The argument of this book, that women are central to development, is presented, through the story of the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) - and of its projects in the field. It is a story which describes the reality of development within the context of the development system itself.;The author, UNIFEM's founding Director, describes UNIFEM's beginnings: the search for structure, securing independent management, and riding the political and bureaucratic waves. Part II, "At work in the world", examines projects and activities that have been assisted world-wide, ranging from augmenting productivity at village level to analyzing the impact of the global market on women, and is a rare look at the longer-term effects of projects that have "come to an end".;This is the story of a campaign - based on fieldwork in three continents - which has aimed to remove the invisibility that has cloaked so much of women's work, to support and increase their economic productive capacity - and to establish women as "agents of change, not creatures of circumstance".