World development report 2012 : gender equality and development : overview / The World Bank.

Includes bibliographical references.

“The lives of women around the world have improved dramatically, at a pace and scope difficult to imagine even 25 years ago. Women have made unprecedented gains in rights, education, health and access to jobs and livelihoods. More countries than ever guarantee equal rights in property, marriage, and other domains. Gender gaps in primary schooling have closed in many countries, while in a third of all counties girls now outnumber boys in secondary school. And more young women than men attend universities in 60 countries. Women are using their education to participate more in the labor force: they now make up for 40 percent of the global labor force and 43 percent of its farmers. Moreover, women now live longer than men in every region of the world”—cover page.