• Poverty, violence against women, and poor education are still major stumbling blocks for much of the country's girls and women
• 52% of the population lives below the poverty level, most of whom are women
• Only 36.7% of girls enroll in secondary school, and female adult literacy is 74.2%.
• Only 28.7% of female students at the tertiary level are studying natural sciences, compared to 28.4% in Mexico and 34% in Brazil
• Women now make up 29% of the country’s administrative and managerial positions in the labor force.

Gender Policy Framework

• The National Secretariat for the Family created a women's unit in 1989 which “aimed to incorporate the concept of gender in government institutions dealing with agriculture, and to change discriminatory legislation.”
• The Department of International Technical Cooperation, initiated a project in 1993 “for the Introduction of the Concept of Gender in Development Projects within the Ministry.”
• The establishment of the Instituto Salvadoreno para el Desarrollo de la Mujer (the Salvadorian Institute for Women’s Development-SDEMU). This body is devoted to “formulating public policies for gender equality and with the specific purpose to "Design, direct, execute, advise and monitor to ensure the fulfillment of the National Policy for Women".