"Gender and women's empowerment is at the core of what we need to do in the field of development. Gender equality is also smart economics. Research demonstrates that progress in the area of women's economic empowerment is still far, far too slow. Whether it is the question of employment, opportunity, pay, or access to finance, there is a tremendous amount of work to do to level the playing field for women."
Robert B. Zoellick
President, World Bank Group