Integration of women in population and development programmes.

Recently, and mostly as a result of awareness created during the United Nations decade for women, it has become clear that women's contribution to development--and its recognition--are essential to the success of national development. The concept of development has evolved. Women should now be seen not only as a disadvantaged group but also as potential agents of change; one of the criteria for the examination of development plans should be women's involvement in the process and decision-making. "Equality" is difficult to define. Often development efforts neglect to take inherent differences in sex roles in each society into account. "Women's status" connected to educational level continues to be a factor in fertility behavior and infant mortality. Women's economic activity, is generally undervalued especially where it is not paid. The majority of women are employed in agriculture in developing countries and service jobs in developed countries; neither sector enjoys high pay or status. Female employment status also appears to affect fertility. The 3rd factor in women's status is fertility itself, and the access to family planning methods and information. There is still a huge unmet family planning need. It should not be assumed that prosperity in 1 society sector will have a positive influence in other sectors, that development automatically affects men and women equally, that men rather than women are the only important family financial resources; or that there are no status differences between women in the same society. Women are not "1 more development problem." Changes must atempt to impact multiple aspects of women's lives, and be considered a political and multiministerial and not "welfare" priorities. Some governments have made firm commitments, in policy and in international conferences, in improving the status of women.