic and economic reasons. In the era of smart phones, smart cards, smart cars, and smart government programs, it is no surprise that the World Bank adopts the catchy phrase gender-smart to highlight the economy-wide gains to be had from reducing gender inequities. That is, the potential productivity gains achieved by closing gender gaps will boost economic growth. Yet the report has emphasized some messages especially those focused on the benefits of growth and the importance of micro-oriented policy reforms to address persistent inequities at the expense of others, especially the complicit role of macroeconomic policy in aggravating gender inequalities in the market and in the home. The remainder of this essay gives greater prominence to these overlooked messages using evidence from Asia, a region known for gender inequities in health, assets, income, and unpaid work that have persisted despite several decades of export-oriented growth.