Publication: Unlocking the Potential of Women and Adolescent Girls in Madagascar - Challenges and Opportunities in Enhancing Girls’ and Women’s Agency: Cahier 4
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2023-10-04
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2023-10-04
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This thematic note is part of a broader mixed-method study on gender inequalities in Madagascar, which intends to illustrate the key gender gaps in the country and shed light on the unique challenges that young Malagasy women face in their educational, professional, and family trajectories. Due to the persistence of financial, social, and institutional barriers, Malagasy women and girls encounter significant disadvantages across all dimensions of well-being and are unable to access opportunities in an equal manner with men and boys in the country. They are largely constrained in their ability to accumulate human capital in education and health, and to participate in economic opportunities; and they face severe limitations in agency and decision-making, particularly with respect to family formation. Women and girls also appear to be disproportionally affected by the impacts of climate change and the COVID-19 pandemic, which further widen preexisting gender gaps and amplify vulnerability to poverty, violence, and discrimination. This thematic note provides in-depth analysis of the limitations that Malagasy women and girls encounter in respect to their agency and proposes several strategic lines of action to improve women’s and girls’ voice and decision-making and to eliminate all forms of GBV. This note is accompanied by the overview of all study findings and three thematic notes that present in-depth insights in the following key dimensions: education, health, and economic opportunities.
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“World Bank. 2023. Unlocking the Potential of Women and Adolescent Girls in Madagascar - Challenges and Opportunities in Enhancing Girls’ and Women’s Agency: Cahier 4. © World Bank. http://hdl.handle.net/10986/40431 License: CC BY-NC 3.0 IGO.”
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Publication Unlocking the Potential of Women and Adolescent Girls - Challenges and Opportunities for Greater Empowerment of Women and Adolescent Girls in Madagascar(Washington, DC, 2023-10-04)This Overview presents the findings from the mixed-method study on gender inequalities in Madagascar, illustrating the key gender gaps in the country and shedding light on the unique challenges that young Malagasy women face in their educational, professional, and family trajectories. Due to the persistence of financial, social, and institutional barriers, Malagasy women and girls encounter significant disadvantages across all dimensions of well-being and are unable to access opportunities in an equal manner with men and boys in the country. They are largely constrained in their ability to accumulate human capital in education and health, and to participate in economic opportunities; and they face severe limitations in agency and decision-making, particularly with respect to family formation. Women and girls also appear to be disproportionally affected by the impacts of climate change and the COVID-19 pandemic, which further widen preexisting gender gaps and amplify vulnerability to poverty, violence, and discrimination. On the basis of the research findings, the Overview presents key gender gaps in Madagascar and proposes four strategic lines of policy recommendations to (i) assist girls and young women in completing school education, (ii) improve women’s and girls’ access to professional health care and prevent teenage pregnancy, (iii) enhance women’s economic opportunities, and (iv) improve women’s and girls’ voice and agency through the elimination of all forms of gender-based violence. Four thematic notes accompany this Overview and present detailed findings in the four key dimensions: education, health, economic opportunities, and agency.Publication Unlocking the Potential of Women and Adolescent Girls in Madagascar - Challenges and Opportunities in Education(Washington, DC, 2023-10-04)This thematic note is part of a broader mixed-method study on gender inequalities in Madagascar, which intends to illustrate the key gender gaps in the country and shed light on the unique challenges that young Malagasy women face in their educational, professional, and family trajectories. Due to the persistence of financial, social, and institutional barriers, Malagasy women and girls encounter significant disadvantages across all dimensions of well-being and are unable to access opportunities in an equal manner with men and boys in the country. They are largely constrained in their ability to accumulate human capital in education and health, and to participate in economic opportunities; and they face severe limitations in agency and decision-making, particularly with respect to family formation. Women and girls also appear to be disproportionally affected by the impacts of climate change and the COVID-19 pandemic, which further widen preexisting gender gaps and amplify vulnerability to poverty, violence, and discrimination. This thematic note discusses in detail the status of girls’ and women’s education in Madagascar and proposes several strategic lines of action to assist girls and young women in completing schooling. This note is accompanied by the overview of all study findings and three thematic notes that present in-depth insights in the following key dimensions: health, economic opportunities, and agency.Publication Unlocking Women’s and Girls’ Potential: The status of women and girls relative to men and boys in Guinea(Washington, DC, 2023-05-10)Evidence shows that Guinean women and girls face important barriers across all dimensions of well-being that prevent them from having access to opportunities on an equal footing with men. The poor agency of women and girls, as reflected in the high prevalence of discriminatory legal and social norms, translates into gaps in health, education, employment, and entrepreneurship, ultimately undermining their capacity to fulfill their potential and imposing important societal costs. This report presents a summary of the key challenges facing Guinean women and girls relative to men and boys. The report has a particular focus on early family formation, a common phenomenon in the country with important implications for girls’ and women’s well-being and opportunities in life. On the basis of this diagnostic and a review of evidence of what works, the report proposes some strategic lines of action to address the existing constraints and effectively empower Guinean women.Publication Unlocking Women's and Girl's Potential - The status of women and girls relative to men and boys in Guinea(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2024-06-12)Evidence shows that Guinean women and girls face important barriers across all dimensions of well-being that prevent them from having access to opportunities on an equal footing with men. The poor agency of women and girls, as reflected in the high prevalence of discriminatory legal and social norms, translates into gaps in health, education, employment, and entrepreneurship, ultimately undermining their capacity to fulfill their potential and imposing important societal costs. This report presents a summary of the key challenges facing Guinean women and girls relative to men and boys. The report has a particular focus on early family formation, a common phenomenon in the country with important implications for girls’ and women’s well-being and opportunities in life. On the basis of this diagnostic and a review of evidence of what works, the report proposes some strategic lines of action to address the existing constraints and effectively empower Guinean women.Publication Unlocking the Potential of Women and Adolescent Girls in Madagascar - Challenges and Opportunities in Health(Washington, DC, 2023-10-04)This thematic note is part of a broader mixed-method study on gender inequalities in Madagascar, which intends to illustrate the key gender gaps in the country and shed light on the unique challenges that young Malagasy women face in their educational, professional, and family trajectories. Due to the persistence of financial, social, and institutional barriers, Malagasy women and girls encounter significant disadvantages across all dimensions of well-being and are unable to access opportunities in an equal manner with men and boys in the country. They are largely constrained in their ability to accumulate human capital in education and health, and to participate in economic opportunities; and they face severe limitations in agency and decision-making, particularly with respect to family formation. Women and girls also appear to be disproportionally affected by the impacts of climate change and the COVID-19 pandemic, which further widen preexisting gender gaps and amplify vulnerability to poverty, violence, and discrimination. This thematic note provides in-depth insights into the status of women’s and girls’ maternal, sexual and reproductive health in Madagascar and proposes several strategic lines of action to improve access to professional health care by Malagasy women and girls and prevent teenage pregnancy. This note is accompanied by the overview of all study findings and three thematic notes that present in-depth insights in the following key dimensions: education, economic opportunities, and agency.
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