Foreword.

Foreword. This report is the product of a joint effort by the World Bank andthe government of Ghana to examine issues of gender and economicdevelopment. The study, which began in 1996, was designed to support thegovernment in its efforts to develop a strategy for removinggender-based barriers to sustainable economic development and povertyreduction in Ghana. The report is practical in focus. It looks at genderand agricultural productivity Agricultural productivity is measured as the ratio of agricultural inputs to agricultural outputs. While individual products are usually measured by weight, their varying densities make measuring overall agricultural output difficult. , entrepreneurship and microfinance,education, and health. Its objective is to further the dialogue betweenthe government, the World Bank, other donors, and nongovernmentalorganizations on how to identify and address gender-based constraints inkey sectors of the economy. In addition to this report, two government policy documents alsoemerged from this study: "Gender Policy" and "StrategicFramework for Reducing Gender Inequalities." Both are now underfinal review within the government. The study, on which all three reports are based (this report andthe two government reports), adopted a participatory approach thatemphasized consensus building. To that end it involved representativesof government, academic institutions, nongovernmental organizations(NGOs), and women's groups. The themes of the study were identifiedthrough an iterative process of workshops and mission visits by WorldBank staff. In producing this report, the Bank team worked in closecollaboration with the Ministries of Agriculture, Education, and Health;the National Development Planning Commission Noun 1. planning commission - a commission delegated to propose plans for future activities and developmentscommission, committee - a special group delegated to consider some matter; "a committee is a group that keeps minutes and loses hours" - Milton Berle ; the Bank of Ghana The Bank of Ghana is the central bank of Ghana. It is located in Accra and was formed in 1957. Its name is abbreviated to BOG. HistoryThe history of the Bank of Ghana began with the Bank of the Gold Coast (BCG). ; theNational Council for Women and Development; the University of Ghana The University of Ghana is the oldest and largest of the five Ghanaian public universities. It was founded in 1948[1] as the University College of the Gold Coast, and was originally an affiliate college of the University of London[2] ; andmany NGOs. Peter C. Harrold Ghana Country Director