Toward Gender Equality in East Asia and the Pacific examines the relationship between gender equality and development and outlines an agenda for public action to promote more effective and inclusive development in East Asian and Pacific countries.

Written as a companion to the World Development Report 2012 on gender equality and development, the report finds that promoting gender equality contributes to higher productivity, income growth, and poverty reduction; improves the opportunities and outcomes for the next generation; and enhances the quality of development policymaking.

It contributes to the understanding of gender and development policymaking in several important ways. First, the report presents new data and evidence that significantly strengthen the empirical basis for policymaking on gender and development in the region. Second, the report provides new analysis of the gender dimensions and policy implications of several global trends that are particularly important in the region, including increasing economic integration, rapid adoption of new information and communication technologies, rising domestic and international migration flows, rapid urbanization, and population aging.