World Bank Group2014-01-302014-01-302013-10-10https://hdl.handle.net/10986/16737Bhutan has undergone a major socio-economic transformation over the past few decades. Today, as a middle-income country guided by the unique development philosophy of Gross National Happiness, it continues to develop rapidly and become more integrated into the global economy. Coinciding with its development, Bhutan has also made considerable strides in closing gaps in gender equality. The analysis of the Gender Policy Note (GPN) focuses on specific issues related to economic empowerment. It analyzes patterns related to specific aspects of the economic empowerment of both men and women by applying the analytical framework of the 2012 World Development Report on Gender and Development to the Bhutan context. For the areas of focus, the report examines overall indicators on gender and identifies areas where gender gaps persist: agricultural land holding and inheritance practices, and gender gaps in labor markets and job quality. In Bhutan, most women acquire land ownership through inheritance, particularly in matrilineal communities. Unlike in other countries, the matrilineal inheritance practice offers economic opportunities for Bhutanese women and contributes to their relatively equal status with men. In addition, land holding through inheritance can also affect economic choices, particularly the decision to remain in one's village. Bhutan has made tremendous progress in female labor force participation, but the quality of jobs for women is still an issue. Although women's participation in the labor force has increased, it has not translated into improvements in employment quality. The Labor Force Survey shows that Bhutanese women work in lower quality jobs than men-women who earn income from work outside the home; their earnings are only 75 percent of men's earnings. The report recommends policy interventions in five main areas: first, it promotes equal ownership and agency over land. The policy appears to be working well in most areas of the country, and families are moving toward equal inheritance. Second, women's economic endowment could be augmented to increase labor productivity and earnings. Third, child care, along with vocational and life-skills training tailored for girls could women's access to good jobs. Fourth, social norms that lead to gender inequality could be addressed by promoting a greater role for men as fathers and caregivers and men's participation in housework. Finally, the report recognizes the need to conduct further research to better understand the gender gap in happiness.en-USCC BY 3.0 IGOACCESS TO BANK LOANSACCESS TO FINANCEACCESS TO REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH SERVICESADOLESCENT FERTILITYADOLESCENT GIRLSADOLESCENTSAGRICULTURAL PRODUCTIONAGRICULTURE ORGANIZATIONALCOHOLICBABYBARRIERS TO WOMENBASIC NEEDSBENEFITS FOR WOMENBIRTHSBUSINESS TRAININGCAPITAL ACCUMULATIONCAREER ADVANCEMENTCAREER DEVELOPMENTCAREGIVERSCHALLENGES FOR WOMENCHILD CARECOLLATERALCONTRACEPTIONCONTRACEPTIVE METHODSCONTRACEPTIVE USECUSTOMER SERVICEDAY CAREDAYCAREDEVELOPING COUNTRIESDEVELOPMENT CENTERDISCRIMINATION AGAINST WOMENEARLY CHILD-BEARINGEARLY CHILDHOODEARLY PREGNANCYEARNINGSECONOMIC DECISIONECONOMIC DECISION-MAKINGECONOMIC DECISIONSECONOMIC DEVELOPMENTECONOMIC EMPOWERMENTECONOMIC GROWTHECONOMIC OPPORTUNITIESECONOMIC OPPORTUNITIES FOR WOMENEDUCATED WOMENEDUCATION LEVELSEDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENTEDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIESELDERLYEMPLOYABLE SKILLSEMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIESEMPOWERMENT OF WOMENENDOWMENTSENROLLMENTENVIRONMENT FOR WOMENEQUAL AMOUNTEQUAL EDUCATIONEQUAL STATUSEQUAL STATUS WITH MENFAMILIESFAMILY INCOMEFAMILY MEMBERSFAMILY RELATIONSHIPSFAMILY UNITFEMALE CHILDRENFEMALE ENTREPRENEURSFEMALE LABORFEMALE LABOR FORCEFEMALE LABOR FORCE PARTICIPATIONFEMALE WORKERFEMALE WORKERSFEMINIST ECONOMICSFEWER WOMENFINANCIAL INSTITUTIONSFINANCIAL PRODUCTSFINANCIAL SUPPORTFOCUS GROUP DISCUSSIONSFORMS OF CREDITFORMS OF DISCRIMINATIONGENDERGENDER DIFFERENCEGENDER DIFFERENCESGENDER DIMENSIONGENDER DIMENSIONSGENDER DISPARITYGENDER EQUALITYGENDER EQUALITY ISSUESGENDER GAPGENDER GAPSGENDER INEQUALITYGENDER ISSUESGENDER NORMSGENDER PARITYGENDER PERSPECTIVEGENDER POLICYGENDER PROGRAMGENDER RELATIONSGENDER ROLESGENDER SEGREGATIONGENDER STEREOTYPESGENDERSGIRLSGOVERNMENT POLICIESGROUP OF FIRMSHEALTH CAREHOUSEHOLD CHORESHOUSEHOLD MAINTENANCEHOUSEHOLD RESPONSIBILITIESHOUSEHOLD WELFAREHOUSEHOLD WORKHOUSEHOLDSHUMAN CAPITALHUMAN DEVELOPMENTHUMAN RESOURCESHUSBANDHUSBANDSIDILLITERACYIMMIGRATIONIMMIGRATION POLICYINDIVIDUAL RIGHTSINHERITANCEJOB OPPORTUNITYLABOR FORCELABOR FORCE PARTICIPATION RATE OF WOMENLABOR FORCE SURVEYLABOR FORCE SURVEYSLABOR MARKETLABOR MARKETSLAND ADMINISTRATIONLAND OWNERSHIPLAND RIGHTSLEVEL OF EDUCATIONLEVELS OF EDUCATIONLIVE BIRTHSLOANMARRIED MENMATERNAL MORTALITYMATERNAL MORTALITY RATEMATERNAL MORTALITY RATIOMATERNITY LEAVEMIGRATION OF WOMENMINISTRY OF EDUCATIONMINISTRY OF LABOURMODERN CONTRACEPTIVE METHODSMOTHERNATIONAL COMMISSION FOR WOMENNATIONAL PLANNATIONAL PLAN OF ACTIONNATURAL RESOURCESNUMBER OF BIRTHSNUMBER OF GIRLSNUMBER OF WOMENNURSESOLD AGEOLDER WOMENOUTREACHPARENTAL CAREPERCEPTIONS OF GENDERPERSONAL ASSETSPOLICY ENVIRONMENTPOLITICAL PARTICIPATIONPREGNANCYPREGNANT WOMENPRIMARY SCHOOLPRIMARY SCHOOL AGEPRIVATE ENTERPRISEPRODUCTIVITYPROGRESSPUBLIC INVESTMENTSPUBLIC SCHOOLSRELIGIOUS BELIEFSREPRODUCTIVE HEALTHREPRODUCTIVE HEALTH SERVICESROLE OF WOMENRURAL AREASRURAL WOMENSAVINGSSAVINGS GROUPSSCHOLARSHIPSCHOLARSHIPSSCHOOL LEVELSSECONDARY SCHOOLSELF-EMPLOYMENTSEXSEX SEGREGATIONSEXESSMALL BUSINESSSOCIAL DEVELOPMENTSOCIAL NORMSSOURCE OF INCOMESTAGES OF LIFESUSTAINABLE ECONOMIC GROWTHTEENAGE PREGNANCYTERTIARY EDUCATIONTERTIARY LEVELTERTIARY LEVELSTRADITIONAL GENDER ROLESUNCTADUNDPUNEMPLOYMENTUNITED NATIONSURBAN AREASURBAN CENTERSVILLAGEVILLAGESVIOLENCEVOCATIONAL EDUCATIONVOCATIONAL TRAININGWAGE DISCRIMINATIONWDRWOMANWOMEN ENTREPRENEURSWOMEN IN BUSINESSWORKFORCEWORKING MOTHERSWORKING WOMENYOUNG COUPLEYOUNG PEOPLEYOUNG WOMENWorld Bank10.1596/16737