WHO…
The Gender Team is part of the Poverty and Gender Group in the Latin America and Caribbean (LCR) Region’s Poverty Reduction and Economic Management (PREM) Unit of the World Bank.

WHAT…
The mission of the LCR Gender Team is to contribute to the quality and effectiveness of development interventions and outcomes through the inclusion of the gender perspective in World Bank’s work in Latin America and the Caribbean.

WHY…
Following the World Development Report (WDR) 2012 gender equality is important because of mainly two reasons: “First, gender equality matters intrinsically, because the ability
to live the life of one’s own choosing and be spared from absolute deprivation is a basic
human right and should be equal for everyone, independent of whether one is male or female.
Second, gender equality matters instrumentally, because greater gender equality contributes to
economic efficiency and the achievement of other key development outcomes.”

Taking into account gender roles is essential in the design and delivery of better programs and services. To this end, development projects must consider whether men's and women's demands, preferences and access to services differ, and if so, ensure that services adequately address these issues.

HOW…
The Regional Gender Action Plan Latin America and the Caribbean outlines a strategy for the next three years for the LAC region to work more effectively with clients to address gender challenges in the region. The plan builds on the 2012 WDR (Gender Equality and Development), the 2012 LAC Regional gender study, “Work and Family: Latin American Women in Search of a New Balance”, and the Central American Regional Study, “A Gender (R)evolution in the Making? Gender, Income Generation and Poverty Reduction in Central America: A Decade Review”. These studies shed new light on understanding gender equity in LAC as an outcome of the complex interaction of formal and informal institutions and markets, mediated through the household.  The reports stress that addressing persistent gender inequities requires more than conducive policies, but also a greater understanding of the household bargaining process and the role of preferences and social norms.   They also highlight the multi-dimensional domains of gender equity, cutting across endowments, economic opportunities and individual agency. 
The implementation of the RGAP will be tailored to different contexts, reflective of country-specific characteristics of norms/preferences, markets, institutions and policies. 

The general objective of the LCR Regional Gender Action Plan is to enhance client and Bank knowledge and capacity to understand and address gender issues that are constraining development and gender equity in the region.

To achieve this objective, the Plan is anchored in three pillars:

1. Mainstreaming gender into Country Assistance Strategies & relevant financial and knowledge programs with a particular focus on those sectors with corporate commitments.
   Paramount to the World Bank's work in gender is understanding the different impacts and opportunities that a particular project or policy may have on both men and women. For these reasons, the Bank works on mainstreaming gender issues into projects and analytical work. That is, rather than adding a "women's component" or "gender equity component", the Bank performs a gender analysis and modifies existing activities and dynamics where appropriate.

2. Addressing persistent and priority areas of inequality as identified through a review of existing analytical work and during consultations. The RGAP seeks to promote catalytic change in priority areas where gender inequities are pervasive and persistent. The priority areas are organized in alignment with the WDR 2012 framework:

• Endowments: Improving Boys Achievement in School
• Economic Opportunity: Facilitating Labor Market Entry for Vulnerable Groups And Supporting Female Entrepreneurs to Expand & Grow Businesses
• Agency: Gender-based violence and teenage pregnancy

3. Gathering and sharing evidence to build and disseminate the evidence base on what works for gender interventions and mainstreaming. RGAP consultations revealed that lack of knowledge sharing and evidence of what works constrains the development of gender programming and makes it hard to garner policymakers’ support. This pillar will build the evidence base for what works in gender programming in LCR, thereby supporting the success of Pillars I and II.  Key inputs to build and disseminate the evidence base include:

• LCR Impact Evaluation Initiative of what works for gender interventions and mainstreaming;
• GAP Lessons Learned Book synthesizing policy lessons derived from projects funded by the Gender Action Plan ;
• Improved access to and dissemination of gender-disaggregated data; and
• Dissemination events—both high-profile (especially for the WDR and the regional study), but also brown bags on good practices within the Bank and external. 

To promote gender equality in the region, the Bank provides analysis, technical assistance, and finances projects that boost opportunities and equal rights for men and women.