Women as Agents of Change: Having Voice in Society and Influencing Policy

The World Bank’s World Development Report on Gender Equality and Development (WDR2012)
identified women’s voice, agency and participation as a key dimension of gender equality and as a major
policy priority. Agency, as defined in the WDR2012, is the ability to use endowments to take advantage
of opportunities to achieve desired outcomes. In particular, WDR2012 focused on five “expressions” of
agency: women’s access to and control over resources; freedom of movement; freedom from the risk of
violence; decision-making over family formation; and having voice in society and influencing policy.
An important expression of women’s agency is women’s political participation and their ability to fully
engage in public life. This background paper focuses on women’s ability to play a public role in politics
and to influence policy-making. Using the data available, it examines the current status of women in
politics and makes the case for the full and equitable participation of women in public life. It reviews the
direct and indirect barriers that exist to prevent women’s political participation and analyzes strategies
that have been used to increase it. Finally, the paper identifies the connections between the five
expressions of agency and priorities for future work.