Women's full contribution to development can only be tapped when they participate as equally powerful partners with men in all aspects of economic and political life. Participation without equal access to leadership and power will not bring development progress.?

Fulfilling its commitment, the IDB launched PROLEAD -- Program for the Support of Women?s Leadership and Representation -- in 1998, through the IDB?s Women in Development Unit, in coordination with UNIFEM, UNICEF, UNDP, and OAS/CIM.

The Norwegian Government commited critical funding for PROLEAD?s preparatory phase. During this period, the IDB and its partners sought to design a program responding to the needs of women in the region. Several consultative meetings were held, notably in Managua, Nicaragua (September 1996), to discuss what was then the proposal for the Women's Leadership Program with a small number of women leaders and leadership experts in the region. The diagnostic study, "Moving into Power: Expanding Women's Opportunities for Leadership in Latin America and the Caribbean" (Mala Htun, 1997) was also undertaken to assess the current status of women's leadership and participation in public and civic life in Latin America and the Caribbean, as well as the opportunities and challenges women currently face.