UN: Rich countries advance women, poorest don't

A new report says richer countries have made advances toward equality for women and provided greater access to sexual and reproductive health care over the past 20 years but the poorest countries have made little progress.
The report by the UN population fund launched yesterday said many of the estimated 1 billion people living in the 50-60 poorest countries will stagnate as the rest of the world gets richer, and the growing inequality threatens economic development and will undo significant gains in health and longevity.
The report says fewer women are dying in pregnancy and childbirth and more women have access to education, work and political participation today. But it says the poorest communities have seen little progress in improving women's status or reducing maternal deaths and child marriages.